City, Developer Face Off Over CVS

“Do not smirk,” snapped the developer. ​“I sat here and respectfully listened to your presentation, Matt.”

“I’m not smirking,” responded the city’s development chief.

“Yes, you are.”

“Look, this design is a generic unit B that I can find 800 times when I search Google images and it is an insult. I apologize for smirking, but somebody missed the boat here.”

That kind of frank interaction usually takes place in private government offices.

This one — between developer Scott Weymouth and city development chief Matthew Nemerson — erupted in public, as a private dispute over how to develop a stretch of Upper Whalley Avenue burst into public view.

The occasion was a public meeting with Westville neighbors at Mauro-Sheridan School Wednesday night called to discuss Weymouth’s quest to put a new CVS pharmacy at the intersection of Whalley and Dayton, where different developers had once unsuccessfully tried to put a suburban-style Cumberland Farms convenience store and gas station.

Nemerson (pictured at left in the photo) said he wanted some sign that Weymouth’s team at Arista Development LLC had listened to concerns raised in previous conversations with the city about the site. He didn’t see it in the design Weymouth’s team revealed.

He argued that a traditional, suburban big box-style store with lots of parking is not in keeping with the Westville aesthetic. Nor is it where he believes the city is headed in developing walkable urban environments friendly to young families, adding value to nearby properties.

“We respect the investment, but you had four months to come up with something better than this generic unit out of the book,” Nemerson said.

The meeting was the second time that the public got to hear from Arista, which is acquiring nine parcels of land near the intersection with hopes of building a 13,225 square-foot store that would not only have more parking, but also a drive-thru. The existing CVS at 1168 Whalley Ave. is smaller and has no drive-thru. CVS plans to abandon that site. (Read about the first public meeting here.)

CVS is the second chain to try to win over Westville neighbors in support of developing the corner. Cumberland Farms announced plans two years ago to put up a 4,500 square foot convenience store and 12 gas pumps at the same corner. Those plans flopped with neighbors as well as the City Plan Department, and never materialized. (Read about how that unfolded here, here, here, and here.)

Wednesday’s meeting was the first time that Mayor Toni Harp’s administration shared its vision for the corner, a vision that Nemerson said is in keeping with the ideas of new urbanist compact, walkable communities.

Nemerson presented an alternative plan for the site. It featured a mixed-use development with commercial space at the street level, and 35 or more apartments above. CVS has made it clear that it is not interested in building a store with housing above it, according to Weymouth.

So, Nemerson also presented a plan (pictured above) that would revitalize the CVS at its current site and add the drive-thru. ​“We think the north end can be just as dynamic as Westville center,” he said. Nemerson said that neighbors should not feel frightened that the CVS would pull up stakes if they don’t support the developer’s idea. He also suggested that the city is in contact with a number of developers who would be willing to construct something at that site more in line with the city’s vision if neighbors were interested in such a development.

That of course would mean Arista, which has a contract to purchase the properties that would need to be demolished to make way for the new CVS, would have to step aside, and the team gave no signs Wednesday night that they were willing to relinquish their plans for the site.

Weymouth (pictured above) said CVS has seen the plan to add a drive-thru to the existing store, but rejected it because the corporation wants to build a bigger store. ​“And if [CVS] were interested in doing that, they could have done it a long time ago,” he said. The other advantage of building a new store is that the old store stays open while the new store is being built, he said.

The developers presented an updated version of their design for the new, larger CVS. The biggest change: a reduction from 83 parking spaces to 66 spaces. They also completed a traffic study and found that the new store wouldn’t add more than one or two additional cars during peak travel hours of 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., which would be negligible. The developers would need to go before the Board of Zoning Appeals to get a variance that would allow for the reduction in parking spaces.

The consensus in the room was that neither vision for the site is quite the right fit. On the one hand neighbors said they want the CVS to stay in the neighborhood, but weren’t terribly impressed with the generic style of the new building. Some praised the ambition that the city was showing and its concern with the Westville aesthetic, but didn’t see how it would ever come to fruition.

“We have plenty of empty store fronts in Westville center,” one neighbor said. ​“I just don’t see this happening in Westville.”

Pam Allen (pictured) argued that in the city’s vision, there wouldn’t be enough affordable housing. ​“If the rent is going to be $1,700, that’s not going to be affordable,” she said. She also raised concerns that a new CVS won’t generate very many new jobs for local people.

Chris Heitmann (pictured), executive director of the Westville Village Renaissance Alliance, sought a middle ground: ​“Is it possible to achieve some compromise?” Heitmann echoed Nemerson’s characterization of the plan for the CVS, calling it ​“cookie-cutter.” ​“I hope that we can move toward development that is less about the needs of drivers and more about the people who live here and walk here every day,” Heitmann said. The developers said they are open to aesthetic changes, but they need the city and neighbors to be more specific about what they want.

Upper Westville Alder Richard Furlow, who favors the new store, organized the meeting. He said that the dialogue will continue and he will work to corral the various concerns and ideas of neighbors.