Published in the January 19, 2021 edition.
By MARK SARDELLA
WAKEFIELD — Another blighted property in the downtown area appears to be headed for a major upgrade. The former Tuckers Auto Supply and Wakefield Motor Gallery property at the corner of Main and Richardson streets has been purchased by Robert Santonelli, who would like to build a new Santander Bank branch on the site.
Santonelli would retain ownership of the 500 Main St. property and would construct the bank building and lease it to Santander. Santander would like to relocate from its current location in Wakefield Square to the new site.
Santonelli, who owns a lot of real estate in the downtown area, presented his plans to the Zoning Board of Appeals last week along with his attorney, Brian McGrail.
McGrail said that the plan involves razing everything currently on the site, which was once used for automotive and auto parts sales as well as car repairs. The site has been vacant for a number of years and was recently acquired by Santonelli.
McGrail said that he and his client have already been to the Planning Board and the lot has been subdivided. Both of the new lots meet all zoning requirements of the business district, McGrail said. The bank would be on the lot closest to Richardson Street. The adjacent lot to the north would be redeveloped later, McGrail said. He said that the other lot would be built to suit a future use to be determined.
McGrail said that a traffic study has been done and provided to the Traffic Advisory Committee. He expects it to be reviewed by the TAC in the next couple of weeks.
The proposed 2,500 square-foot single-story building would be built according to a new design prototype being rolled out by Santander for its banks. There will be a drive-up ATM in the rear that will be entered from Richardson Street. Parking for the bank will be provided on the adjacent lot owned by Santonelli.
ZBA member Ami Wall commented on the location of the drive-up ATM, suggesting a minor change to improve the flow of traffic.
McGrail introduced Tom Chiudina of DRL Architects to discuss the building design. He said that DRL specializes in financial institutions and has worked with Santander for a number of years. He showed renderings of the building from both the north and south approach on Main Street.
The exterior building materials would be brick veneer and metal panels with aluminum storefront glazing. The one-story building would be one of the first featuring Santander’s new prototype design for its bank buildings.
ZBA member Greg McIntosh questioned the use of gray on much of the building exterior, observing that it made for a less than welcoming entry into the downtown area. But Chiudina explained that Santander believes that the gray contrasts well with Santander’s red corporate colors, which will be featured on the sign for the bank.
Board member Jim McBain noted that the southern edge of the downtown is “dead,” and argued that the new bank would bring new life to the area. He noted that Sweetbay has also recently moved to that area. He said that he did not have a problem with the gray color.
Ami Wall agreed that the proposed new bank would help freshen up the area.
McGrail showed a preliminary landscape design, which the board agreed to discuss in more detail at a future meeting.
There was no public testimony related to the proposal offered at last week’s meeting.
ZBA member Chip Tarbell said that the proposal seemed to be fairly straightforward and he did not see the need for a lot of hearings to deal with it.
It was noted that the board will want to hear about traffic, once the Traffic Advisory Committee has reviewed the traffic study. There was also a letter submitted by the DPW that raised a number of issues related to the site that the applicant will be addressing at an upcoming meeting.
The hearing was continued to the board’s Jan. 27 meeting.
