The recently approved Windsor Federal Savings & Loan branch building in South Windsor likely won’t be open for business until 2021, but bank officials said they hope to have more than a drive-thru operating once it’s built on the corner of Deming Street and Buckland Road.
The Planning and Zoning Commission on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve the site plan for the 2,682-square-foot bank that would share parking with the neighboring Samsel & Carmon Funeral Home.
Town Planner Michele Lipe said Wednesday that the town has not been notified of an exact timetable for ground breaking or construction. Lipe added the only other local approval needed would be from the Water Pollution Control Authority. Their next meeting is scheduled for early September, she said.
This would be the first Windsor Federal branch located in South Windsor, Design Professionals Director of Operations Benjamin Wheeler said at the meeting. The bank, which would hold the address of 176 Deming St., would have a drive-thru.
The building would be sited on a vacant plot of land at 395 Buckland Road, where a since razed attorney’s office was once stood.
Crosswalks and sidewalks would connect to both Buckland Road and Deming Street, from the intersection down to the shared access points with neighboring driveways and walkways, Wheeler said. Lighting around the property would be 18-feet high and consist of four LED lights, three on islands around the building and another near the entrance.
Main access to the branch would be off Deming Street at the existing driveway that services neighboring office buildings and the funeral home. Wheeler said the access point would be made wider to meet town standards and facilitate better traffic flow.
There would be 33 parking spaces surrounding three sides of the building, Wheeler said, adding that only 16 are required by zoning regulations. However, the bank has worked with Samsel & Carmon to allow the funeral home to use the bank’s parking lot should there be overflow during a service.
Commission member Elizabeth McGuire said it seemed “a little hazardous” that bank patrons could enter the funeral home driveway on Buckland Road and cut through their parking lot to circumvent the intersection traffic light, particularly if there is a wake or a funeral occurring.
Wheeler said the funeral home would be able to control traffic in and out of its area, as part of an agreement worked out with the bank.
Commission member William Flagg said he was concerned there would be a lot of traffic going through the bank’s drive-thru if the lobby is closed. Wheeler answered that designers believe there “should be plenty of circulation” through the area.
President & CEO of Windsor Federal George Hermann said at the meeting that the branch has already reopened many of its lobbies in other nearby locations, and the new building would be designed to meet “up to date COVID-19 measures.”
