Roastd Redevelopment Plans Approved By Planning Board

The Planning Board has approved a redevelopment plan for 159 Orange Street, which currently houses the popular coffee shop Roastd, and two adjoining properties on West Creek Road. But the plan still needs approval from the Historic District Commission, which suggested a number of aesthetic revisions.

The mixed-use development includes three buildings (one new, and two which already exist), featuring office space, a new home from Roastd, and seven apartments. During the Planning Board’s hearing on the plan, the developers agreed to restrict five of the seven apartments for year-round occupancy, guaranteeing that they will go to island residents and will not be short-term rented.

“We really need mixed-use development,” Planning Board member Hillary Hedges Rayport said. “I think your business is terrific. The offering that you have in Roastd is fantastic, and I love to see it expanded. I like bringing this to the mid-island. It's exactly the sort of thing we need. We need more rental apartments.”

The properties are owned by a partnership registered to a limited liability corporation managed by Island Energy Services CEO Todd Boling. Island Energy Chief Operating Officer Dave Fredericks spoke at the Planning Board meeting to explain the company’s plans for the area.

“It fit what we're trying to do: figuring out how to bring mixed-use into a discussion to help soften the impact of providing housing for our employees,” Fredericks said. “It all started with our belief that the best employee is one that we can help live on the island.”

The HDC recommended a number of aesthetic changes to the plan, but HDC chair Stephen Welch, who also serves as a Planning Board alternate, said that he supports the purpose of the development.

“I think it's a good plan,” he said. “Architecturally, it's a different animal, but in terms of two dimensions, it seems like a good use of the space.”

The development consists of three buildings. One is the building that currently houses Roastd. It is already being relocated to 1 West Creek Road, where it will be used for office space and storage. The second currently hosts offices for the Nantucket Architectural Group and has approval for one housing unit.

The third is a new building (pictured above), and was the subject of the Planning Board and HDC’s reviews. It will contain six apartments, office space, and a new storefront for Roastd, and will be located at 159 Orange Street. The Planning Board approved special permits for the building to exceed the zoning district’s height cap and have fewer than the required number of parking spaces.

While Roastd, which has recently expanded to several additional locations around the island, will have close temporarily (through April 6) due to the move, it will remain on site in the new building.

The height of the new building is likely its most controversial feature.

“The thing that people won't like is the height,” Rayport said.

In a plan filed with the Planning Board, the applicants asked for “a special permit to allow a maximum building height of 34 feet in place of the maximum height allowance of 30 feet.”

But at the HDC’s meeting the following day, project representative Val Oliver said that the building would be closer to 30 feet, and presented a corroborating plan.