MANCHESTER, NH – A developer interested in relocating and expanding the CVS pharmacy on Mammoth Road from its current location to a more residential setting will go before the Zoning Board on Thursday night.
This is a second chance for the plan to be heard, with some revisions.
A proposal by TM Crowley & Associates to construct a CVS at the corner of Lake Avenue and Mammoth Road was rejected by the Zoning Board during the Sept. 8, 2016 meeting before a vote was taken on the proposal, after several members of the community spoke in opposition to the proposal.
UPDATE: Zoning Board denies variances to developer, rejects CVS proposal
Adjustments to the original plan include barrier landscaping and fences to increase privacy, smaller signage, repealing round-the-clock access to the Minute Clinic; installing sidewalks.
TM Crowley is known as the nation’s largest CVS developer, having overseen the development of more than 500 CVS stores throughout the country.
Although the city desires to be rid of the mostly vacant existing building, a former medical office plaza, and put the property to higher use as a tax revenue generator, many residents who objected to Plan A still intend to fight Plan B.
Angela Philbrook, for one, and her husband, for two, have both reached out to Ward 5 Alderman Tony Sapienza to voice their concerns about the project.
An attempt to reach Sapienza for comment for this story by Manchester Ink Link was unsuccessful.
“This is my neighborhood. Traffic is already congested and dangerous here,” says Angela Philbrook.
Because Tarrytown Road is one way, it has become a popular thruway to get to Lake Avenue, bypassing the light at Mammoth, and also as a main route to the Elliot Hospital. Adding more traffic to an already congested neighborhood is a recipe for trouble, says Philbrook.
Neighbor Sarah Duval is also opposed to the project, and has been using social media to leverage action from residents also in opposition to the plan to get involved. She lives across the street from the site and feels it will negatively affect her property value. A post on a Manchester-centric page garnered mostly supportive feedback, although some realists also saw some good in the move.
“It could be better for in and outs, because there are multiple roads and definitely intersections that go through there as well. It’s not really in the middle of a neighborhood either. But also this building could be larger for more products,” wrote John Dillon.
Other threads in the conversation speculated that opening the door to commercial development in a residential area would be the undoing of the neighborhood feel.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Below is the agenda item for 700 Lake Avenue, R-2 Zoning District, Ward 5. The full meeting agenda can be found here.
Tracey Roll (Agent) proposes to construct a 14,823 square-foot pharmacy with a drive-thru and clinic with one exam room, front yard and business parking in a residential district, signage as shown on plans and 8-foot-high fencing for screening around dumpster enclosure within front or street yards; seeks a variance from Sections 5.10(F)4 Convenience Retail Uses Greater than 8,000 SF, 5.10(G)6 With DriveThru Service, 5.10(H-2)1 Offices of Health Care Practitioners and Outpatient Health Care, 8.27(B) Fences Walls, 9.08(A) and (B) Signs, 10.02(F) Business Parking in Residential District and 10.09(B) Parking Setbacks, of the Zoning Ordinance, as per documents submitted through January 10, 2017.