A new Starbucks planned for Arlington passed its next development hurdle Tuesday, Jan. 19, as the Arlington Commission approved changes for an amendment to the project’s site plan.
Meanwhile, the commission also endorsed a new residential development destined for the south side of Interstate 40.
The board voted 4-1 to amend the site plan for the Arlington Falls development near Airline Road and Milton Wilson Boulevard. this is where the new Starbucks is expected to open this year. The amendment for the estimated 5,000-square-foot building adds a drive-thru on the west side of Airline Road and changes the layout of the original proposal. This requires moving the building farther from the street.
“What that does is extend that queuing in (the drive-thru),” Arlington Town Planner Angela Reeder said. “Where previously they provided six spaces, this new plan would actually allow them to get up to nine vehicles.”
The dissenting vote came from Russ Campbell, who wanted the building closer to the street as originally intended.
“I so don’t want to see us move that building any further away from the street when we’ve been trying to get those corners closer,” said Campbell, referring to the commission’s desire for development of the Airline Road-Milton Wilson Boulevard intersection to slow traffic through the area.
Arlington Falls was approved in 2017, and the three-bay building with the 2,100-square-foot Starbucks was approved by the Planning Commission and the town’s Board of Mayor and Aldermen last summer. The building will also include a nail salon and possibly a wireless carrier.
The Arlington Commission approved changes as Starbucks wants to amend the lot layout because mobile ordering has changed the way its industry operates.
“There’s a paradigm shift in retail that has been accentuated by COVID in that we’re getting more need for more queuing and also for the mobile app where people pull up in front,” said Shawn Massey, a partner with The Shopping Center Group that represents Starbucks. “You’re going to see more and more retailers coming through asking for drive-thrus.”
To learn more about the proposed plans and more from the Planning Commission meeting, read the full article here: https://dailymemphian.com/section/suburbs/article/19422/arlington-approves-starbucks-changes-adds-drive-thru