P&Z Approves Highland Plaza For Former Fireside Inn Site

By Andrew Gorosko

Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) members have approved extensive renovation and reconstruction plans for the 121-125 South Main Street site that formerly held The Fireside Inn, allowing the construction of Highland Plaza, a planned retail/restaurant complex.

P&Z Chairman William O’Neil, Lilla Dean, Jane Brymer, and Robert Poulin approved the Highland Plaza project at a March 15 session. Highland HC, LLC, is the applicant for the redevelopment project.

The Fireside Inn was a popular restaurant, banquet hall, and catering facility, which closed for business and was sold last year.

The Highland Plaza approval will allow the developer to build a new restaurant in a now-demolished area, which formerly was the western section of The Fireside Inn. The approval also allows the developer to do renovation and conversion work on the eastern section of the former Fireside Inn, which was not demolished.

The developer is seeking tenants for occupancy at Highland Plaza later this year. No tenant names have been disclosed.

When reconfigured, the site would contain total 33,228 square feet of enclosed space, plus a parking area for 190 vehicles.

The facilities would include a newly constructed 5,736-square-foot restaurant with 120 seats, a patio, a covered terrace, plus a wine cellar and storage area in a basement.

The eastern section of the former Fireside Inn, which was not demolished, would be converted into a two-level structure enclosing 24,612 square feet of retail space.

As part of the redevelopment project, the applicant is making improvements to have the existing structure meet applicable building, fire, safety, and handicapped-access codes.  

P&Z members stated that no signs are approved for the commercial project. To install commercial signs, the applicant would need to submit a consistent signage plan for P&Z review and approval.

The waste dumpsters for the complex must be located on a concrete pad, be enclosed, be screened from view, and be kept closed.

An existing parking area, which is located within the site’s front setback, must be eliminated as a parking area and then be landscaped.

The developer must prepare a site lighting plan for P&Z review and approval before issuance of a building permit.

In endorsing Highland Plaza, the P&Z decided that the project meets the standards and criteria for site development plans and is consistent with the requirements of B-2 (Business) zoning.

In the future, the developer plans to seek P&Z approval for a new 20,000-square-foot retail building on the site to the southeast of the existing structure.

At past public sessions on the Highland Plaza project, nearby residents expressed concerns about the traffic implications of the redeveloped complex in the congested area. The site lies just north of the hazardous five-legged intersection of South Main Street, Appleblossom Lane, Peck’s Lane, and Prospect Drive.

The residents said they fear that yet more development on the site would worsen existing hazardous traffic conditions.

Because the two-lane South Main Street (Route 25) is a state road, the traffic aspects of the Highland Plaza project are subject to review by the State Department of Transportation (DOT).

In February, the Police Commission recommended that the section of South Main Street near the complex be widened to facilitate traffic flow through the area. Unless the road is widened, southbound traffic would back up behind vehicles seeking to make a left turn into Highland Plaza’s driveway.

The Police Commission is the local traffic authority and makes traffic recommendations to the DOT.