BY JACK LOWENSTEIN
Wellington’s Architectural Review Board gave an informal review on the future locations of CVS Pharmacy and Provident Jewelry in the Wellington Town Square shopping plaza on Wednesday, Feb. 15.
Both chains currently operate stores in the shopping plaza but are planning stand-alone locations.
Board members liked the planned upgrades to the plaza, but had some concerns, notably with the designs for the new CVS location.
“It’s going to be a really nice change there,” Board Member Deidre Newton said. “I think you all know that this is just the first run, but I think it’s going to be a really nice project and a very welcomed addition.”
CVS will move to the current Star Liquor location near the plaza’s main entryway off of Forest Hill Blvd. The current building will be demolished, becoming a modern, stand-alone CVS location with a drive-through. CVS will then vacate its in-line location at the shopping center.
Provident Jewelry will eventually move out of its current location in the plaza when its new building is constructed. The future location will be at the end of the Town Square plaza with the façade facing South Shore Blvd. This area will see part of its current structure demolished and rebuilt to meet Provident’s requirements.
The western portion of the shopping center will have 8,750 square feet of the location demolished to make room for additional parking and to enhance the Provident façade.
The CVS location is slated to be more than 13,000 square feet. The design is similar to how most modern stand-alone CVS locations look today, with the adaptation of some current design elements in the shopping plaza, paying homage to the plaza’s barrel tiled roofs.
“The Provident Jewelry looks completely different than the CVS, and they’re right next to each other,” Board Member Ron Shamash said. “So, I’m not comfortable with it.”
Board Member Roger Grave de Peralta felt differently than Shamash but still had issues with the CVS design elements.
“I don’t know that there’s a problem that there are different styles within the shopping center. I think it may actually help break the monotony of the shopping center,” Grave de Peralta said. “It’s potentially OK bringing in some of the materials there. I understand it’s a CVS, so it has very tall walls, but looking at the elevation, I don’t see the hierarchy.”
There was concern that the side of the building facing Forest Hill Blvd. would not be aesthetically pleasing.
“Give it more depth because you’ve got a very flat façade along Forest Hill,” Grave de Peralta said.
Provident did not have a full presentation, but the design it presented was well-received. The board liked many of the choices included in the design features.
“We want to develop a whole style that works for the plaza, not just Provident,” architect Stephan Claren said.
The design plans from Provident would see the new building have navy blue awnings along with tan and grey colors to make up the walls of the building. At the front of the building will be a clock tower.
“This is quality. We have a high-end jewelry store here, and this is an anchor of this center,” Claren said.
The store will also have a patio to extend the outdoor area and allow for events.
“The design really fits Wellington, and that’s what we are seeing now,” Shamash said.
With the installation of the new Provident location, the rest of the plaza is proposed to eventually assume some of the same identity that the building will have at the plaza. New updates would be replacing the barrel tile roofs in the plaza to the flat roof design that Provident presented at the review.
“We would obviously like to be successful and move forward after next month’s formal meeting,” said Rob Samuels, president of Provident Groupstand.
Board members wanted to see communication between CVS and Provident as they move forward with the proposals.
The board seemed to agree that CVS should incorporate some of the design schemes that Provident created for its new building.
Provident and CVS will again meet with the Architectural Review Board for a formal review on Wednesday, March 15.
