"Big Box" Development Proposed For Frenchtown Road

A mixed-use development "of significant magnitude" proposed for Frenchtown Road next to the Super Stop & Shop plaza will be heard by the East Greenwich Planning Board at its meeting tonight, according to a planning staff report.

The proposed development, named "The Commons at Frenchtown Road," would include an undefined big box store, other retail space including the possibility of a movie theater and residential development.

"The developers are comparing the proposed development, in terms of uses and aesthetics, to South County Commons on Tower Hill Road in South Kingstown," according to the staff report.

According to a preliminary design submitted to the planning department, the development could include a big box store of about 135,000-square-feet, a movie theater, a bank, a pharmacy and other residential and retail spaces. A traffic light would be built on Frenchtown Road.

According to the staff report, leasing space to a big box retail store "would make the rest of the smaller scale, mixed use development financially feasible."

The development, according to the staff report, would straddle the East Greenwich/North Kingstown town line. While much of the development would be located in North Kingstown, the big box store would be located in East Greenwich.

"As a curiosity, staff would note that North Kingstown has effectively out-zoned big box development for all areas excluding Wickford Junction and Quonset/Davisville," according to the staff report. "If the total development plan here is to include any big box, the developers' only option is to site it in East Greenwich." 

This is the second mixed-use village proposed within North Kingstown in the past few months. A is currently before the North Kingstown Planning Commission and has drawn criticism and concern from residents and neighbors.

The Planning Board meets tonight at 7 p.m. at East Greenwich Town Hall.