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Board reviews retail phase 2 at 550 King Street and bank proposal; hearing continued to Aug. 6
Summary
Applicants presented retail phase 2 at 550 King Street — a 23,500 sq ft anchor retail building, support retail and a proposed bank, plus relocation of the Tuttle House and stormwater upgrades. The board and residents raised questions about traffic, cut-through access, buffering between retail and housing, and stormwater; the board continued the hearing to Aug. 6 at 7:40 p.m.
The Planning Board opened public hearings July 9 on retail phase 2 for the 550 King Street redevelopment and heard a multi-part presentation of a proposed anchor retail building, smaller retail units and a bank sited near a relocated historic Tuttle House.
TEC representatives described a two-part retail plan. A project presenter said the North development proposes a roughly 23,500-square-foot single-story anchor retail building with customer parking and a ring-road circulation pattern that separates truck loading from customer activity. "We're proposing an anchor retail tenant... a one-story commercial retail building roughly 23,500 square feet in size," the presenter said.
The South parcel would relocate the Tuttle House to act as a gateway to the retail village and accommodate a bank on an awkward L-shaped remainder parcel. The proponent emphasized stormwater upgrades, deep-sump catch basins and subsurface infiltration systems to meet aquifer-protection requirements.
Board members and residents raised multiple design and operational concerns: curb cuts and driveway spacing near the existing 550 King Street entrance, potential cut-through traffic that could let drivers avoid a nearby signal, the configuration of a bank drive-through and whether the bank driveway should be physically separated from the main circulation aisle. A resident urged a clearer ADA access plan for steep site areas and recommended a larger covered drop-off for the adjacent senior housing.
Designers said they are coordinating with local utility and water districts on sewer and pump-station needs and will present updated drawings for crosswalks, pedestrian circulation and landscape buffers. The applicant said parking for the retail and adjacent phases will be shared in future phases and that the plan includes 95 parking spaces for the senior building as part of the broader campus.
After public comment and technical questions, the board moved and voted to continue the retail-phase public hearing to Aug. 6 at 7:40 p.m. to allow peer review and submission of revised materials.
Next steps: the applicant will refine the driveway/drive-through geometry, pedestrian crossings and the façade treatment for the bank parcel and return with responses at the Aug. 6 hearing.
