BELCHERTOWN — A new Starbucks will move into one end of a strip mall off North Main Street next May, in the same spot once home to Hawley’s Family Restaurant that closed a decade ago.
Starbucks will remodel the internal and external design of the 3,600-square-foot space at 151 North Main St. to match the look of company’s cafes nationwide. Development firm Colvest-Belchertown LLC intends to demolish the 2,800 square feet space at the end of the building to make room for a drive thru before the redesign.
Besides creating space for a drive-thru, Colvest plans to repave some areas before leasing the property to Starbucks, said Frank Colaccino, president of The Colvest Group LTD.
Colaccino hopes to begin renovations in February or March and open in May, depending on when the Planning Board and Conservation Commission approve the project.
“It’s already an approved piece of property and we’re not adding any new buildings, we’re not adding any new pavement, so we’re not expecting any issues,” he said.
Colvest presented the plans for the new Starbucks to the Planning Board on Sept. 26. The board expressed concerns about the internal traffic of the area, not only pertaining to pedestrians but also car traffic in and out of the complex.
“Its really close to traffic way,” Town Planner Doug Albertson said. “When people try to make left turns, or even right turns, they get frustrated because they can’t do it, and [when] they try, [they] block traffic.”
Albertson noted that biggest problem is the curb cuts before the Federal-North Main intersection, which the board expressed interest in closing for years. Another curb cut on North Main Street presents the same issues. However, MassDOT did not approve closing off the curb cuts or redesigning the area. The engineers designing the Starbucks will present an adjusted plan including the feedback from the Planning Board at a meeting on Tuesday.
“They’re totally happy with someone coming in and using that place,” Albertson said. “We’d like to get more business moving into town so we are happy with that.”
A pet food supply store Pet Value has previously signed the lease for the property, but later changed its mind.
“I think there’s a lot of Starbucks fans in town, and I think the community is going to see it as a place to congregate and meet people and have their coffees and teas and order their special drinks,” Colaccino said.
Emilee Klein can be reached at eklein@gazettenet.com
