New Medical/Retail Building Gets Southington's OK

SOUTHINGTON, CT — A new medical office building has received the necessary town approvals to be built on a parcel located not far from Southington's border with Cheshire.

The Southington Planning and Zoning Commission voted 7-0 Tuesday, Jan. 3, in favor of a site plan pitched by Richard E. Frazier Sr. of Plantsville.

He is building a 7,000-square-foot medical/retail building on 1175 Meriden Waterbury Turnpike (Route 322) on land zoned for commercial/business uses.

Frazier filed an application with the town Dec. 12 to build the structure, which would go up within 500 feet of the Cheshire town line off Route 322.

Aside from a few routine questions, zoning board members had minimal issues with the proposal and the vote in favor was resounding.

The footprint of the building plan is rectangular with modern and rural architectural designs.

According to the project's plans filed with the town, 3,500 square feet would be for a medical office while 3,500 square feet would be for a retail establishment, yet-to-be-named.

The building would have a total of 34 public parking spaces, including two handicap spaces, according to project plans.

Severino Bovino, vice president of Kratzert, Jones & Associates in Southington, a civil engineering firm, was on hand Tuesday to brief the PZC on the proposal.

He said the current building on site is, actually, a non-conforming use becuase it is a multi-unit residential building located in an area zoned for business/commercial.

"This property is currently occupied by a multi-family structure which will removed when we build this new facility," Bovino said.

He said while the application calls for a split use of medical/retail uses, the actual plan is to make the building a medical facility, as the location is ideal for that use.

"The goal is to have this building totally occupied by medical offices," Bovino said.

While the site's current address is at Meriden Waterbury Turnpike, that will likely change as the access point for the property will, in actuality, be a side road just off that site, Bovino said.

Ultimately, the new building would just house medical offices, which require appointments, and not drop-in retail establishments, but the developer wanted to keep that option open, he said.

Bovino said the size of the building limits the the site to two or three possible tenants, tops.

"It's not a big building," Bovino said.

Sewer and sidewalk connections and modifications are also planned as part of the project, which has been analyzed and, essentially, approved by several town and state agencies.

From Dec. 30: 'Medical/Retail Building Project To Go Before Southington PZC Tuesday'