With some concerns voiced about parking and traffic impact on the surrounding neighborhoods, the first look at the redevelopment proposed for the old Benny’s plaza off Court Street got generally good reviews at a joint meeting of the Select Board and Planning Board Tuesday night.
The conceptual plan unveiled shows the seven-acre plaza at 179 Court St. demolished, replaced by a four-story, 184-unit senior living complex. The facility would have mostly studio and one-bedroom apartments, spread across independent living, assisted living and memory care units.
Pioppi’s Liquors, which has a long term lease for their site, would remain in place. Closer to Court Street, the old bank building and drive through kiosk, a former Fotomat, would be demolished to make way for two new three-story buildings with retail space on the ground floor and residential units above.
In the middle of the property, the developer proposes a dog park, two pickle ball courts and a community common, all open to the public. The current expanse of asphalt at the plaza would be “greened” with numerous trees and landscaped areas. It retains 173 parking spaces, spread around the site.
“We are excited to bring this senior living community to Plymouth and we look forward to going through the full process with the town,” Douglas Manz, a partner at HYM Investment Group in Boston, told the boards.
The development is a joint venture of HYM, NexCore Group and Experience Senior Living, both of Denver. NexCore will own the finished project, Manz said, and Experience Senior Living will operate the facility. The group has an agreement to buy the 7-acre plaza, subject to town approvals for the project.
Before Tuesday’s presentation, Manz and others from the development group have been meeting privately with town officials and abutters to the property to refine the preliminary design.
“This project aligns with a lot of the community goals we’ve seen through our long-term planning processes, including meeting the needs of seniors to age in place,” said Lauren Lind, assistant town manager, who leads the town’s planning and community development offices.
Lind told the boards the developer has been responsive to the town’s early suggestions to create public spaces on the site and include some affordable housing units in the two buildings close to Court Street.
“This wasn’t my first choice. That being said, I have to say that these firms have been very good to work with,” said Select Board member Richard Quintal, who participated in several earlier meetings with the HYM group. “I am happy with it and I hope it’s very successful.”
Tuesday’s presentation was informal. Moving forward, Lind said the town is now drafting a proposed development agreement to help shape the formal permitting process. The project will be reviewed by the Conservation Commission, the Planning Board and ultimately require a Special Permit from the Zoning Board of Appeals. All of those steps will include public meetings.
Steven Bolotin, chair of the Planning Board, noted there is a lot of permitting work to be done and community input needed, but at this preliminary stage he said the project “appears to be a good fit”.
Bolotin suggested the next step in the public process should be a joint meeting of the North Plymouth Steering Committee, the Plymouth Center Steering Committee, and the Planning Board, to hear directly from the developer.
“I see that meeting as a way for all of us to hear more and bounce ideas amongst each other, with the developer there, to come up with the best project that fits in this neighborhood,” Bolotin said.
In response, Everett Malaguti, vice chair of the North Plymouth Steering Committee who spoke Tuesday night, said he welcomed the idea of having the joint meeting to air all concerns, especially about parking and traffic. He reminded both boards of the recent prolonged controversy in North Plymouth over the Pulte project a 163 unit condominium development approved over the neighborhood’s objections.
“We welcome the discussion and we are going to listen, but I want the developer to know that we have been under a lot of pressure in North Plymouth recently and all wounds have not healed yet,” Malaguti said.
Michael Cohen can be reached at michael@plymouthindependent.org.