By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET —  If it appears as though the new CVS pharmacy being constructed on Broad Street is taking over part of the roadway, that’s because it is.

As part of an agreement with the project’s developers, both the cities of Pawtucket and Central Falls have given up a 10-foot right of way in front of the old train depot site to accomodate the new CVS. The footage amounts to the loss of what was essentially a parking lane, and will not impact the flow of traffic on Broad Street, according to Pawtucket Planning officials.
According to Michael Cassidy, Pawtucket’s Planning Director, the road-taking was part of an agreement that was forged between the parties in a lengthy debate involving the preservation of the historic train depot.
Cassidy said that Pawtucket and Central Falls each gave up 10 feet of municipally owned roadway, which allowed CVS to slide out their building further on the site and to be situated a greater distance away from the old train depot. The configuration also allowed for a more efficient drive-through and a greater parking area.
“Essentially, Broad Street is just losing a parking lane in front of the old train station,” said Cassidy. He added that once the construction fencing is removed, the road will not look as narrowed as it does now.
Cassidy said that the block-long portion of Broad Street that runs in front of the old train depot was 50 feet wide. It will be changed to 40 feet wide, but will match up with the width of the rest of Broad Street that runs through Pawtucket. “Except for that one block, all the rest of the sections of Broad Street on the Pawtucket side are 40-feet wide,” he said.
Cassidy added that, as Broad Street heads into Central Falls, beginning around where City Hall is located, it narrows to 30 feet wide.
Work is progressing on the $2 million, 12,000-square-foot pharmacy building that will be located near the intersection of Clay and Barton Streets and Broad Street. It is the first piece of development on the 60,000-square foot property, which also includes the 90-year-old brick depot. The depot and surrounding lot had been vacant for over 47 years.
Efforts had been made by state and local preservation groups to save the train depot from demolition and to block the CVS project. The Preservation Society of Pawtucket had previously lobbied against the city’s abandonment of the 10-foot right of way, until an agreement was reached.
For their part, the developers, SMPO Properties, Inc., of Memphis, Tenn., agreed to repair and replace part of the train depot that they had begun to demolish, in keeping with its historical character.