By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Four very different projects, ranging from a proposed Montessori school in a former bank building to an indoor racquet sports facility at Fairfield County Hunt Club, won a thumbs-up from the Architectural Review Board this week.

Apple Montessori School

Apple Montessori School is proposed at 980 Post Road East, a former Bank of America building. 

The school is designed to accommodate enrollment of about 130 children, as well as a pool and play area in the back.

It was called “a good adaptive re-use of an old building,” by Ward French, the ARB chair.

Board members’ main concern about the project was that traffic to and from the school would add to congestion on Post Road East, because the school is adjacent to Starbucks, where long lines of customers’ cars frequently back up in the mornings. 

According to architect Robert Grimaldi, who presented the design plan, the entrance to the school property will be a one-way driveway where parents can drop off their children, greeted by school staff who will help the youngsters out of cars at the curb.

Although ARB members saw the traffic pattern as a potential problem, “traffic circulation is not part of our issue,” Vesna Herman said. The board then voted unanimously to approve the design plan for the Montessori school.

The application has not yet been scheduled for review by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

Fairfield County Hunt Club racquets building

Also supported unanimously was a new building at the Fairfield County Hunt Club to house tennis and squash courts. The building, if zoning permission is granted, would be constructed in an under-used riding ring, Michael Kozlowski, of Claris Design Build in Newtown, told the board. 

The club’s application will be reviewed Monday by the Planning and Zoning Commission.

The 23,000-square-foot metal building will not only house tennis and squash courts, but a pro shop and a small changing area, he said.

The plan got positive reviews from ARB members. 

“It blends in. I like the way it was designed,” said Jackie Richardson.

Charlie McMillan said the architect did a good job with the design, especially considering “the limitations and challenges of the space,” because of other nearby facilities and buildings on the hunt club property.

Country Store gas signs

Another application the board supported unanimously — but only after a change in location was made — involves new signs proposed for gasoline service at The Country Store, 332 Wilton Road, which is also a small grocery store and deli.

The board appeared poised to approve the signs as initially proposed, after asking that the colors be less bright and the size be reduced because the store is located in a residential neighborhood.

But then Herman, who said she frequently travels through the Newtown Turnpike intersection with Wilton Road (Route 33), said a roadside sign’s proposed location would block sight lines for motorists turning onto Wilton Road.

Other board members agreed Herman made a good point, and they approved the plan after the sign was moved so it wouldn’t interfere with drivers’ vision.

TownHouse for Dogs and Cats sign

The panel also backed a new sign — designed in the shape of a dog bone — for TownHouse for Dogs and Cats, 1040 Post Road East.

The business had suffered a devastating fire in April 2022.

Freelance writer Gretchen Webster, a Fairfield County journalist for many years, was editor of the Fairfield Minuteman and has taught journalism at New York and Southern Connecticut State universities.