Engineer outlines plans for new MidState building on N. Colony

By George Moore
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — The Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday got its first look at a proposal to build a medical office building on North Colony Road for use by MidState Medical Center.
The three-story, 47,592square-foot building would be home to a number of medical services offered by Mid State, said Dennis Ceneviva, a lawyer for the project. Readco is the building’s developer.
The building would be built on an unused area at the Stop & Shop plaza at 890 N. Colony Road that was approved for retail use about three years ago.
The building would have about 238 parking spaces, said John Plante, an engineer for the project. Unlike the former retail configuration approved for the site, Plante said parking spaces would surround the building.
Plante said the building would feature heavy landscaping, including 88 trees, 7,800 shrubs and about 1,500 other plantings.
The office building would be about twice the size of a previously approved retail building, Plante said, but would not create significant changes in traffic patterns. The building would generate more peakhour traffic on Fridays but less on Saturdays, he said.
The primary entrance to the building would be from North Main Street, though visitors also would be able to enter from Route 5. While Route 5 would serve as an entrance, Plante said, many visitors would be from residential Wallingford and use North Main Street.
An architect for the project said MidState wants the building to look similar to its Meriden headquarters.
Ceneviva said the developer must hammer out a few details before seeking approval from the PZC.
In other business, the PZC, acting as the local aquifer protection agency, approved an amendment that will classify the repair of internal combustion engines as a “regulated use” within an aquifer protection area. Vincent Mc Manus, a lawyer representing Yalesville Lawn and Garden, said the change targets the business, though it poses no threat to the aquifer.