Stop & Shop, Vineyard Haven businesses discuss expansion plans

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Stop & Shop Supermarket Company representatives scheduled an information session and reception for Vineyard Haven merchants at the Mansion House from 5 to 7:30 pm, yesterday, Wednesday.

“What we wanted to do was to reach out to the Vineyard Haven merchants and businesses, where we are neighbors, as a courtesy,” Stop & Shop consultant Greg O’Brien told The Times in a phone conversation early Wednesday, prior to the meeting. “We wanted to begin the process of informing them about our plans and about our efforts in working with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission [MVC] to produce the best project possible, and to answer their questions.”

The Stop & Shop Supermarket company announced plans in February to combine its real estate holdings at its Vineyard Haven store site to increase the size of the building to a two-story, 28,000 square-foot building and add parking for 43 cars in an enclosed area on the ground level.

Since then, Stop and Shop representatives have met several times with the MVC’s land use planning committee in preparation for the project’s review as a development of regional impact. A public hearing is scheduled on July 11 at the Tisbury Senior Center.

“We think it’s a very good plan,” Mr. O’Brien said. “We’re looking forward to working with the Martha’s Vineyard Commission and believe this is a project that will provide an exceptional shopping experience for customers.”

Mr. O’Brien said the information session is the first of many that Stop & Shop plans to hold to keep the Island community informed. Last month, during the Tisbury selectmen’s May 8 meeting, Tisbury lawyer and former selectman Geoghan Coogan, who is the local representative for the Stop & Shop project, participated in a public forum about the store’s expansion plans.