WESTBROOK – Broadway Gardens, a greenhouse based in South Portland, is planning on opening a new location in Westbrook

During Tuesday’s Westbrook Planning Board meeting, Broadway Gardens’ plans were approved to build two new greenhouses and a retail store on Route 302. The board also approved moving forward a zone change to allow businesses on Park Road with positive recommendation to the City Council and a special exception for a new church to move in to town.

Broadway Gardens is getting ready to start construction on two new greenhouses and a retail store at 610 Bridgton Road, where Storey’s Greenhouse was once located. The Storey’s greenhouses have since been demolished, but a new 960-square-foot wooden retail building with a second story for offices will be built on the site, along with two new commercial greenhouses.

No one was available at the South Portland store at American Journal deadline Wednesday to comment on the expansion.

Only a few miles away, at 60 Park Road near Mercy Hospital, two office condominiums could be seeing new tenants after sitting on the market for the past five years.

The owners, Michael Batt and Carl Packer, said they couldn’t find buyers because of the limited uses allowed for the building.

“Essentially you have an office building in a residential area and that zoning excludes any other business except for those that are medically related. We’re petitioning a zoning change to allow business office use, which would allow other professionals to come in to the area as special exception. These would be, by definition, low impact,” Batt said.

The approved change in the zoning ordinance will allow for a broader use of the property so the owners can reach more potential buyers.

Batt said under the change, any new business owner would be subject to a review to make sure the business fit under the guidelines.

Across the river, a former office building on Patrick Drive, off Terminal Street, could be converted into a new church. The International Christian Fellowship and its 200 members, who now meet in Portland, received approval to allow a church as a special exception use at the 36 Patrick Drive building.

There were some concerns from the Planning Board, who worried the shared parking lot between the church building and the neighboring businesses would become problematic if the businesses were sold and the new owners did not want to share the lot. The board was told the church members often car pool and could park on the street if needed.

According to Molly Just, city planner, the final step for the church, which is leasing the building, is getting approval from the code enforcement officer to make sure the building meets requirements for a church before renovations on the property can begin.

A sign announces the upcoming arrival of Broadway Gardens is the only thing marking the otherwise empty lot along Route 302 in Westbrook.