The Greenville Planning Board received updated plans Thursday for a proposal to convert the former Antiques and Collectibles Mall of New England on Dunster Avenue into 10 apartments before voting to continue the hearing for another month.
During the previous hearing, board members requested additional information from developer Dan Hynes, particularly about how the proposed apartments would be laid out. Hynes provided those documents Thursday, but had not submitted them to the board or its administrator before that point. He had submitted additional materials, including a preliminary layout of the apartments, on Nov. 3 to Town Administrator Tara Sousa.
According to the documents Hynes submitted, the units would include seven apartments on the street-level floor and two on the upper floor. The largest units are proposed to be four bedrooms, with two baths, ranging in size from 1,800 to 2,000 square feet. There is also one proposed three bedroom unit, at 1,300 square feet. The remainder are two-bedroom apartments, ranging in size from 700 to 1,100 square feet.
The building would include a total of 17 bedrooms. There are expected to 24 parking spaces on the property. The basement level of the building is expected to remain as additional parking, storage and other accessory uses.
Chair Mike Sadowski said the layouts were helpful and that Hynes was “moving in the right direction,” but said the board had not had time to review the additional submissions, and recommended continuing the hearing at the board’s December meeting, scheduled for Dec. 8.
Assistant Fire Chief Charles Buttrick confirmed that the department had received the proposed layout, but said it lacked details such as a sprinkler design. When Hynes asked if details such as a sprinkler design plan was something the board could make a condition of approval, Sadowski said it wasn’t an issue he was prepared to take on faith.
“Not on safety,” Sadowski said. “You’re looking at putting a bunch of people in that building. I don’t want anyone getting hurt.”
Sadowski also asked for adjustments to be made to the layout plans to better outline the individual apartments and joint hallways. He also encouraged Hynes to make use of a professional engineer to lay out the plans.
“Don’t get me wrong; you’re seriously moving in the right direction, and I get your sense of urgency. I do think this is a better fit than what you were trying to do before,” Sadowski said, referring to a previous plan to convert the Antiques Mall to a wedding venue with overnight accommodations.
In other Planning Board news, the board approved an updated plan for a 55-unit development known as Barton’s Ridge.
The board had previously approved the plan, but after discovering ledge in one area where two buildings, each containing two apartments, were slated to go, developers returned to the board to ask to move the buildings to a new location, as well as to move additional units to make room for them.
After confirming the new configuration did not affect the amount of open space, the board unanimously approved the updated application.