South Windsor Planning and Zoning Commission Issues Approvals for Sullivan Avenue Development

South Windsor could soon have a new commercial development on Sullivan Avenue with medical offices and retail space.

Indeed, the planning and zoning commission last week approved - in a 6-1 vote - a site access and a clearing plan for a future project known as Sullivan Place Centers, located on Sullivan Avenue across from Morgan Farms and Hillside Drive.

Commissioner Mario Marrero cast the lone dissenting vote out of concerns for the traffic in the area, particularly with how vehicles would make left-hand turns onto Sullivan Avenue out of the new development.

But, according to Town Planner Michele Lipe, a traffic light is expected to be installed at the Dunkin’ Donuts at 855 Sullivan Ave., near the proposed development. Sullivan Avenue is a state road and the light, therefore, is subject to approval by the Department of Transportation.

As a condition of approval, that signal must be installed prior to the certificate of occupancy for the new development.

In addition, the commission approved the application with several other notable conditions, including the following:

• Prior to the commencement of any site work, a meeting must be held with Town Staff.

• No building permit will be issued until a site plan of development has been approved by the planning and zoning commission.

• The width of Sullivan Avenue along the site’s frontage must be widened to provide a minimum 24-foot wide half-section in each direction approaching the intersection for a full-width distance of 100 feet with additional lengths of transition areas.

Phil Tartsinis, the developer for Sullivan Place Centers, said in a telephone interview that the plan calls for 8.49 acres of land to be donated to the Major Michael Donnelly Land Preserve to extend the town’s existing network of trails.

Overall, Tartsinis said that two-thirds of the parcel would be either donated to the land preserve or used for state traffic. The remainder, according to Tartsinis, would be used for what the property is zoned for: commercial development.