If you’ve driven down Pershing Drive in Ansonia at any point in the past few weeks, you might have noticed the chain-link fence surrounding the properties next door to the Cumberland Farms, which sits at the intersection with Division Street.
Cumberland Farms plans an ambitious expansion project that would see those properties and its current store leveled and replaced with a “signature store” more than double its current size — from 1,900 square feet to 4,500 square feet.
A lawyer representing Cumberland Farms told Ansonia’s Planning and Zoning Commission at a hearing last June that the expanded store will provide an “attractive introduction to Ansonia,” according to the minutes of the hearing, which are posted below.
Derek Beckwith, a Cumberland Farms spokesman, said Friday that the store will close next month, with construction expected to be complete in June.
“Our new store will be state of the art, with expanded food options and expanded coffee and Chill Zone offerings,” he said. “We’re very excited about the project, and know that we’ll be able to help make life a bit easier and convenient for folks in town.”
Chill Zone!
The PZC approved the company’s plans unanimously last July.
PZC Chairman Bart Flaherty said Friday the new store is a “nice-looking building” that will be an upgrade over the current store.
In October Cumberland Farms bought the house behind the store on Division Street for $430,000 and the property on Pershing Drive adjacent to the store — which formerly housed “Bell and Beep” — for $325,000, according to city land records.
According to the minutes from the PZC hearing in June, the company plans on removing the two gas storage tanks — one 8,000 gallons and another 6,000 gallons — and replacing them with a 20,000-gallon tank.
In addition, 700 cubic yards of contaminated soil will be trucked offsite and disposed of as well.
Crews would then begin digging out 5,000 cubic yards of material — or about 200 to 250 truckloads — to build retaining walls around the property before building the new store, according to information presented to the PZC last June.
Work on the site will be confined to the hours between 7 a.m. and 3:30 pm., and will not occur on weekends.
An engineer working on the project told the PZC that the redevelopment of the site will help traffic by moving the entrances on Pershing Drive and Division Street farther away from the intersection.
The store will have 17 parking spaces, more than double its current seven spots.
As part of their approval, PZC members directed the company to build a sidewalk around the entire property to accommodate foot traffic.
“That was a given, that was a must,” Flaherty said, noting that almost any time he’s driven through the area he sees people walking to or from the store.
