A hotel and convention center may be good for economic development, but an abutter reminded the town Planning Board that the project would have a big impact on nearby neighborhoods.

If constructed, the hotel would be the tallest building in town at nearly 70 feet, according to planning director Rick Sawyer. Next to it would be a 31,000-square-foot convention center, larger than the Wayfarer Convention Center and the C.R. Sparks event center. The complex would be on the South River Road property owned by James Dwire, between Harvey Road and Technology Drive, about 1 mile from the airport access road.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for a landmark building in town,” Sawyer said.

The company backing the plan, Leed Developmen LLC, is speaking with several hotel brands, Dan Blais, the project manager told the Bedford Planning Board at its Monday, Sept. 22, meeting. Blais declined to name the brands.

The 174-unit hotel could be all suites, all regular rooms or a mixture of the two, depending upon which brand is selected. Blais said the hotel would have a restaurant that would probably be separate from a catering service in the convention center.

One abutter warned that the hotel was too high and close to her River Glen townhouse, across Technology Drive. Angie Zachhuber said the facility would be visible from her kitchen, bedroom and living room.

“We would have this hotel right in front of us,” Zachhuber said. “If it’s seven stories high, there can be no privacy any more.”

Zachhuber, whose two sons, ages 5 and 7, attend Peter Woodbury School, said the driveway from the back of the hotel-convention center to Technology Drive would be between two school bus stops. In her community of 132 townhouses in River Glen, there are 60 children, she said. Kensington, a similar residential neighborhood, is also nearby.

There is no timeframe for the project, but Blais suggested he can be back before the board sooner, rather than later.

“I do know they are well in the process of their due diligence and that will continue to move forward,” he said. “I know they’re anxious to move this project along. That’s what’s been communicated to me.”

Sawyer said the town would be taking a close look at the design of the building.

“We would have to clearly see what they anticipate,” Sawyer said. “I think the applicant will clearly need to show how this sits in the environment and how its seen from vantage points.”

Plans OK’d
In other business, the Planning Board approved a 2,400- square-foot bank with a drivethrough at Route 101 and Nashua Road. The owner will have to contribute about $18,000 to the total cost of expanding the intersection, the Planning Board ruled.

The bank has yet to be selected, according to Andy Smith, a member of Route 101 Nashua Road Realty, the corporation that owns the land.

Also, the Planning Board said Granite State Cabinetry, at 384 Route 101, could construct a second, two-story building to the right of the one that currently exists. At nearly 9,000 square feet, it would nearly double the existing facility. Frank Morris, the owner, said he wanted to move his business into the larger building and lease out the older one to complementary businesses.

“This was in planning before the economy crashed,” Morris said. “I’m planning on the economy coming back.”