BRUNSWICK
Plans for a new shopping center, Plaza At Cook’s Corner, which may consist of a number of retail stores, banks or restaurants, at the site of a former hotel, was unanimously approved by the Brunswick Planning Board on Tuesday.
The project involves the redevelopment of 6.2 acres out of 9.5 acres at 21 Gurnet Road near Regal Cinemas.
The first phase of the project will consist of a 14,700-square-foot Goodwill store on the first site of the multi-pad development.
The second phase will include three additional sites on the property, although developers do not yet have specific details about construction during the second phase. Michael Gotto of Stoneybrook Consultants Inc., who represents developer George Schott, indicated that the second site could house either a 4,000-square-foot bank with a drive-through, or a 9,000-square-foot retail building. The third site could support an 8,000-square-foot retail store, and the fourth site could support either a 5,000-square-foot restaurant with a drive-through, or another 9,000- square-foot retail building.
In total, there will be 169 parking spaces once the project is built out. During the first phase, 140 spaces will be constructed.
Schott and developer Jim Howard are also planning to construct an access road that would funnel traffic from Gurnet Road by the entrance to Sears, past Regal Cinema near the former Atrium Inn, before crossing Thomas Point Road and linking with Tibbetts Drive.
According to a letter from Gotto to Town Planner Jeremy Doxsee, “construction costs for this road are unknown at this time and funding may not be approved.”
A town council workshop on the access road was to have been held in February and was canceled after then Town Manager Gary Brown was dismissed by the council. Since then, a committee made up of councilors Gerald Favreau and David Watson have been charged with moving the access road project forward. That project has yet to come before the council.
The planning board on Tuesday approved two waivers, regarding setbacks and parking, that would only become relevant should the road be built and become a public right-of-way.
Plans for the Goodwill store have been “thoroughly vetted” by the planning board, Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Department of Transportation, said Doxsee.
Schott’s company, Just Because LLC, purchased the property in 2008, with hopes of converting the property into a hospitality and retail center. Buildings on the property, including the former Atrium Inn, were demolished, but those plans never materialized.
jswinconeck@timesrecord.com
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