Hearings begin for Plymouth Rubber, hotel & more

An architect’s rendering of the proposed hotel and restaurant on Royall St. Courtesy of Group One Partners Inc.

An architect’s rendering of the proposed 138-room hotel and restaurant on Royall Street. The hotel would be located between Boston Mutual Life Insurance Co. and Reebok. (Courtesy of Group One Partners Inc.)

It’s going to be a busy winter for the Canton Planning and Zoning boards with several big developments vying for approvals, headlined by a mixed-use project at the former Plymouth Rubber site and an upscale hotel/restaurant proposal on Royall Street.

The two aforementioned projects, which both received widespread support at the 2015 town meeting, recently filed for special permits and site plan approval and both are hoping to hit the ground running as soon as this spring.

Meanwhile, there are two other major development proposals currently in the works in Canton Center: a condominium/commercial project at the former Emerson and Cuming factory site, which recently secured special permits and zoning relief from the ZBA despite an ongoing easement dispute, and a new gas station and convenience store at the location of the existing Shell station at 725 Washington Street.

The latter proposal, submitted by the current owner of the property, Rhode Island-based Colbea Enterprises, went through its first round of hearings earlier this month, and the response from a handful of residents and at least a few board members was lukewarm at best.

Current plans for the project call for the existing building and fueling islands to be razed and replaced with a “state of the art” service station and a Seasons Corner Market, which would be “co-branded” with a business such as Marylou’s or Honey Dew. The owner would also install new underground storage tanks and upgrade the existing stormwater management system.

But while the applicant’s attorney, Paul Schneiders, characterized it as a major improvement over what is currently there, a number of residents who attended the January 14 zoning board hearing spoke critically of the proposal, with some suggesting it was too large for the site and others expressing concern over traffic impacts. Perhaps the biggest sticking point, however, was the planned elimination of the auto repair shop on the site, which at least a few people described as an important downtown “amenity” and urged the applicant to find a way to preserve it.

A week earlier at the Planning Board hearing on the project, member Jeremy Comeau also made a plea for the repair shop, which he said is far more valuable to downtown patrons than another convenience store.

“I think it’s a shame if that were to leave, and I know a lot of people who have called me and have contacted me agree with that,” he said.

ZBA member John McCourt made similar remarks at the January 14 meeting; however, members of both boards also acknowledged that they are in no position to regulate commerce or free trade in the town.

Schneiders added that the repair shop was not likely to survive one way or the other — a harsh reality that was later confirmed by his client, Angelo Ruo of Colbea Enterprises.

“You can’t survive today with a three- or five-bay repair shop,” Ruo told the ZBA members. “It doesn’t work; you can’t make any money.”

After hearing from the applicant and several residents, the zoning board voted to continue the matter until February 11, while the Planning Board intends to take it up again on February 17 …

See this week’s Canton Citizen to read the full version of this story, including updates on the Plymouth Rubber and hotel developments. Not a subscriber? Click here to order your subscription today (also available in digital form).

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