The Town of Danvers Planning Board on April 8 approved site plan review for a proposed stand‑alone Chick‑fil‑A restaurant with a three‑lane drive‑through at 50 Independence Way, the former Friendly Toast site within the Liberty Tree Mall.

The approval authorizes an approximately 5,100‑square‑foot restaurant with drive‑through lanes and associated site work. The board’s decision includes conditions requiring the applicant to record the decision at the registry of deeds, satisfy the Danvers Engineering Division memorandum dated April 7, 2025, and to coordinate with the owner of Liberty Tree Mall, Simon Property Group, on striping and signage. The decision also requires reassessing the condition of a section of Independence Way within 18 months and completing any necessary repairs or repaving determined by a third‑party paving consultant.

Why it matters: the project replaces an existing restaurant building with a high‑turnover fast‑food use that will change traffic patterns and reduce on‑site parking area while adding landscaping and drainage improvements.

Joey Fonseca, the project engineer representing Bowler/Boller Engineering, said the plan demolishes the existing Friendly Toast building and places the Chick‑fil‑A in roughly the same footprint with new landscaping and a reduction of impervious surface. “There is a pretty substantial reduction in impervious coverage with this site. It's about 9,000 square feet of impervious coverage,” Fonseca said, describing runoff and drainage improvements the project will include.

Board discussion focused on pedestrian safety and long‑term maintenance of the mall’s access roads. Planning staff reported recent communications with Simon Property Group indicating Simon repaved several areas in fall 2024 and expects to repave the north and south lanes at the mall entrance from Endicott Street in May 2025. The board added a condition requiring the applicant and property owner to work with Simon Property Group to reassess the condition of Independence Way between Commonwealth Avenue and the internal T intersection; if a third‑party consultant finds repairs or repaving are needed, the property owner and/or applicant must complete them within a reasonable time in consultation with town staff.

The decision also waives several submission requirements that staff judged satisfied by existing plan sheets and supporting materials. The application packet included a traffic memorandum by Bowman dated Jan. 24, 2025; architectural drawings; and a March 27, 2025 revised site plan set of 23 sheets prepared by Bowler/Boller.

The board voted to close the public hearing and approved the site plan by voice vote with no recorded opposition. The decision contains a three‑year lapse clause: approval will expire if construction has not begun within three years.

A final, municipal building permit and continued coordination with the Danvers Department of Public Works and engineering will be required; the approval specifically requires the applicant to satisfy all outstanding engineering comments in the April 7 memo before building permits are issued.

Ending: The applicant said it expects to continue coordinating remaining utility and drainage details with DPW as the project moves to permitting and construction; a specific construction timeline was not finalized at the hearing.