By Adam Swift
A car wash chain with about 25 locations throughout the state is looking to open a new location on Squire Road.
Monday night, the city council held a public hearing on the application for a special permit from the New York Capital Investment Group of Canton to build a Prestige Car Wash at 350 Squire Road.
The proposal will next go before the council’s zoning subcommittee before coming back before the full council for a potential vote on approval.
The proposed car wash is in a general business district, which requires the special permit for the use, according to Gerry D’Ambrosio, the attorney representing the applicant.
“It has unfortunately been a fairly blighted property over the last 10 years,” said D’Ambrosio, who said he has been involved with the potential development of the parcel over the past decade.
About 10 years ago, there was a gas station at the address. After the gas station closed, there was a proposal to build residential housing on the property, but there were concerns about building a five-story building there.
“As a result of that, the owners put the property back on the market and have been marketing since for resale,” said D’Ambrosio, with the owners of Prestige Car Wash having a purchase and sale agreement for the property. “They own over 25 of these facilities throughout Massachusetts. They’re well known and very reputable, it is not a fly-by-night operation.”
The lot itself is about 24,000 square feet, and D’Ambrosio said the proposed car wash project is far less dense than projects that could be allowed on the property by right.
“It’s important to note again that this is a blighted property, and that this blight will be replaced with a brand new structure that is energy efficient and it is going to be a green facility,” he said.
There have been several neighborhood meetings regarding the project, D’Ambrosio said, with the applicant working to address the concerns of abutters. He did note that there was some opposition voiced by the owner of another car wash that already operates on Squire Road, but added that he had letters of support for the project from nine neighbors.
D’Ambrosio stated that the traffic report for the project shows that it will create less traffic than other allowed uses in the general business zone. In addition, he said that there is enough room on the property for the queuing of at least 20 cars, about double the number required under zoning.
The property currently brings in about $17,000 per year in property taxes, and D’Ambrosio said the car wash will nearly quadruple that figure. Councillor-at-Large Michelle Kelley said she spoke to the assessor’s office, and they estimated that the number would be closer to $36,000 per year once developed.
Arcadia Street resident Anthony Parziale said he was in favor of the project, and noted that the city needs to bring in commercial, as opposed to residential, tax revenue.
Jim Sherman, who said he is a direct abutter to the project, said he initially had some concerns about the car wash, but that many of those concerns were addressed.
“They originally wanted to put the entrance on Keayne Street and into their property,” Sherman said.
The car wash will have a single entrance and exit onto Squire Road, D’Ambrosio said.
In addition, Sherman said he was concerned about the noise from the vacuums used at the car wash. After being encouraged to visit another Prestige location, Sherman said the system they will be using in Revere creates very little noise.
Richard DiFrancesco, who owns a house abutting the Squire Road site, said he had concerns about traffic, as well as noise from the car wash drive through bays.
