CVS still considering Mattapoisett location

Nov 30, 2011

A CVS pharmacy at the southwest corner of North Street and County Road is still on the table for discussion.

Paul Beck, representing the developing firm Gershman Brown Crowley, approached the Planning Board Nov. 21 for an informal meeting on how to move forward with the project.

Chairman Thomas Tucker said the town’s bylaws and an increase in traffic are major concerns.

Property owner Wayne Walega confirmed last December that he had talked with CVS about the 1.3-acre property, which also contains the former Seaport Village Ice Cream & Coffee Shoppe and Mayhew Valet Pro Cleaners building, the Post Office and an apartment building.

Beck said this week that everything is still up in the air, and that the meeting was simply to figure out how to move forward.

Access to the 13,000-square-foot building would be on County Road and North Street, and the property would hold more than 60 parking spaces.

Tucker said town bylaws deny a business a drive-thru in the “village business” district, which stretches along Route 6 in town.

Some CVS pharmacies offer drive-thru service.

“Our bylaws are specific,” Tucker said. “And they were designed to keep cookie-cutter businesses out. It will affect the whole look of the town.”

Tucker also said Beck offered to do a traffic study immediately, but Tucker didn’t think the winter was a good time for the study.

“You’re looking at tripling or quadrupling the amount of traffic in the summer,” Tucker said. “Why do it now?”

“We like this site,” Beck said. “And we have a number of options to consider. We’re going to take the comments from the meeting, talk with our engineers and see what works.”