CVS Presents Plan to Build New Store On Main Street

A brand new CVS Pharmacy could be coming to Wakefield, according to a plan presented to the Board of Appeals on Wednesday night.

The proposal calls for a 13,000 square foot building, complete with a drive-through pharmacy and up to 60 parking spaces, to be built on the site of the at 451 Main Street in downtown Wakefield.

The new building would also have a 50 percent reduced footprint from the current building on the site, which stands at 24,000 square feet. Additionally, the propsoal calls for an increase in green space on the site from 1 percent up to 15 percent.

"That includes 29 full evergreen trees and over 100 lowlying scrubs," said Phil Henry, the plan's project manager and site engineer, of RJ O'Connell and Associates, Inc. "Right now there's only about five trees and they’re mostly in the street."

Impact on Traffic
Jason Ford, the project's traffic consultant, said his firm looked into traffic implications for Armory Street, Main Street, Foster Street and West Water Street, and all the potentially affected intersections in the area.

When compared to the site being filled by another use, either another store or warehouse, Ford said the impact would be "minimal."

"We would see an increase of .6 seconds or less, which is pretty much negligable,"he said, adding that traffic lights would also not experience a drop in level of service.

"Based on our Traffic Advisory Committee Meeting, different issues were discussed and we believe we’ve addressed them," Ford said.

The project's lawyer, Brian McGrail, said another feature from CVS's proposal is a double-entrance: One in the back from the parking lot, and one out on Main Street.

"We sat down with the town planner, and he really wanted that and CVS is willing to do it," McGrail said, noting the new building is a "good development" for the town.

"This project not ony takes a delapidated building and improves it, but creates 60 new parking spaces in the downtown area," McGrail said. "They are obviously for CVS, but CVS moving will be taking stress off the current downtown situation. I think it’s a fit, when you really look at this. It fits in that spot and I really do think it works well."

Board of Appeals Reaction
The Board of Appeals brought up several issues it had with the proposed plan, including the setback from the street, plans for delivery trucks, and suggested improvements for traffic flow.

The representatives from CVS said they would have to look at several alternate designs to meet the suggestions given to them by the Board.

The matter was continued until the next Board of Appeals meeting, scheduled for July 13.