BY IRENE LABOMBARDE
A 98,000-square-foot Kohl’s department store is proposed between Kilton and Ridgewood roads, along the route 101/114 interchange.
According to the conceptual plan, Kohl’s and a Texas Roadhouse restaurant would sit on 14.5 acres, and abut the Ridgewood at Bedford condominiums and the Briston Manor assisted-living facility. The property, owned by John D. Sullivan Jr. of Bedford, is adjacent to Stop and Shop and Home Goods and across from the Bedford Mall.
The Planning Board was to review the plan at its July 16 meeting, but because of time constraints, the hearing was postponed until Aug. 20.
Paul Goldberg, chairman of the Planning Board, said this is a preliminary concept plan and it was too early to make any predictions.
“Unfortunately, the time constraints hurt us,” said Goldberg, regarding postponing the Kohl’s plan. “I’m sure we will hear when they come back next month, but it’s premature to conjecture.”
Under the plan, all access to the development would be via Kilton Road at the traffic light in front of C.R. Sparks restaurant. The proposed Kohl’s would sit on the northern end of the lot, near Ridgewood Road. The 230-seat Texas Roadhouse would be on the western end, along the access ramps, with a 487-space parking lot facing Kilton Road and between the two buildings.
Kohl’s would be built according to the company’s recently updated prototype. The main body of the building will be Quickbrick, which was also used at the Target and Lowe’s buildings on Route 3, along with porcelain tiled front entrances.
In a memo to the Planning Board, Rick Sawyer, town planning director, expressed concerns about the restaurant’s proximity to residences and the need to properly contend with headlights, cooking odors, dumpsters, hours of operation, noise and lighting. The project would also require a waiver for the required 50-foot setback along Ridgewood Drive.
A traffic study for the site has not been performed, but the town would definitely require one, said Goldberg.
The proposal will go before the Planning Board at its next meeting on Monday, Aug. 20, at 7 p.m., at Bedford Meeting Room, BCTV Studio, on Meetinghouse Road.
New bank
Planners are also trying to decide if a new undisclosed bank proposed for the corner of Nashua Road and Route 101 is a good fit for its location.
“I have been in discussion with banks and they are expremely interested in this visible and desirable property,” said Gregory Telge, owner of the property on the corner of Route 101 and Nashua Road. He did not have a specific tenant lined up, and called the plan a low-volume use building such as a bank or law office.
The 2,800-square-foot bank would sit next to Coldwell Banker real estate company on Route 101. The property is about 1 acre zoned commercial and within the Historic District.
Town Councilor Bob Young and Town Manager Russ Marcoux both expressed concern about the volume of traffic, particularly once the nearby Bedford High School houses upperclassmen who drive.
“It’s not that the building is an issue, I’m just bothered by the traffic,” said Marcoux.
Chairman Paul Goldberg is also concerned about how the applicant’s plans would fit in with the state Department of Transportation’s 10-year plan for Route 101, especially at the intersection of Nashua and Bell Hill roads where a bridge may be built.
Retirement housing
Several residents from the Mews, located off Meetinghouse Road, were at the July 16 meeting to gather information about an retirement rental apartment complex in their neighborhood and what issues the Planning Board would raise.
According to Ted Kielar, vice president of the Mews Association Board, this is the third development that has been proposed for the site.
“We’ve gone through this before with other developers who chose not to build,” said Kielar. “I personally have not decided where we stand (because) I haven’t seen the final plan.”
The concept proposal for the retirement development at 196 Meetinghouse Road and Kensington Lane, was presented by Melissa Leclerc of Holiday Retirement Homes. She said because no medical services are provided, the proposed 55 and older residence is considered a congregant care facility for the elderly and not assisted-living.
The plan calls for a four-story 97-unit building of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes. There is no buy-in fee, and all meals, utilities, activities, housekeeping and transportation are included in the monthly rent.