A deteriorating eyesore on a prominent stretch of the Silas Deane Highway — once a Weight Watchers food processing plant — could now be converted to a warehouse supermarket focusing largely on Asian foods supplying restaurants and consumers.
The proposal for 1000 Silas Deane Highway in Wethersfield is the latest in a string of plans to convert the sprawling, 100,000-square-foot building for a use that reflects the town’s vision for creating more storefronts, restaurants and shops along a major thoroughfare in town.
The proposal, which has been evolving for at least a year, could come up for a vote by the town planning and zoning commission as soon as Tuesday. If approved, the proposed conversion, including exterior upgrades to the building where it faces the Silas Deane, plus new landscaping, would take about a year.
“It appears that they are doing the most amount of due diligence in putting forward the best proposal they ever had,” David Elder, Wethersfield’s town planner, said Monday. “It’s the most complete. It’s got renderings and a complete site plan. It seems like they are doing everything they can to try to get it approved.”
The property was purchased by Ken Zhang of KCH Trading Inc. in 2021 for $1.6 million for the property, according to town records. Since 2022, Zhang has been in disputes with the town over on-going uses of the property that don’t meet zoning requirements.
If approved, the warehouse supermarket would take Zhang’s name — Ken Foods — and be similar to one Zhang once operated on Long Island.
The Long Island property was needed for redevelopment and Zhang decided to relocate to Connecticut, attracted by the refrigeration options at the Silas Deane plant, according to Zhang’s lawyer, David S. Hoopes, whose practice is in downtown Hartford.
Hoopes said he did not know how much Zhang would invest in the proposed conversion. Zhang did not respond to an email seeking comment.
The warehouse supermarket would pursue a “no frills” approach, similar to BJ’s Wholesale Club or Costco, Hoopes said, with prepackaged food on pallets., but also refrigerated seafood and meats. Hoppes, who noted Zhang plans to offer delivery, compared the business to the neighboring landmark City Fish Market that serves both businesses and households.
The road to this latest proposal for 1000 Silas Deane has been a bumpy one, however.
In a Jan. 19 memorandum from Elder to the planning commission, Elder noted the property “has been subject to enforcement actions dating back to 2022, when the municipality became aware the property was actively being used and occupied as a food warehouse, storage and retail business.” The uses were not permitted where the property is located, Elder said.
After several false starts, Elder said Zhang secured a change to zoning regulations last year to include warehouse supermarket use “that would allow by special permit the proposed use of the site and which included a reduced and unique parking ratio specific to the use.”
The 3.5-acre property presented a challenge for parking because the building — its roots in an industrial past, backing up to a rail corridor — covered a majority of property and had little parking.
According to Zhang’s written proposal, the parking needs are “far less than those of a typical retail use.”
“The reason the use will generate significantly less traffic than other retail uses is that the applicant’s customer base will consist of restaurants as well as household customers,” the proposal states. “Restaurant customers buy in much larger volumes per visit and many will have products delivered by the applicant.”
The proposal also argues that it only expects about 100 customers a day, with 80-85% shopping between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., “outside of rush hours.” The warehouse is expected to be open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., according to the proposal.
Even so, Elder, in the memorandum to the commission, said a future rise in the number of household shoppers may render the parking inadequate.
“As such, the commission may want to consider, with some frequency, or as needed, a condition to review the adequacy and functioning of the parking and traffic circulation,” Elder wrote.
Hoopes said the work planned will make the building an attractive addition to the Silas Deane.
“There’s going to be quite a lot of work,” Hoopes said. “It’s going to be repaved, The façade is going to be redone. It’s going to look nice.”
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at [email protected].