By Andy Brophy

WESTPORT–Sprouts Farmers Market came closer Tuesday night to putting down roots for its first grocery store in Connecticut.

Sprouts currently has 509 grocery stores in 25 states and wants to open in a 1460 Post Road East building that now houses BevMax, a liquor store, and Julian’s Pizza Bar & Kitchen as tenants.

Another tenant, still to be determined, is also planned in the building, said Rick Hoag, a Westport architect, who presented plans to the town’s Architectural Review Board on Tuesday night.

The board approved exterior renovations for both the 1460 Post Road East building and an 1849 Post Road East building that would have a wellness center added to the building that also includes Shake Shack.

1460 Post Road East

But the ARB’s approvals were not a rubber stamp of plans presented to the board during its roughly 90-minute meeting in Town Hall.

Several board members thought too many “architectural elements” were proposed on the exterior at 1460 Post Road East and that a trellis planned on the building wasn’t needed.

District 5 Representative Town Meeting member Peter Gold said he was concerned nearby homeowners could see proposed loading docks and rooftop mechanical equipment from second-story windows on their homes.

“I think it still feels like you’ve got five different facade types for Sprouts,” said board member Jon Halper. “I’d like to see fewer elements.”

Halper suggested the color green could be extended onto panels to the left of the planned grocery store’s entrance, but Hoag said Sprouts was “adamant” about only having green on its entrance.

Andrew Albrecht, vice president of management and construction for the property owner, suggested plantings could be used in lieu of green panels.

“We’d be pretty happy with that,” he said.

Member Vesna Herman said she’d like to see a “unifying” element on the facade and that the proposed exterior had “quite a bit of different horizontal elevations.”

Hoag said the differing elevations were due in part to how the building had been constructed.

David Halpern, a board member, said the proposed trellis “is really a foreign element given everything else that is there” and that “something more subtle” would be better.

Hoag said he thought the proposed trellis added depth to the facade.

Gold, the District 5 RTM member, said he didn’t want nearby homeowners to see loading docks and mechanical equipment on the building’s roof.

But Ward French, the board’s chairman, said plantings to screen the loading docks and mechanical equipment would best be addressed by the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission, which also needs to approve the renovations before construction can begin.

French added that extending green panels to the left of Sprout’s entrance “doesn’t do anything for me” and that the application was “not a rebuild.”

“We’re dealing with a quintessential ‘80s block building,” French said. “I think what we’re dealing with is a big box that is never going to be perfect.”

The board’s approval came with conditions that more consideration be given to removing the trellis and extending green siding beyond the entrance.

“These guys are all very reasonable to work with,” Hoag, owner of Frederick William Hoag Architect in Westport, said after the board approved exterior renovations to the 1460 Post Road East building.

“It’s all very subjective. What they’re trying to do is get the best possible aesthetics for the building and working within the constraints we have,” he added.

1849 Post Road East

Board members spent less time on renovations planned to the 1849 Post Road building, which called for Shake Shack to remain in front of the lot and a wellness center in the rear.

Those plans were presented by George Wiles and Daniella Ruiz from Wiles Architects in Milford.

Halpern and Herman said they thought the canopy planned on the building was a little large and ought to be lightened, but they thought overall the project had been done well.

Andy Brophy

Andy Brophy is an experienced Fairfield County journalist. Andy was a staff writer at The Connecticut Post for 10 years. He also wrote for the Norwalk Hour, Fairfield Minuteman, Fairfield Patch and weekly newspapers in Westport, Fairfield and Norwalk. When not reporting, Andy enjoys playing chess and listening to pianist Art Tatum. ^_.