A temporary parking site for school buses and a site plan for two restaurants in a single building were approved Monday evening by the Bristol Planning Commission.
During its regular meeting, the commission gave unanimous approval for Berlin-based Dattco Inc. to establish a temporary bus yard on a portion of the property at 780 James P.. Casey Road.
Dattco was selected by the city Board of Education to provide student transportation services for the school year that began July 1. The company’s $54.5 million bid was selected in May to replace services offered by First Student.
According to attorney James Ziogas, who represents Dattco, the company is still searching for a permanent location in the city to create a bus yard, but has not yet found one. First Student has a bus yard at 256 Terryville Road, and that site is one under consideration, he said.
Ziogas said Dattco signed a one-year lease for a portion of the site on James P. Casey Road, “hoping that in the future some other areas will open up and we’ll be able to move it to a permanent facility.”
The temporary site will allow for parking 120 school buses and employ 150 people, mostly bus drivers. A small modular trailer on the site will serve as an office. Ziogas said the buses will operate Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., not including evening and weekend athletic events.
He added there is no visitor parking on-site because none is needed.
The 139-acre property is home to the 1.2-million-square-foot Bristol Logistics Center, which was sold in 2022 for $79.25 million to a New Jersey-based real estate investment firm. City Planner Robert Flanagan told the commission the site currently has 300 employees.
The property is zoned for industrial use and Ziogas said the proposed bus yard fits within the range of permitted transportation-related and fleet-operation uses allowed by the zone.
Dattco also will add a fuel storage system to the site that will consist of two tanks, one with 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel, the other with 2,000 gallons of gasoline, Ziogas said. The above-ground tanks are encased in concrete for safety and security, he said.
After discussion, the commission voted unanimously to approve the application.
The commission also unanimously approved a site plan application to develop two restaurants in an existing building at 838 Farmington Ave.
The applicant, Anand Jaiswal of Farmington, originally proposed opening three “quick service” restaurants in the location — Cold Stone Creamery, Wetzel’s Pretzels and Planet Smoothie. That plan was reduced to just Cold Stone and Wetzel’s due to the constraints of the existing 1,690-square-foot building.
Jaiswal had originally proposed an addition to the building, but told the commission that was no longer part of the project.
The building has been owned by Vernon Property LLC since 2018.
The two restaurants would be operated as one business, sharing management, employees, customer seating and service areas, he said.
The businesses would operate from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Jaiswal said the two businesses are expected to employ 15 to 18 full- and part-time employees.
The free-standing building formerly was home to Poke’s Works Mexican Grill, which closed earlier this year.
