Williston shopping hub inches closer to reinvented look and design
Planning Director Matt Boulanger said the overall project is to make Taft Corners pedestrian-oriented.
Planning Director Matt Boulanger said the overall project is to make Taft Corners pedestrian-oriented.
Planning Director Matt Boulanger said the overall project is to make Taft Corners pedestrian-oriented.
Williston's Planning Commission went in front of the Town Selectboard on Tuesday night to present another piece of their Taft Corners project.
This second meeting was to discuss the form-based code, which regulates the design of the buildings. It dictates features like the height, placement on the site and its elements like doors and windows.
Planning Director Matt Boulanger said the overall project is to make Taft Corners pedestrian-oriented.
They'd be looking to develop more public and green spaces, encourage one-time parking that would limit the need to drive from one place to another, and establish more attainable, affordable housing among many other goals.
"Taft Corners is an area that's highly accessible, already developed, usable by transit riders to get to and from Burlington and other places in the region," Boulanger said. "It just makes sense to think about an evolution of Taft Corners that brings in better design standards, better planned facilities for potentially much more residential evolution from the big box retail beginning."
Boulanger added that a concept like this has been discussed for decades.
Superb Cupcakes' owner Hannah Lenehan and her husband Joe have owned the treat shop in Taft Corners for nine years and are also Williston residents. They are excited about the changes.
"As a business owner, I look forward to all the diversity it will bring, that it's a more accessible area, that it's a more desired area," Lenehan said. "As a resident, [there will be] a lot more things to do."
Lenehan is looking forward to a concept that brings more people to the area, passing by her business, as well as other locally-owned businesses.
She added that she'd enjoy taking advantage of the walkable design that gives the community a place to go out.
"If people are coming into the area for LL Bean, they'll be driving by and see a cupcake shop that they didn't know was here," Lenehan said. "All businesses need more people coming and I think this is a great, great opportunity for Williston."
The Selectboard and Planning Commission will meet again on June 7. They will be joined by large, owner stakeholders in that area, giving them a chance to go over the project.