Shopping center proposed in Henniker

The Henniker planning board Wednesday night heard a presentation pitching the idea of a shopping plaza on Old Concord Road, complete with a gas station and convenience store, a grocery store, café and bank, and received the brainstorm rather warmly.

Dennis Sturms, owner of Back Bay Stone on Old Concord Road, proposed a project on roughly seven acres near the intersection of Old Concord Road and Route 202/9. Though no official plan has been filed with the town, Sturms and engineer Karl Dubay of The Dubay Group, Inc approached the board Wednesday to unveil the plan and absorb some early feedback.

“I grew up here,” Sturms, who was raised in Contoocook said. “I want to do a project I am proud of and that people are proud of. I’m not trying to save money or cut corners, and I think this aesthetically reflects what [I’m] about. I want to work with my neighbors and with the community and get feedback and incorporate it, to have this be good for everybody.”

The response from the board was almost all positive. Though a few concerns regarding traffic and whether the intersection at 202/9 will have to undergo further adjustment were raised, the majority of those on the board who spoke indicated the plan was the kind of project suited for the end of town in which it is proposed, rather than closer to downtown where several similar plans have failed.

That warm reception was in large part thanks to the legwork already done by Sturms and Dubay, who presented a comprehensive proposal. The layout calls for a 35,000-square foot grocery store – about half the size of a typical “supermarket,” Dubay said – as well as a small café with 40 seats, a bank with a drive-thru, a convenience store and a gas station with a car wash.

The aesthetics of the lot from 202/9 were taking into consideration, Dubay said, and the buildings were angled and slanted to reflect the most pleasing positioning so as to avoid a “linear strip” effect.

The layout also takes into consideration and allows traffic flow for deliveries from large trucks, contains protected walkways between the buildings on site and allows for water coming from offsite to be intercepted and channeled away before it reaches the location of the buildings.

The flow of traffic within the site was also mapped out, with several entrances and exits, including an in-only access made so because it would be unsafe to exit at the bottom corner of the property.

“This is a little bit more than what you would normally see, like a sketch on the back of a napkin,” Dubay said. “But if we brought in a sketch on the back of a napkin, all these questions would be saying, what about this, what about that, so we did have to do a minimum amount of due diligence knowing this stuff would work.”

Sturms and Dubay also took Henniker’s concerns into consideration. Noting the often generic look of retail projects, Dubay promised to tailor the appearance of the buildings and property to Henniker’s aesthetics desires, at least as much as was possible when working with retail businesses.

“I know this planning board is going to be very particular on architecture, landscaping, lighting, ambiance,” Dubay said. “We have a lot of respect for what this board is trying to do in carrying the aesthetic character of development. As Dennis is talking to a lot of [potential] users, he’s telling them right off the bat, be ready to do something that Henniker would like, not just a cookie-cutter prototype store. He’s telling them already, a sardine can is not going to cut it here. It’s going to have to be elevated to the next level. Dennis told me right off the bat this is not going to be a sea of pavement. It’s definitely an interactive process.”

The board seemed to be grateful for the attention to detail and thorough studies already undertaken.

“I appreciate the fact that you are doing what you said,” board member Terri Stamps said in addressing Sturms, “and that it’s not just nice words.”

The only real concern raised by the board related to traffic, and whether changes would be necessary near the turnoff to Old Concord Road. To that end, town planner Mark Fougere was attending a scoping conference with the Department of Transportation in Concord on Thursday morning (after Villager press time), where many of those concerns were likely to be raised.

There was little community comment provided at the meeting, though Dennis Lamphear, owner of StoneFalls Gardens, a business not far from the proposed site, pledged his support of the plan.

“I think it would be a good start for a project on Old Concord Road,” Lamphear said. “That’s where it belongs, that’s where the town fathers wanted it, and that’s what we should do with all our land down there.”

Wednesday’s meeting was merely an informal discussion with the board, to unveil the initial plans and receive early feedback. Having heard the positive response, Sturms and Dubay can continue moving forward and file the official plans with the town, at which time the process of turning the brainstorm into reality begins.

“We are excited to be part of the team, excited to be here in Henniker,” Dubay said. “If you’re going to do something here, I think you would want to have it this type of quality.”