Easement approved; Holiday Inn Express set for construction

Shrewsbury - The Board of Selectmen, at its Jan. 25 meeting, unanimously approved an easement to use town land as a buff er for the proposed Holiday Inn Express that Andrew Surabian is planning to build at 151-155 Main St.

Attorney Richart Ricker, representing Surabian, showed plans of the hedges and cypress trees that will be placed between the project and its abutters on Dana and Ireta roads.

The buff er is a solution that was created in response to opposition from the neighbors of the hotel concerned that it will have a negative eff ect on land and property values in the immediate area.

Opponents of the project pointed out during the public hearing process that hotel guests would be able to look into the yards and windows of homeowners on Dana and Ireta roads from their hotel rooms.

Ricker said the hedges and trees to be planted are 14 to16 feet tall and will form a walllike effect between the hotel and the private properties. He said the hedge-and-tree buff er was agreed upon by all abutters and that disagreements between Surabian and the project’s neighbors have been reconciled.

Selectman Maurice DePalo asked Ricker about the timetable for when the hedges and cypress trees would actually be added into the easement.

“We will be planting the hedges and the cypress trees at the beginning of the project when the site work and earth moving begins,” Ricker said.

Ricker said approval of the use of the easement was the final hurdle for the proposed Holiday Inn Express, which will be built on about three acres of a five-acre lot located at the intersection of Main Street and Interstate-290.

The project was previously delayed to allow Town Meeting members to vote on a zoning change that transferred the location of the project from a residential to a commercial zone. Town Meeting members approved the zoning change in May 2009.

“Now that it’s completely approved, Mr. Surabian is anxious to get going. He hopes to get the project started in March or April, weather permitting,” Ricker said. “Financing is already in place for the project.”

Ricker said the Holiday Inn Express will be a four-story structure with about 95 rooms and a restaurant that will seat 180. He said preliminary projects have the project creating 29 permanent jobs and about $1.5 million in salaries to workers who will be needed for the construction of the project, which Ricker said he expects to take about two years.

In addition, property taxes on the hotel and restaurant will be about $120,000 annually.