ZBA approves Roche Bros. food market, defers action on Crunch Gym

[ron_newman]

The Zoning Board of Appeals tonight unanimously approved Roche Bros' proposal for a Brothers Marketplace food store on the first floor of 240 Elm Street, which housed a Social Security office until 2010.

They didn't seem so happy with the proposed Crunch Gym on the second floor, raising questions about how much additional traffic and parking demand the gym would bring to Davis Square. They deferred action on this until their next meeting on November 19.

Comments

[ron_newman]

I edited this into the post. Dunkin Donuts will remain, but will move further east within the building, and will be integrated into the grocery store.

[teko.livejournal.com]

It's a bit hard to tell from the floorplan how that'll work, at least, I'm having trouble envisioning it. I'm unclear if it's an in-store location (like the DD's in Super Stop & Shop) or a self-contained store that connects to and shares an entrance with the Market.

[ron_newman]

At earlier meetings, the developers said it would be an in-store DD, sharing a seating area with the grocery store, but having its own street entrance. They said something about a movable partition that would allow DD and Brothers Marketplace to keep different hours, if desired.

I wonder if they'll be able to stage the construction so that the old DD can remain open until the new one is ready. A lot of people will miss it if it's closed for months.