Galaxy Development Project Appears Poised to Move Forward

It’s not a done deal yet, but the plaza at the intersection of Queen Street and Loper Street appears poised to become the new home for an unnamed chain restaurant – with a bigger building than initially presented.

Patrick Doherty, principal of MidPoint Engineering and Consulting and a consultant to Galaxy Development, LLC, told the Tuesday evening that a modified site plan now includes a 7,500-square-foot restaurant. The previous plan called for a 6,200-square-foot building, which would replace the existing five buildings at the plaza just south of the Queen Street and Loper Street intersection.

But exactly what restaurant will fill the space remains a mystery.

“At this point, we aren’t going to say what the restaurant is. To display what it would look like would give it away,” Doherty said. “The project in front of you is all that they plan to develop.”

The project would take the old, worn down plaza near the and renovate it to remove everything but the bank, hoping to provide a more appealing business in the lot across from , developers said.

Doherty said during the January Planning and Zoning Commission meeting that restaurant would be “fast-serve” style but is not a fast food chain and would not contain a drive-thru. He compared the restaurant to “something like Longhorns or ” and said the company is committed to being a good neighbor.

There are some details left to be worked out, however, before the commission would be ready to give the go ahead. A vote was tabled Tuesday night to allow time to adjust plans to meet concerns regarding buffer zones for surrounding residential properties.

The proposal has drawn criticism from residents in the areas to the east and south of the proposed restaurant and many were present, but declined comment following Tuesday’s meeting.

Longtime Loper Street residents Mike Magson and Jan and Ewa Olechowski s would bring additional traffic to the otherwise “slow moving plaza” and would also draw noise and headlights late into the evening.

“Imagine looking out your back window and seeing nothing but a tall building and parking lot right there,” said Katarzyna Olechowski, daughter of Jan and Ewa.

Tenants of the “Three Gardens” 55 and older community, which abuts the plaza to the south, also expressed further concerns that construction and traffic would lead to additional trash and debris being blown onto their property.

Doherty said that after expressing concerns to the developers, they have committed to building “a much thicker buffer” within the 20-foot zone to the east and a six foot tall fence on the hill to the south, separating the development from the Three Gardens community.

Town Planner Mary Savage-Dunham said there is a lot of work to be done to determine exactly how the buffer issue will be addressed. Doherty said developers plan to meet with neighbors once a buffer plan is completed and prior to the next meeting.

Commission members including Paul Chaplisnky, Kevin Conroy and Steve Kalkowski also expressed concerns regarding traffic circulation, saying the proposed entrances are too close and would create a safety issue for those trying to exit onto Queen Street.

Kalkowski said the plan would make people “turn their head almost 180 degrees” in order to see traffic heading northbound on Queen Street.

“We wanted to keep the circulation within the site flowing appropriately. There is a curb there that will force traffic along Queen Street to slow considerably, but we will take a look at it,” Doherty said.