AMESBURY — Almost a year and a half ago, the CVS proposed at the intersection of Main and Macy streets was dead in the water when developers faced a backlash from neighbors and town leaders.
Now, it's a different story.
The Planning Board has unanimously approved a CVS and a Victorian-style building on the corner of Route 110 and Main Street that has storefronts on the first floor and residences above.
In addition, the board approved a historical preservation special permit for 250 Main St., the former waterworks building, which still has a "50-50" chance of being refurbished in a complicated deal that's still being worked out, according to project manager Nicholas Cracknell.
The previous design had a large CVS building surrounded by a lagoon of parking spaces, similar to other CVS buildings in the area.
The new design is similar to the Salisbury Square CVS design — a clapboarded building that fronts on the street — and a replica of a Victorian home that once stood at the intersection.
The new plan will still have parking, but it will be mostly out of view, behind the building and landscaping.
The original design wasn't the only thing to anger abutters. Developers had requested to expand the commercial zoning line at Route 110 and Main Street. Nearby homeowners blasted that proposal, calling it commercial sprawl and it was eventually voted down.
In came a new plan spearheaded by Cracknell, who proposed not only new zoning for the intersection but for all of Route 110.
The zoning on Route 110 was the original zoning first passed by voters in 1971. Amesbury was one of the last towns in the state to approve zoning and it passed by just one vote.
The previous zoning regulations on Route 110 called for setbacks of 20 feet, leaving small buildable space.
The new regulations give developers the option to have buildings built closer to the road to encourage more foot traffic on sidewalks. The changes call for encouraging mixed-use buildings with retail on the first floor and residential above, reducing the front yard setback from 20 to 5 feet, and allowing ground signs in lieu of large, freestanding pole signs.
Cracknell called the zoning changes and the CVS project a "neighbor-driven project" and credited abutter Lars Johannessen. Johannessen's wife, Karen Solstad, is a Planning Board member and recused herself from deliberations and the votes.
"It took a lot of work to get the project through in a way that satisfied the neighborhood," Johannessen said.
Cracknell, who organized meetings with neighborhood groups and developers, said it's a good day for Amesbury.
He not only credits the neighbors for opposing the project and its big-box design, but also the Planning Board members and Municipal Council members who voted down the first proposed zoning changes.
"I think people should give the system credit for not making that happen and not enabling the developers to do a 1970s auto-oriented design on that site plan," Cracknell said. "At the end of the day, they listened to the neighbors, looked with a critical eye on what was proposed, and I think they did the right thing."
The two new buildings will transform Route 110 and Main Street.
The project involves buying six buildings: Amesbury House of Pizza, Whistling Kettle restaurant, a single-family home at 244 Main St., and the three buildings next to the Whistling Kettle on Route 110 that are mixed-use and commercial.
Amesbury House of Pizza, Whistling Kettle restaurant and 244 Main St. would be knocked down to make way for CVS and the Victorian-style building. The two buildings would have a common driveway, drainage system and sewers.
The assessed value of those two proposed buildings will be more than the six buildings combined and will mean an extra $35,000 to $40,000 in tax revenue to the town, Cracknell said.
As part of the deal with developers, Apostolos and Lambrini Tasis, who own the building where Amesbury House of Pizza is located, would become the owners of the completed Victorian building.
Tasis' daughter, Kathy Randall, was on hand as Planning Board members voted.
"It's been a long process, but it appears to be moving forward," Randall said after the meeting.
Randall said her family is exploring options for which businesses will occupy the first floor.
"It's a beautiful building and much in keeping with what used to be on the corner," Randall said.
The waterworks deal involves moving one to two buildings to the right of Whistling Kettle over to the waterworks property on Main Street.
Negotiations and site reviews are ongoing with the property owner of the waterworks building.
The developers, Tropic Star Development of Hampton, N.H., would pay to move the building or buildings.
Cracknell said the one or two buildings are needed to help finance the cost of refurbishing the waterworks building, which he expected to cost $250,000.
The road is not over for the project. Developers still have to get approval from conservation commissioners and the Historical Commission.
Demolition of the buildings will be done in late winter and construction should start in early spring.
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