Even though Walgreens won’t be building a standalone pharmacy at the corner of Pershing Drive and Division Street in Derby, the company plans to develop the property as if it were.
“We are literally not changing any of our approvals when it comes to our mitigation,” John Mancini, the principal for engineering firm BL Companies, told the Derby Planning and Zoning Commission Tuesday.
Mancini and Ray Gradwell, the project manager, presented an updated site plan proposal for the redevelopment of Red Raider Plaza at 60 Pershing Drive. BL Companies is doing the design work for Walgreens Eastern Co., which owns the property.
Red Raider Plaza is at the corner of Division Street and Pershing Drive in Derby. The property has two parts — the former Xpect Discounts portion on Pershing Drive, znd right next to it, an L‑shaped strip of stores toward Division Street.
Instead of tearing down the L‑shaped building at the corner, Walgreens now plans to leave it standing, and to let the four tenants stay for the time being.
The new plans look like the previous set of plans — except that instead of a new Walgreens building, a free-standing portion of the existing building will remain on the corner.
Walgreens plans to continue working on the driveways and drainage, to prepare the site for another potential buyer or tenant, Mancini said.
The drainage improvements are important, because that area floods every time there is a heavy rain.
Walgreens wants to “complete their commitment” and “weigh their options,” Mancini said.
The plans essentially mean the existing Red Raider Plaza will be cut in half, and a driveway will be built where the middle portion of the building once stood.
The two sides — the “A” side where Radio Shack stands, and the “B” side where Xpect Discounts once stood — will be redeveloped as two separate buildings.
Walgreens will reassess whether it wants to remain a landlord, or sell the property. Either way, Mancini said, it will be in better shape for development once the drainage issues are addressed and the driveways are updated for better traffic flow.
Development to the “B” side of the building was already underway, and Walgreens plans to lease space to a Wayback Burger, a Planet Fitness and other stores that haven’t been named.
Last month, Walgreens confirmed it no longer wanted to build a store at the corner. But Tuesday’s proposal made it official — and now the Planning and Zoning commission can start reviewing the plans.
PZC Chairman Theodore Estwan said the commission wanted to see the plans and make sure the property was still going to get the improvements Walgreens first proposed.
“The biggest concern the commission had when we first found out Walgreens was not going to build their building was all the site improvements,” Estwan said. “So instead of having a knee-jerk reaction, we said ‘Let’s reach out to the applicants and have them come submit what they’re going to do.’”
The commission didn’t discuss the application, just listened to the overview from Mancini and Gradwell.
But one member of the audience had a complaint.
Eugene Micci, the lawyer for Rocco Cingari, who owns the ShopRite Plaza across the street at 49 Pershing Drive, said Cingari opposes the plans.
Cingari sued the city and Walgreens when the original plans were approved, claiming the design approved by the commission would make a terrible traffic pattern on Pershing Drive that much worse.
Walgreens and Cingari settled out of court, and Walgreens tweaked the plans to satisfy Cingari’s concerns.
“We believe it violates the spirit of an agreement we made with this folks two years ago,” Micci said, before Estwan cut him off.
“It’s really not a public hearing,” Estwan said.
“Do you intend to have a public hearing?” Micci asked.
“We’re going to review it,” Estwan said. “This is the first time we’ve seen any of this stuff. If you remember last month all we had was comments about a building not being built. Now this month we have a full set of plans.”
