NORTH SMITHFIELD – A company that installs a large percentage of new and replacement guardrails across the state is planning a major new headquarters development in North Smithfield as the company moves to the neighboring town from Woonsocket.
Mike Zavalia, of Commonwealth Engineers, presented the proposed project from Cosco Fence & Guardrail at the July 9 Planning Board meeting, telling the board that the guardrail and fencing installer with a large operation and statewide contract is planning a new headquarters on an 18-acre property off Quaker Highway.
Cosco LLC long ago outgrew its current location at Highland Corporate Park, said Zavalia, and this new location is seen as a great fit for the company and their business model. The target property, he said during the pre-application meeting, starts out narrow near the road and widens as it goes back.
He said the wooded area is a wellhead protection area, and they’ll be complying with all treatment requirements in their design once submitted.
Pre-application meetings such as last week’s are designed so developers can get a feel for the concerns of a planning board before investing in more detailed plans.
Cosco will operate significant business out of the new headquarters location, Zavalia said, with three separate buildings. One will be an office building housing roughly 25 employees, though many will be on the road at any given time doing sales, the second and largest will be a drive-thru warehouse for those materials that needs to be kept inside, and a third will be a maintenance facility for vehicles, though not a full-service vehicle repair station.
Zavalia said they’ll have a spill management plan for proper containment and mitigation as part of the design, plans that will feature a 2,000-gallon above-ground fuel storage container.
Chairperson Gary Palardy asked how the fuel station will be protected against an accident from a truck backing into it, and Zavalia said it will have bollards as a blockade on a concrete slab for containment.
Board member Lucien Benoit suggested a third layer of protection with rubberized catchment beneath the slab, and Palardy agreed, saying Cosco should consider multi-layer protection beneath the ground. Rest assured, he told Zavalia, this board will be very interested in everything to do with the fuel storage tank when the application is made official.
Board members and Zavalia also had a chat about a planned 2-acre outdoor storage area and potential options for keeping the surface permeable with destabilized crushed stone and a supporting geo-grid.
Zavalia explained that there will be some roll-off dumpsters for damaged guardrails brought back to the facility from around the state. Filled dumpsters with scrap metal will be removed three times per week.
