By George Moore
Record-Journal staff

WALLINGFORD — Plans have been submitted to construct a 47,592-square-foot medical office building next to the Stop & Shop plaza on Route 5 for use by Mid State Medical Center.
The supermarket plaza, at 890 N. Colony Road, includes a large vacant lot on its south side that was previously approved for retail stores. The hospital has not yet commented on the project.
Traffic generated by the three-story building will play an important role in the approval process. The building must receive a special permit from the local zoning commission, because the plaza currently generates more than 100 peak-hour vehicle trips, Town Planner Linda Bush said.
A traffic engineer hired by the developer concludes that the building would result in acceptable traffic levels at key intersections. The developer is Readco of Old Lyme.
Planning and Zoning Commission Chairman James Fitzsimmons said the plan must be reviewed for its impact on Route 5.
“A medical office building is a traffic generator,” he said. “I don’t think it compares to a retail store, but it does contribute different kinds of traffic.”
A large medical building will help fuel businesses in the area, said Vincenzo Di Natale, part owner of Ives Road Wine & Spirits, near the Stop & Shop plaza.
“As a merchant there, we’re very enthusiastic about any other developments that are in the corridor because we all feed off of each other,” said DiNatale, a town councilor and a former zoning commission member. “That kind of project is just going to bring more customers to the area.”
Barbara Ragonesi, who lives near Route 5 on Laurelview Place, said a Mid State facility in Wallingford would help her and others who currently drive to Mid State’s Meriden hospital for services. Ragonesi has had to drive her husband to Meriden for treatment as often as three times a month since 2005. “It would be really good if he could see a physician here,” she said. “I think it’s a great idea. We have enough stores.”
Fitzsimmons said the plan appears to be part of a trend in which hospitals are reaching out to suburbia. “They’re putting medical offices into the communities they’re serving rather than right next to the hospital,” he said.
Lauri Marotta, of Beaumont Road, said a medical building would fit in with the area because there are already medical office buildings along North Main Street Extension. While traffic in the area is a concern for her, Marotta said she’s not worried that a medical building would add to congestion.
If approved, the office building would become part of an aggressive expansion by the hospital. In May, Mid State announced a $45.5 million expansion project that would include 100,000 square feet of new construction at its main campus in Meriden.
The Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to discuss the office building in October.