Starbucks and other retail spaces to be built in Demoulas-owned section of Tuscan Village – The Union Leader

Plan for coffee shop plus other retail spaces submitted.

Developers submitted a site plan to build 9,900 square feet of retail including a Starbucks in two buildings facing the new Market Basket and Homesense buildings on Central Street in Salems Tuscan Village.

One building will include a 2,400-square-foot Starbucks cafe and another 1,850 square feet of attached retail space. The other 5,650-square-foot building will be broken up into four equally sized retail units.

The Starbucks will have 66 seats and a drive-thru, according to Town Planner Ross Moldoff.

The property, owned by Demoulas Super Markets, Inc., already includes an 80,000-square-foot Market Basket attached to a 26,000-square-foot Homesense and three other retail spaces. The 15,000-square-foot space next to Homesense will be a Sierra Trading Post. Moldoff said signage is up, and construction crews are working on the interior right now.

Homesense and Sierra Trading Post are both owned by TJX Companies, based in Framingham, Mass.

Developers met with the planning board Thursday night to discuss the site plan for the two new buildings. The board has yet to approve the site plan.

There were relatively minor concerns, Moldoff said.

Moldoff said the police department had concerns about traffic, particularly with drivers still unfamiliar with the new roadways inside Tuscan Village running the stop signs at the intersection of Village Way and Central Street. Moldoff said some recommendations were made to improve safety.

Additionally, consultants will be reviewing traffic, drainage, signage and other matters in the weeks ahead. Moldoff expects the Demoulas project will come back before the planning board by its 14 meeting if all goes as planned.

During the same meeting, the board heard conceptual plans for Blue Sky Towers of North Reading, Mass., to construct a 150-foot-tall cell tower on about 2,000-square-feet of land leased at 350 North Broadway.

Moldoff said the 4-acre parcel is owned by the Bien Soigne salon and spa at that location.

The board discussed some issues with the plan as it was proposed. Moldoff said the height of the tower exceeds the ordinance limits for the area, which is a maximum of 120 feet, and it does not provide the required fall zone radius which is required to be equal to the height of the structure.

If it goes forward, theyll have to get a waiver, Moldoff said.

Moldoff said there were also concerns about the towers ability to comply with the visual guidelines. The tower would be relatively close to Route 28 and would not be screened by trees.

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Starbucks and other retail spaces to be built in Demoulas-owned section of Tuscan Village - The Union Leader