Farmington PZC OKs Major Grocery Store Project

FARMINGTON, CT — A major grocery chain has received the necessary town approvals to build a new supermarket on the property of a major shopping mall.

The Farmington Plan and Zoning Commission Feb. 9, unanimously approved a special permit and site plan for a new 50,000-square-foot grocery store at 500 South Road.

The proposal by Big Y Foods, Inc. calls for construction within the existing parking lot at the Westfarms Mall, near the Farmington–West Hartford town line. The property is in a business zone.

Proposal details

Big Y representative attorney Robin Pearson of Alter, Pearson & Hope, LLC, outlined the application.

She said a portion of the development area extends into West Hartford, where the Town Council will conduct an administrative review for limited parking reconfiguration and landscape buffer work under its Special Development District process.

Another Big Y representative, Guy Hesketh, chief engineer at F.A. Hesketh & Associates, described the 6.2-acre redevelopment area and site design.

Plans include 250 parking spaces, accessible spaces, and four electric vehicle charging stations, with infrastructure to support additional stations in the future.

A 55-foot-radius turnaround will accommodate delivery trucks at the loading docks.

The project includes new retaining walls to address a 24-foot elevation change from the street to the store’s finished floor.

Hesketh requested a 10 percent waiver to reduce by 5 feet the required 50-foot landscape buffer along New Britain Avenue.

He cited the presence of a 72-inch storm drain line, site grading constraints, and truck access needs along the east side of the building.

Existing street trees along New Britain Avenue will remain, and additional evergreens will be planted on the slope up to the retaining wall.

Trees will be planted along a parking lot island to match existing trees.

Stormwater runoff will be directed to catch basins with deep sumps, then to hydrodynamic separators and two underground infiltration and detention systems.

The team has coordinated sewer connections with the Town of Farmington and water connections with MDC.

Parking lot lighting will operate one hour before opening and one hour after closing. Proposed store hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Traffic

Scott Hesketh, traffic consultant for the project, said a study evaluated 15 intersections in Farmington, West Hartford and Newington during peak holiday shopping periods in late 2024 and early 2025, supplemented by Connecticut Department of Transportation data.

Using the Institute of Transportation Engineers' trip generation rates, the store is expected to generate 461 weekday afternoon peak-hour trips and 533 Saturday peak-hour trips.

The analysis applied 10 percent reductions each for pass-by traffic and shared trips from existing mall shoppers, consistent with CTDOT practices.

Traffic was distributed with 40 percent assigned to each of the two nearest mall intersections and 20 percent to the signalized South Road intersection.

Using Synchro software, the study concluded that Farmington intersections would continue to operate at the same level of service as existing conditions.

Questions and comments

Commissioners asked whether the store’s lighting schedule would be independent from the mall’s.

Matthew D’Amour, director of store development for Big Y Foods, said it would.

In response to questions about snow removal, D’Amour said Big Y will handle its own common area maintenance within its lease area, with on-site snow storage areas identified and the ability to use mall-designated areas during larger storms.

Farmington Town Planner Shannon Rutherford recommended that shopping carriages be locked at night to prevent them from ending up in other parts of the mall parking lot or at bus stops.

During public comment, Jim and Tina Barbeau of Glenn Lane, West Hartford, raised concerns about additional traffic on New Britain Avenue and asked about delivery hours, dumpster service, and potential light pollution.

D’Amour said building signs will not be internally illuminated.

He said direct store deliveries by vendors will occur between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m., with two in-house grocery deliveries before 8 p.m.

The trash compactor will be emptied during store operating hours.

Construction is expected to take about 10 months after permits are secured, with an anticipated opening in spring 2027, D’Amour said.

No other public comments were offered.

Decision and next steps

After closing the public hearing, the commission voted unanimously to approve the special permit and site plan, including the landscape buffer waiver, subject to conditions outlined in its agenda review.

The project will proceed through final permitting, with West Hartford completing its administrative review for the portion of work within its jurisdiction.

For the minutes of the Feb. 9 Farmington Plan and Zoning Commission meeting, click on this link.

From Oct. 30, 2025: 'Major Supermarket Chain To Open New Store In Farmington/West Hartford'