HOOKSETT – This will be the first in what is hoped to be an ongoing series of updates to the residents of Hooksett in regard to recently approved site plans, by the town of Hooksett Planning Board.
We are pleased to announce and welcome Panera Bread to Hooksett. At the planning board meeting held on Jan. 6, the board conducted a completeness review and held public hearing on a proposed development of a 3,200-square-foot 76-seat restaurant (Panera), 14,000 square feet of self-storage in three buildings, and an 833-square-foot coffee shop building pad.
The board worked with the owner of the properties at 1265 and 1271 Hooksett Road and the applicants to make site improvements to the old Kmart Plaza and granted approval of the site plan. Some of these improvements include expanded storage for the existing Cube Smart Storage, a future unspecified coffee shop building pad, substantial landscaping improvements on the property, addition of parking islands with landscaping, and an approximate reduction of 46,000 square feet in impervious areas on the property.
The addition of the parking islands will have the benefit of added safety, as this will deter vehicles from cutting across the parking lot at high speeds. The additional landscaping, in the form of a mixture of deciduous and evergreen tree plantings, will serve both beautify the property and provide some shade and screening. There is no scheduled date for construction.
The Dunkin’ located in the Irving station on Bell Avenue is moving to an adjacent blighted property located at 1090 Hooksett Road. At the regular planning board meeting held on Jan. 6, the board conducted acceptance, review and held a public hearing on a proposed Dunkin’ store, two retail pad sites, and site work to increase landscaping.
A site plan was presented to the board that incorporated many of the suggested changes given at the conceptual discussion. This property is in the Performance Zone and is subject to the “innovative land use controls” which give the planning board the authority and ability to provide some flexibility in zoning. The applicant agreed to increased landscaping in exchange for a reduction in parking spaces, agreed to incorporate an existing mature tree in the design, thus saving the tree, and a reduction in building square footage to accommodate these changes.
Additionally, the developer worked with and gave easement rights to the state Department of Transportation for the future expansion of US Route 3 (Hooksett Road) in a forward-thinking design approach.
