Planning Board hears details about Danny Warren’s Main St. project

Dec 14, 2021

The Planning Board heard an initial description of Wareham-native business owner Danny Warren’s plans for his land on Main Street at the old Greer Lumber site on Monday night.

A representative of Warren’s project explained that there would be three structures on the site: a 6,500 square foot restaurant, a 26 by 60 foot open pavilion, and a 1,500 square foot retail space, plus utilities including a parking facility, landscaping, and roadways and walkways for cars and pedestrians.

The restaurant will include a 25 by 65 foot deck. It’s planned to be a 150-seat restaurant, which would require 30 parking spots, per zoning.

The pavilion, which is just a covered structure, is not planned to have any parking spaces. Four are required for the retail space, and 12 are required for the 24-slip marina, for a total of 46 on the site, three of which are accessible.

The plans have already been approved by the Historic Commission, and the Conservation Commission has looked at the plans for the water access on the site, which includes a marina.

Warren’s vision for the property, he told the Historic Commission earlier this year, includes a large events/convention building that will operate for part of the year. The space will likely be used for weddings in the spring (until about June), before operating as a restaurant during the summer months. From around September to Christmas, the building would operate as an events center again — for things like Christmas parties, Warren explained.

Because the property is in a flood zone, the buildings are being designed accordingly. The first operating floor of the buildings will need to be 17 feet above ground. Space below the main floors will be used for storage. While the representative said that using that space for parking had been considered, it ultimately was deemed too complicated.
Selectman Alan Slavin spoke in favor of the project, describing it as a piece of the overall development of the downtown.

The hearing will be continued on January 10.