Date: Fri 14-Nov-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

P&Z-Sand-Hill-Plaza-video

Full Text:

Bid Renewed For New Building At Sand Hill Plaza

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

R2D Corporation has returned to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) with

more detailed plans for its proposed 6,000-square-foot freestanding store in

the parking lot of Sand Hill Plaza on South Main Street.

R2D of Hartford had submitted plans for the project to the P&Z last August,

but withdrew them after P&Z members determined the proposal lacked adequate

technical details. R2D is seeking a special exception to the zoning

regulations for the building which might house a video store.

The owner of the property is DD Newtown Partners, Limited Partnership, a

corporation chartered in Delaware. The plaza is managed by The Hutensky Group,

a shopping center management firm.

Besides constructing a 6,000-square-foot store, DD Newtown Partners wants to

expand the plaza's parking lot to make up for some of the parking spaces lost

to building construction, and also to provide more convenient parking for the

section of the plaza which formerly held Superstar Sports, Picaso Restaurant,

and Duchess of Newtown.

The plaza now holds 1,065 parking spaces. If the changes are made, there would

be a net loss of 21 spaces.

In his report on the development proposal, Zoning Enforcement Officer William

Nicholson said the applicant is seeking two wall signs for the proposed retail

building, but the zoning regulations allow only one such sign. Also, the

applicant is seeking more area covered with signage than allowed by the

regulations, Mr Nicholson reported.

The town health department noted that the wastewater disposal plans for the

proposed building require approval by the state Department of Environmental

Protection (DEP). The plaza is served by a small self-contained sewer system

to which the new building would be connected. Such small sewer systems are

monitored by DEP.

Attorney Robert Hall, representing R2D Corporation at a November 6 public

hearing, said the store would be erected in a section of the parking lot

little used for parking by shoppers. It is the area lying east of the General

Nutrition Center.

Mr Hall said he believes the applicant has resolved the technical deficiencies

of the initial submission. The town's zoning regulations concerning the

minimum number of parking spaces required for commercial areas generally

exceed what is realistically needed for parking, Mr Hall said. Mr Hall

provided P&Z members with numerous color photos of the Sand Hill Plaza parking

lot to illustrate his points on parking.

Architect Arnold Gans of New Haven provided P&Z members with renderings of the

building which would be constructed. The structure is designed to house a

single commercial tenant, he said.

The building would be built of the same materials used to construct the plaza,

he said. The structure's size, colors and roofing treatment would be similar

to what is at the plaza, he added. The structure DD Partners wants to build

would be visually consistent with the existing plaza, he said.

Because the building would be freestanding and surrounded by parking areas on

all four sides, all faces of the building would be finished off, and there

would be no obvious back end of the store, he said.

Eve Barakos-Landino of Barakos-Landino, Inc, of Hamden, presented a study on

how building another structure at the plaza would affect area traffic flow.

Adding a new store would not change the "level of service," Ms Barakos-Landino

said. A level of service reflects an intersection's ability to handle traffic

flow.

Sand Hill Plaza typically has many empty parking spaces, she said.

Although a shopping center trade group recommends that there be one parking

space for every 1,000 square feet of commercial area at a shopping center, if

the applicant's plans are approved, there would be 5.6 spaces per 1,000 square

feet of store area, she said.

Engineer Larry Marsiglio, representing R2D Corporation, said the existing

small sewage treatment plant at Sand Hill Plaza can handle added wastewater

flow from a new store.

P&Z member James Boylan asked the applicant why DD Newtown Partners does not

use existing vacant commercial space at the plaza in the mini-mall for a new

tenant.

Robert Dombi of The Hutensky Group, the property's management and leasing

firm, said the company is seeking tenants to occupy vacant space in the

plaza's mini-mall. An entryway to the mini-mall lies between the empty

commercial spaces formerly occupied by Duchess Restaurant and Picaso

Restaurant.

The largest available commercial space in the mini-mall is only 3,500 square

feet, Mr Dombi said.

The Hutensky Group has a letter of intent with an undisclosed potential tenant

for occupancy of the proposed 6,000-square-foot building, Mr Dombi said.

In explaining the application for a freestanding building in August, Mr Dombi

said a business such as a video rental store must provide customers with a

high level of convenience, plus easy access and egress.

The tenant of a new building would be able to cancel its lease if the Super

Stop & Shop supermarket should close, Mr Dombi has said, noting that the

supermarket would serve as a "draw" to attract customers to a new video store.

A new tenant at Sand Hill Plaza would want to be physically closer to the

supermarket than the mini-mall allows, thus resulting in the request for a

visible freestanding building in the parking lot, he said.

Mr Dombi said plaza management has had no luck in creating business interest

in a past proposed 21,450-square-foot addition for which former plaza owner

Sand Hill Limited Partnership had gained P&Z approval.

In December 1995, Sand Hill Limited Partnership sold the plaza for $20 million

to DD Newtown Partners. The sale was transacted through DD Newtown Partners'

financial arm known as DRA Advisors, Inc, of Manhattan. FDP Newtown, Inc, a

Connecticut-chartered corporation, is a general partner of DD Newtown

Partners.

Although the application to build the 6,000-square-foot building was the

subject of a public hearing November 6, no member of the public commented on

the proposal.

P&Z members are expected to act on the application at an upcoming session.