Developers are planning to expand and renovate 14 Grove St. for mixed-use purposes. 

On Monday, June 12, Planning Board members approved a conditional use permit (CUP) to convert 14 Grove St. into a mixed-use building. According to senior project engineer Bridget Souza, the project will include a restaurant, patio, landscaping features and nine new dwelling units.

According to Souza, developers are planning to build nine condos at 14 Grove St., ranging from 400 to 500 square feet. Four condos will be placed on the top floor, four will be on the second floor and one will be in the basement. Souza also said each of the nine tenants will have their own parking spaces in the rear of the building, and an additional 11 spaces will be available for lease at the current Fire Department location on Summer Street.

Additionally, developers are planning to build a restaurant and fenced-in patio, which they say has the potential to be a new pizza place. Currently, the building has a total of approximately 1,050 square feet in kitchen space. However, developers and applicant 14 Grove Street LLC said the kitchen space is only suitable for a pizza oven and not much more. 

“It will have to be a kitchen that is not full-service because of its small space,” said Souza. 

During the meeting, board members and community members expressed concerns about the building’s lack of space for food delivery trucks. Cy Gregg, owner of the Waterhouse, said restaurant staff and developers should come up with a plan to ensure food delivery trucks can navigate through the building’s narrow passageways. 

“I think this restaurant needs to be rethought and reconsidered,” said Gregg. 

Additionally, the blueprints for the restaurant did not include a bathroom plan or a name for the restaurant. After hearing multiple suggestions from the board, architect Corinne Bell said the mixed-use project is far from complete. 

“We are still in the early planning stages of the interior,” said Bell. 

Following the board’s approval of the commercial use permit, developers will have to submit a lighting plan and a detailed plan for food delivery trucks to the Office of Planning and Building before they receive the building permit.  

In other news, the Planning Board elected new a new chair and vice chair. Lisa Stone is the new chair, and Carl Staley is the new vice chair.