The Board of Selectmen approved a six-month hold and eventual transfer of a liquor license owned by the A.D. Makepeace Company for the Mill Pond Package Store at Tuesday night's board meeting.

A.D. Makepeace spokeswoman Linda Burke said the company will close the store on the corner of Mill Pond Road and Cranberry Highway for six months starting Sunday, Jan. 26. They will then transfer the license to one of a few companies interested in opening a high-end wine and cheese shop at Rosebrook Place.

Located at the intersection of I-195,495 and Route 28, Rosebrook Place is A.D. Makepeace's mixed-use development featuring over 30,000 square feet of retail space. It is planned to grow alongside the adjacent 150,000 square foot Rosebrook Business Park and the Marriott TownePlace Suites in development.

Selectman Patrick Tropeano asked why they needed to cease operations for six months before moving the license. He said when a license is transferred it's usually part of an ongoing process.

"It's a different type of business model at Rosebrook and we wanted to show the potential operator of the new location that we had the license available," Burke answered.

She also said the company wanted to actively market the package store location, which she said A.D. Makepeace bought two years ago to beautify the corner of Mill Pond Road and Cranberry Highway.

"I'm not crazy about tying up licenses and leaving them unused for the public, for whatever length of time," Tropeano said.

He added that this type of proposal has come before the board in the past and he remembers always turning it down in situations where the license sits unused.

"In this case I know that park is very valuable to the town. I think it's going to be a big asset to the town financially," he said.

The motion was passed unanimously by Tropeano and selectmen Alan Slavin and Peter Teitelbaum. Both selectmen Judy Whiteside and Stephen Holmes were absent.