The Seymour Planning and Zoning Commission Thursday (April 11) night unanimously approved a site plan for a Henny Penny convenience store and gas station at 2 – 4 New Haven Road, the location of the former Shell gas station and Sweets and Eats ice cream store.
Now that the project has received local thumbs up, the developer, Hendel’s Inc., will seek approval from the state Department of Transportation, said Jon Hendel, representing the company.
Then they’ll get design drawings, permits, and start knocking down the two old buildings near the intersection of New Haven Road and Day Street.
The PZC approved a revised site plan Thursday that included changes to the curb cuts that determine the way traffic will enter and exit the site.
The developer plans to build a 2,965-square-foot convenience store, possibly with a drive-through window, and four gas pump islands under a canopy, said Mark Smith, P.E., a civil engineer with New Britain-based To Design LLC.
Smith made his presentation during a public hearing that took place before Thursday’s regular meeting.
The convenience store will be a clapboard-type or Colonial construction with a stone base and dormer windows that will operate as skylights, he said.
There will be 22 parking spaces, including eight at the gas pumps, and a retaining wall at the back of the property, which will be lowered in elevation.
The new commercial properties will be “a plus for the Town of Seymour,” said PZC member Bob Koskelowski before the vote.
Along with the site plan, the commission approved changing the property’s zoning classification from industrial to commercial, effective April 22.
A similar change had been approved in the past commission for the site of the Stop & Shop grocery store and gas station on Franklin Street, said Attorney Dominick Thomas, representing Hendel’s Inc.
The New Haven Road site had been zoned industrial, because it was expected that the Kerite Company would someday expand to that property, said Town Planner Robert Looker.
Mike Horbal, a member of the Economic Development Commission, said during the public hearing that the zoning change was a “logical” move.
Hendel’s Inc., based in Waterford, owns about 35 Henny Penny stores throughout the state,
Hendel said the Seymour project represents an investment of about $2 million.
The land is currently divided into two parcels totaling 0.74 acre, according to the town property maps online. Both are currently owned by a limited liability company controlled by Ramons Sous, a lawyer whose practice is nearby.
Fred Messore, the town’s economic development director, was at the meeting and said officials began “conversations” about developing the site in July 2012.
“We felt this was a very strong re-use of the property,” he said, during the public hearing.
After the meeting he said the Thursday’s go-ahead was “a step in the right direction.”
The project will enhance the “gateway” to Seymour, he said, and should help to spur further commercial growth along Route 67.
