Milton planners hear concept plans for new Dunkin Donuts franchise

With McDonald’s already under construction, the next national chain with its eye on Milton is Dunkin Donuts, which presented concept plans for a new restaurant off Route 16 at an Oct. 15 planning and zoning commission meeting.

Dunkin is proposing a 2,860-square-foot restaurant with a drive-thru on a commercial lot in front of the Cypress Grove development. The lot where the Dunkin would be located is planned for a partition hearing before town council in November, Project Manager Tom Quass said. The second lot that would be created by the partitioning is planned for another, unnamed fast-food establishment.

Dunkin would have 38 parking spaces and would be accessed from Route 16, with motorists turning onto Grove Circle, which services the interior lots of the development. While the commission largely accepted what Dunkin was offering, Commissioner Jeff Seemans told Dunkin’s representatives that the plans as presented were not in keeping with the architectural or historic character of Milton. Seemans said given the dominance of drive-thru facilities like this, he struggled with how Dunkin could conform to the historic architecture requirements of the zoning code. He said he would like to see alterations made to make sure Dunkin is in compliance with code before it comes back for preliminary site-plan review. 

The commission agreed with Seemans that Dunkin should make the restaurant fit in with Milton’s architecture and also wanted to see a lighting plan when Dunkin comes back for site-plan review. 

The Cypress Grove parcel was annexed into Milton in December 2020. Plans for the 26-acre parcel called for 21 acres of 240 residential units, in an R-2 residential zoning district, and 5 acres of commercial space fronting Route 16. In addition to Dunkin and the unnamed fast-food restaurant, another parcel has been designated for a dentist’s office.