The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
HENNY PENNY’S COMING
P&Z approves plan for gas station on vacant lot on Route 44
WINSTED >> The Winchester Planning and Zoning Commission approved an application to construct a Henny Penny filling station and convenience store along the roadway Monday.
The station is to be constructed on Lot 4, Old New Hartford Road, located on Route 44 near Stop & Shop, as described Monday.
“We’re here this evening to ask your permission to build a service station in town. We really like Winsted,” said John Kuschman of Hendel’s, a company that operates Henny Penny gas stations, as described on its website. “We appreciate the time.”
According to Kuschman, Hendel’s has been in business for roughly 70 years and operates gas stations in Connecticut, mostly in the southeastern portion of the state.
The company recently built a similar station in Seymour, Kuschman said.
Rob Colabella of Laurel Enginering presented plans to the commission Monday evening, which had been updated from those previously submitted earlier this month to incorporate the thoughts of town officials.
Under the new plan, Kuschman said evergreen trees were added to other planned vegetation on the site to serve as a buffer between the station and neighboring homes and the width of a portion of the back of the driveway was narrowed to 30 feet.
A turning lane between the property and Stop & Shop will be added to the road under the proposed plan, according to Colabella, for those wishing to enter the station.
The project’s roadway design still requires further approval from the state of Connecticut, but local permits were required first, according to Colabella.
The application has already gained approval from the Inlands and Wetlands Commission.
The idea of putting sidewalks along Route 44 was discussed as a potential aspect of the project, according to Colabella, but was rejected by the developer, who said it would cross property it does not own and would not connect to other sidewalks if constructed.
The store is expected to be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, according to Kuschman, which is customary for Henny Penny stores.
The lot on which it is to be constructed is now vacant, and totals 2.53 acres, according to documentation previously submitted to the town, and is owned by Dolinsky Realty Corp. of West Cornwall.
Henny Penny operates 25 stations in cities and towns across Connecticut, as described on the company’s website, and was founded in 1982.
A turning lane between the property and Stop & Shop will be added to the road under the proposed plan, according to Colabella, for those wishing to enter the station.