Visconsi gets building permits for new drugstore on High School Road
Published 11:31 am Monday, April 13, 2015
Islanders can expect to see construction work ramping up this spring at the site of a new commercial development at Highway 305 and High School Road.
The developers of a new shopping center have received building permits for the anchor tenant of the development, a Walgreens drug store, and building permits are also expected this week for a new KeyBank branch on the property next to the busy intersection.
City of Bainbridge Island planners said permits were recently approved for the drug store/pharmacy, and the permits for the bank building have been OK’d but not yet issued.
Building permits for the bank are expected to be issued within a few days.
The new shopping center project is being built by Visconsi, a development company based in Pepper Pike, Ohio.
Visconsi launched plans in 2012 for the retail center across the street from the McDonald’s on High School Road — which also includes spaces for restaurants, professional services and health care offices — but the development was controversial from the start.
Islanders, including some neighbors to the development, warned the new shopping center would create traffic problems, put pedestrians at risk, and increase noise and light pollution in the area. Some also said the new businesses that would locate in the retail and service center were redundant, not needed and would compete with existing downtown businesses.
A group of opponents, Islanders for Responsible Development, challenged the city’s review of the project and asked the city’s hearing examiner to reject the project as incompatible with Bainbridge Island.
The development, however, was approved by the city and clearing of the once-wooded property began last summer.
Building plans for the new Walgreens that were approved by the city show a 14,475-square-foot building with 58 parking spaces.
The drugstore has a layout that includes 18 aisles of merchandise, including food, beer, wine, candy, beauty products and sundries.
One end of the store is lined by two coolers and one freezer, and one corner of the store is taken up by the pharmacy, which includes a waiting room and separate consult room. The store also has a drive-through.
The Walgreens is being built on a 1.57-acre lot, and grading and filling is expected to include the moving of 1,500 cubic yards of earth.
Construction of the drugstore building is being financed by Huntington National Bank of Cleveland, Ohio.
The KeyBank branch will be built on the southwestern end of the property, near the corner of Highway 305 and High School Road, on a little less than an acre of land within the development.
The bank building will total 3,228 square feet.
