Ansonia To Review Gas Station/Motel Plans

File Photo

A view of 557 Wakelee Ave. taken March 1, 2018.

ANSONIA — The city’s planning and zoning commission will review plans tonight (Monday, March 29) for a gas station and motel off Route 8 at the former site of John J. Sullivan’s Restaurant on Wakelee Avenue.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

The commission has three unrelated public hearings prior to the 7 p.m. meeting, the first of which starts at 6:15 p.m.

All the meetings are being held on Zoom because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Zoom ID for the three public hearings and the 7 p.m. regular meeting is 991 7065 6183. The password is 06401.

The Motel

The motel application is to redevelop 557 Wakelee Ave., last home to Molto Bene, a restaurant that closed in 2016.

In 2018 the property was purchased for $200,000 by Jerry Nocerino, whose business successfully redeveloped the old Valley Bowl area of Pershing Drive. 

The Connecticut Post reported in 2018 the property was to be redeveloped as a banquet facility. The project did not move forward. 

According to documents posted on the City of Ansonia’s website Saturday, Aijaz Ahmen of New York wants to build a motel with eight rooms on the first floor and 17 rooms on the second floor. The first floor will also house a motel office, along with retail space similar to a rest stop or convenience store. There will also be a restaurant/bar of about 425 square feet.

In addition, Ahmen is also making a request to the state Department of Transportation to sell gasoline at the property.

The property has 135 spaces, which is enough for the proposed use, according to the applicant. There will be no more than 17 employees on site at any given time, according to the statement of use submitted to the commission.

The property is next to exit 19 of Route 8 north. 

Click here to look at the plans submitted by the applicant. 

Additional information about tonight’s meeting of the Ansonia Planning and Zoning Commission can be found here.

Keep local reporting alive. Donate.ValleyIndy.org