Braintree board approves new CVS at Liberty and Grove streets

BRAINTREE – The planning board has approved a CVS Pharmacy at Liberty and Grove streets.

Developer George Clements said construction would begin "as soon as possible." He estimated construction would take nine months.

The 13,200-square-foot store would include a drive-thru pharmacy window as well as a Minute Clinic and would occupy the site of a long-closed gas station. It would replace two current CVS locations: one on Washington Street in South Braintree Square and the other a block away in a shopping center.

Braintree: Marijuana cultivation, production facility proposed for Ivory Street

It's official: New Jersey-based life sciences company will move manufacturing to Braintree

The plans for the store, which were approved by the planning board Tuesday night, are subject to a series of conditions. One is $100,000 in mitigation, which would include sidewalk improvements and changes in the timing of the traffic lights at Liberty and Grove streets.

Vinod Kalikiri, of VHB, a traffic engineer for the developer, told the board in March that the store would not cause a huge bump in traffic.

The decision follows years of discussion on the future of the property. The proposals included a gas station/convenience store, housing for people over age 55 and a 96-unit apartment development.

In the end, the town bought a 1.8-acre piece of Clements' property to preserve woodlands and a 17th-century historical home, and rezoned for commercial development the remainder of the land that would be the site of the CVS store.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Plans for new CVS store in Braintree are approved