Construction to Begin This Spring on North Braintree CVS

The developer of a new CVS in North Braintree expects construction to start late spring and the project to be complete by January 2014 following the Planning Board's approval of the 12,900-square-foot pharmacy's site plan Tuesday night.

CVS will lease the land at the intersection of Church and Washington streets from owners Greg and Michael Shea, whose family has operated automobile-related businesses there for decades, including South Shore Chrysler for many years, and then South Shore Auto Lines when Chrysler pulled out following the economic collapse in 2008.

G.B. New England, CVS's preferred developer, will demolish the structures currently on the site and build the pharmacy with an eye on integrating it with the abutting residential neighborhood. It will replace the CVS nearby on Independence Avenue in Quincy.

Features will include more than 400 plantings, up from zero right now, a near tripling of open space, improved stormwater drainage and subdued lighting, Attorney Frank Marinelli said. The project will also reduce the number of curb cuts from five to three and implement pedestrian safety enhancements.

Marinelli said road markings and the change of business type will help create a "traffic calming" effect. Two drive-throughs will operate on the western side of the site next to the highway.

Expected hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., depending on demand. Paul Beck, V.P. of Real Estate for Gershman Brown Crowley, said he expects that 30 to 35 people will be employed at the new CVS, up slightly from the Quincy store because business will likely increase.

No residents spoke about the project Tuesday night, though town officials have been working with the developer for months to make sure it fits into the community.

"It is a signature site," Marinelli said.

Town councilors voted unanimously last November to approve re-zoning 9,677 square feet of Residence C land to General Business.

The project, along with future work slated for 7-11 Independence Ave., will help create a corridor in Braintree with "the potential to serve as an appropriate gateway into our Town from Quincy," Mayor Joseph Sullivan wrote in a letter last year.