New Construction Projects Underway Along Route 156

If you've ever gone through the permitting process for new construction, then you know it isn't speedy. Once a developer gets the green light, though, the pace of construction seems lightning fast.

Take, for instance, the current development underway at 157 West Main Street right next to Yankee Clipper Restaurant. Demolition at the site started at the end of January and, despite being interrupted by two snow storms, it's taken just six weeks to erect a two-storey building with a roof. 

Niantic-based Heritage Properties, which owns the lot, has a well-conceived vision to transform the site into a mixed-use development that will include three 1,100 square foot commercial spaces, each with three residential units on the second floor.

"We have had this one under a microscope for well over a year," said East Lyme Zoning Official William Mulholland. 

The end result will be a "village style" development, the first phase of which East Lyme Zoning Commission members were happy to approve at a recent meeting. 

"It's an impressive mixed use and represents a dramatic improvement in that particular area," said commission member Matthew Walker.

The Yankee Clipper Restaurant will remain open in its existing building until the developer is ready to move on to the final phase, at which point that building will be demolished and replaced. 

The Future of Cherrystones

Over in Old Lyme, meanwhile, Zoning Commission members got a sneak preview of what the new owners of the iconic Cherrystones restaurant have in mind at the Zoning meeting earlier this week.

Big Green Outdoor LLC, which bought the property at 218 Shore Road, is proposing to expand the restaurant by adding another building to mirror the existing one. It also plans to add two outdoor patios and to completely remake the parking lot, replacing the old asphalt with crushed sea shells.  

Big Green Outdoor was responsible for a similar transformation when it bought the former Saybrook Fishhouse. 

This particular project is still in the early phase. The Zoning Commission will hear a more formal presentation for the first time at its next meeting in April. When completed, the revamped restaurant will be open year-round.

In the meantime, Big Green Outdoor is hoping to capitalize on this summer's seasonal crowd by building a "clam shack" on the site. This would be similar in concept to nearby Hallmark ice cream, open seasonally and serving food to go with picnic tables for outdoor dining. There will be a public hearing on this proposal in April.