Planning Board hearing continued to June 4

By Theresa Knapp 

A “wholesale with storage” facility is proposed at "0" East Main Street, a 117-acre parcel of undeveloped land near Wildwood Drive. 

Route 85 Realty Corporation, owned by Kevin Meehan of Mendon, has proposed a “191,700sf wholesale building and approximately 200 associated parking spaces on the subject property. The overall size of the undeveloped property is 116.87 acres, and the actual development parcel is to be 10 acres,” according to the special permit application. 

At a Planning Board hearing on April 16, Joseph Antonellis, attorney for the applicant, said he and his client are “admittedly frustrated” by the process. 

The board voiced concerns related to traffic, maintaining trees, and a concern that a “high cube” project would be built on the site. 

The board asked, in several ways, who would be the ultimate tenant in the massive facility. Antonellis said,  “I just don’t understand or agree that you can impose on the applicant a list of potential users in this building.” 

He said, “It is my particular opinion that, if we have a wholesale with storage, we need not tell the board” [the name off the tenant]…Whether we’re a distribution center for CVS Pharmacy distributing sundries to drugstores… or whether or not we are – and again I am using this as an example – a Riley’s [sic] Regional Wholesale Facility…I really don’t think that we can get that specific.”

Antonellis further stated the applicant would not agree to let the board determine who the tenant will be. “I want you to know it’s not just a simple situation where we can say we’ll come back to the board and make sure you like who’s going in there…If that’s the case, we’ll have to go in a different direction.” 

During public comment, residents expressed concern over traffic, including traffic lights, dangerous driveways, etc.; trees being cleared; impact on aesthetics and recreational activities; and more. 

The hearing was continued to June 4 at 7:02 p.m.