The Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday night on a plan to develop 300 acres of the former Rentschler airfield.
Pratt & Whitney agreed to sell the parcel to Boston-based National Development in November 2021. The developers filed applications for a zone change to the Design Development District where the property lies on March 2.
At a special Town Council meeting on Feb. 8, developers said their proposal would split up the lot into two major areas — a smaller “gateway” mixed-use zone closer to Silver Lane, and a larger “logistics center” further south.
The submitted master plan for the site divides the area into five parcels.
Two larger parcels designated for “light industrial-logistics,” totaling approximately 263 acres, would include 2.5 million square feet of warehouse space split between two buildings. A smaller 2.36-acre parcel is designated for a service and repair facility.
An 18.35-acre parcel, currently occupied by Cabela’s, is proposed for non-specific retail and mixed-use developments, and a 17.58-acre parcel would have two 100,000 square-foot buildings for “high-tech manufacturing and research/development.”
No potential tenants or specific uses have been provided for the proposed buildings.
The developers’ proposed changes to the Design Development District include specifying one passenger vehicle parking space per 5,000 square feet for the logistics facilities, and one per 1,000 square feet for the high-tech manufacturing and research buildings.
The two warehouses would require at least 500 passenger vehicle parking spaces, and the two high-tech buildings would need 200.
Tractor-trailer parking spaces are shown on the master plan for the two warehouses, but the number of trailer spaces required is not specified in the master plan.
The developers said at the Feb. 8 Town Council meeting that the project would create about 2,000 permanent jobs and generate over $4 million in tax revenue to the town, as well as spurring new development and redevelopment.
Positions generated by the logistics warehouses would pay $20 an hour or more and provide benefits to employees; positions for the high-tech facilities are typically higher pay, officials said.
The PZC on Wednesday will also hold a public hearing on a proposed Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen restaurant on Main Street, a zone change to convert a building occupied by YMCA into a childcare center, and a text amendment to establish provisions for accessory dwelling units.
The 2,300-square-foot Popeye’s restaurant, to be located at 317 Main St. next to the Shell gas station, would feature a drive-thru.
The application for the YMCA building states that the zone change would allow the organization to move their childcare center from 70A Canterbury St. to 770 Main St., next to Town Hall, placing it on the town’s main bus line and allowing for facility upgrades.
The text amendment, proposed by the PZC, would define regulations for the construction of accessory dwelling units, a separate dwelling unit built attached to, or on the lot of an existing single-family home.
