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Juniper bushes that were removed near the junction of Lawrence Hall Drive on the Williams College campus and Main Street will be replaced by plants to be determined.

Williams College Projects Underway on Main Street

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A busy summer construction season around town got a little busier this week with the advancement of two unrelated projects near the Williams College Museum of Art.
 
Both the entrance and exit to Lawrence Hall Drive are seeing some changes in the coming weeks.
 
Earlier this summer, the college removed several large juniper bushes near the east side of Lawrence Hall Drive (the exit onto Main Street) as part of a larger project to make the area more safe for pedestrians.
 
"The College is replacing broken and deteriorating sections of sidewalk that are a safety issue," Williams Horticulture and Grounds Manager Tim Roberts wrote in an email responding to an inquiry about the work. "The old junipers have been damaged over time and constantly need to be pruned back off the sidewalk.
 
"I will be replacing the junipers with a plant to be determined later. The walkway will be widened three feet using a crushed stone material to accommodate large trucks that use this entry."
 
Roberts said the existing junipers in the Town Green needed to be removed to allow for the sidewalk widening.
 
He said, depending on weather, that the project should take about two weeks.
 
This week, a different construction projection got under way on the other end of the Lawrence Hall Drive loop.
 
The college is rebuilding and expanding the existing BRTA bus stop at the site to also accommodate Peter Pan buses, which are set to change their route from the historical drop-off/pickup site in front of the former site of the Williams Inn on the Field Park rotary.

Tags: bus routes,   Williams College,   Williams College Museum of Art,   

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Williamstown Planners Green Light Initiatives at Both Ends of Route 7

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Jack Miller Contractors has received the town's approval to renovate and expand the abandoned gas station and convenience store property at the corner of Sand Springs Road and Simonds Road (Route 7) to serve as its new headquarters.
 
Last Tuesday, the Planning Board voted, 5-0, to approve a development plan for 824 Simonds Road that will incorporate the existing 1,300-square-foot building and add an approximately 2,100-square-foot addition.
 
"We look forward to turning what is now an eyesore into a beautiful property and hope it will be a great asset to the neighborhood and to Williamstown," Miller said on Friday.
 
Charlie LaBatt of Guntlow and Associates told the Planning Board that the new addition will be office space while the existing structure will be converted to storage for the contractor.
 
The former gas station, most recently an Express Mart, was built in 1954 and, as of Friday morning, was listed with an asking price of $300,000 by G. Fuls Real Estate on 0.39 acres of land in the town's Planned Business zoning district.
 
"The proposed project is to renovate the existing structure and create a new addition of office space," LaBatt told the planners. "So it's both office and, as I've described in the [application], we have a couple of them in town: a storage/shop type space, more industrial as opposed to traditional storage."
 
He explained that while some developments can be reviewed by Town Hall staff for compliance with the bylaw, there are three potential triggers that send that development plan to the Planning Board: an addition or new building 2,500 square feet or more, the disturbance of 20,000 square feet of vegetation or the creation or alteration of 10 or more parking spots.
 
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