770 Main St. Daycare Proposal Returns, Will Now Be Two Levels

Planning Board to hear details on Dec. 18

Butler School LLC has revived its proposal for a daycare at 770 Main St., a 1.04-acre lot between the Main Street Learning Academy and Tewksbury Federal Credit Union that now holds a single-family home.

In April, after significant Planning Board pushback about the proposed dimensions of the building, number of parking spaces, proximity of parking to the property lines and safety of families entering and leaving the facility, Butler School and Cariciofi Realty withdrew the original application without prejudice.

Resident Kim Welch of Main St. Learning Academy also spoke at a meeting about the potential for issues with cars turning in and out from Rt. 38, sometimes across traffic, at busy morning and afternoon rush hours. Main St. Learning Academy is licensed for 20 students.

The Butler School facility as previously envisioned would have accommodated more than 187 children. In an attempt to address board concerns, the owner reduced the size of the daycare from 10,000 square feet to 9,000 square feet and planned to serve 150 students. Still, the board was skeptical of the footprint of the facility on the acre lot, which has 162 feet of frontage and was listed at $1.1 million.

The new proposal is for a two-story, 15,000 square foot facility with a 7,500 sf footprint, set to the back of the lot, with capacity for 170 children, including infants.

The Butler School LLC is registered to Kamlesh Patel at 2 Trevino Circle in Andover. Residents can hear more about the new proposal at the Dec. 18 Planning Board meeting.

Lorna Garey

Lorna is a U.S. Army veteran and 25-year resident of Tewksbury who has written for organizations ranging from the DIA to InformationWeek to a free weekly in New London that sent her to interview the pastry chef at Foxwoods.