While Westbrook officials have praised plans for a proposed urgent-care facility at the city’s western gateway, members of the Planning Board voiced concerns Tuesday about the appearance of the building.

“It’s a prominent site, and I know there’s been a lot of discussion in the community of what would be an appropriate building there,” said board member Rebecca Dillon. “I understand this is a prototypical design, but I think people are going to expect more.”

Dillon said the plans for the ConvenientMD building seem to fit into a strip mall development, not a downtown district.

“This is a very suburban type of building,” she said. “I’m not sure if you’d give consideration to allow the architect to get a little more creative.”

The comments came as the board got its first look Tuesday at the site plan for the urgent-care office. ConvenientMD, which operates a number of urgent-care and walk-in medical clinics in New Hampshire, would open its first clinic in Maine if the project is approved by the Planning Board. Officials from the company have also said they are planning clinics in Scarborough and Portland.

The company uses a quick-care model, which focuses on what it says is fast, efficient and cost-effective medical care. Since 2012, ConvenientMD has opened eight locations, including one in Nashua, N.H., in December.

Max Puyanic, the CEO of ConvenientMD, said during the Westbrook meeting that most patients are in and out in under an hour. According to Puyanic, the company benefits people with high health insurance deductibles, and works with employers to help reduce the health-care costs of their employees.

On Tuesday, as Puyanic and his development team presented their plans, some on the Planning Board emphasized that the location, at 942 Main St., is a visible gateway to the city.

Rene Daniel, a longtime Planning Board member, said he had “some concerns” with the building plans, also requesting the board hold a site walk on the property. It’s scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 6, at 9 a.m.

“This has always been discussed as a gateway area to our city,” he said, commenting on the same design used for all ConvenientMD locations.

ConvenientMD would sit on a large parcel at the intersection of William Clarke Drive and Saco Street. The property was once Yudy’s Tire Co. and Maine Rubber International, started by the late Julius “Yudy” Elowitch and his two brothers. After Maine Rubber, a tire manufacturing facility, relocated in 1998, the building was rented for storage. The building finally was demolished in August 2013, following lengthy wrangling between the city and the property owner, David Elowitch.

Environmental issues at the site and the high cost of demolition prohibited redevelopment for years. However, in late 2011, the city secured a $125,000 grant to help pay for the demolition, and negotiated with Elowitch and his company, Storage Realty, to move the work forward.

During discussions leading up to the building’s demolition, Westbrook officials argued that a more attractive use of the site would help the surrounding economy. When the city’s Planning Department received the plans in December, city officials praised the new incoming business.

Lee Allen from Northeast Civil Solutions and architect Dennis Mires presented the plans Tuesday. The team has worked on the plans for the entire 1.6-acre site, which also includes an existing building owned by Storage Realty. Just last month, it was announced that craft beer producer Mast Landing Brewing Co. would be moving into the 12,000-square-foot building, at 920 Main St.

Due to the nature of their business, Puyanic said, visibility is a key component of their buildings’ design, which features brightly lit signage.

“We want them to immediately identify the building and be able to get in and out easily,” he said Tuesday.

This means the plans for landscaping and lighting emphasize visibility.

However, Mires said, the company also tried to be responsive to the building’s location. He said a front pavilion feature is included, which faces west.

“We recognize that this is viewed from that important V-intersection across the green,” he said about the location. “We were trying to be sensitive to that.”

A red canopy with down-facing lighting wraps around the building, which is mostly stucco.

Jennie Franceschi, the interim city planner, said the Village Review Overlay Zone Committee, part of the Planning Department, also reviewed the plans this week. She said some comments included that the appearance is not compatible with the neighborhood or district. Another suggestion was for an outdoor patio to be added. She said the comments were forwarded to the design team.

The design also features an entrance at the former Saco Street stub, and another from Main Street. Storage Realty acquired the end of Saco Street in a land swap, which used to connect to Main Street. Thirty-four parking spaces are included in the plans.

Next door, Mast Landing Brewing Co. is the city’s first craft brewery and tasting room. CEO Ian Dorsey said Wednesday that the brewery is still aiming for a mid-February opening.

“The tasting room construction is about 90 percent done,” he said.

The business launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign Tuesday to raise money for a crowler seamer, equipment that would allow the brewers to package 32-ounce cans of their signature beer.

Each of ConvenientMD’s eight locations – this one is Merrimack, N.H. – use similar architectural plans, with an emphasis on visibility. A few Planning Board members are wary of how the building would appear at a prominent Main Street location. 

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