CHICOPEE — A Dunkin’ Donuts is planning to move into the large front parking lot of the Castle of Knights under a lease agreement with the nonprofit organization that runs it, upsetting residents who live nearby.
“The banquet business is dead. We haven’t had a party with over 500 people in five years,” said Matt Cook, president of the Knights of Columbus Fairview Council 4044, which runs the Castle. “Since COVID people aren’t booking big weddings; they are getting married outdoors and in barns and at the beach,”
The Knights of Columbus still has smaller events and operates a popular bingo game on Thursday night but its banquet business, which it relies on for much of its income, is struggling. It’s not alone either, many other halls in the region have closed, Cook said.
JHJ Holdings LLC has contacted the Knights of Columbus off and on over several years with the hopes of building a Dunkin’ in the large, trapezoid-shaped front parking lot, but members declined. Recently, they decided it was the right time to add the building to the property at 1599 Memorial Drive, Cook said.
“It is a great location. It is very complementary with the Knights of Columbus,” said Greg Nolan, a representative of JFJ Holdings.
He said he is hoping the business, which will hire between 15 and 20 full and part-time employees, will capture motorists heading northbound to South Hadley. There is already a Dunkin’ Donuts on the southbound side of the divided Memorial Drive.
The proposal calls for the restaurant to lease a portion of the front parking lot closer to the James Street side. Because it attracts the most people in the morning and the Knights of Columbus usually does its business in the evening, the two should work well together, Nolan said.
But, residents said they do not believe the business will work in harmony with their neighborhood. At least four homeowners from Keddy Boulevard, which runs behind the Knights of Columbus from James Street to Memorial Drive, said they worry about the extra traffic and noise Dunkin’ Donuts will bring.
The nearby Dairy Queen, which closed this summer, already caused headaches for residents. It brought excessive trash, and drive-through lines often spilled beyond the property and blocked the small street.
“We are talking about quality of life,” said Donna Archambault, a Keddy Boulevard resident. “People are going to cut down our street. We have trucks cutting down our streets already.”
With the proposed business so close to neighbors’ backyards, resident Debra Panagotopulos said the proposed 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. hours of operation is not fair to neighbors.
“I don’t think that area, for traffic flow, is the right area,” she said. “I don’t understand how they can do it in the parking lot. This parking lot seems to be always full.”
But the Castle of Knights is zoned for business, so the development is allowed by right since the proposal follows all the city’s development regulations. The lot, which has 330 spaces for vehicles, is considered “over parked” so it far exceeds city requirements, said James Dawson, development manager for the city’s Planning Department.
While the Planning Board does not have a say in the hours of operation for businesses, Dawson said his experience is most managers are willing to work with neighbors.
In June, developers submitted preliminary plans, which were reviewed and the board recommended changes. The definitive plans, which were approved in a 3-1 vote Sept. 7, were modified in response to concerns, said Kelly Killeen, of engineering and design firm CHA Consulting, which completed the plan for JFJ Holdings.
One of the biggest changes was to expand the length of the drive-through line on the property to 11 cars, preventing it from spilling onto any of the nearby roads. It also increased some plantings on the property and made some changes in drainage, he said.
The owners can apply for permits to begin construction as soon as they meet a few conditions set by the board, Dawson said.
During the meeting, Cook also addressed some of the concerns brought up by neighbors, including loud noises from early morning emptying of dumpsters and late-night parking lot sweeping.
The Knights of Columbus canceled the sweeping contract six years ago and the dumpsters are emptied at 10:30 a.m., he said.
