The owners of Hampton Inn & Suites in Kennebunk are planning to expand the hotel’s capacity by adding 33 rooms. Tammy Wells photo

KENNEBUNK – Hampton Inn & Suites, at 6 Independence Drive, near the Maine Turnpike southbound exit and Alfred Road, has proposed an expansion.

The 73-room hotel, built in 2016 and owned by Kennebunk Port Hotel, LLC, is looking to add 33 rooms. The expansion would add 16,000 square feet to the 44,000-square-foot hotel. The proposal includes a realignment of Freedom Way to accommodate the expansion of the building to the east, according to Kennebunk Planning Director Brittany Howard.

The current property is assessed by the town at $7.8 million, municipal records show.

According to the application, about 120 feet of Freedom Drive – the road adjacent to the proposed expansion – will be shifted to the east about 10 feet to allow room for the expansion. To the north, most improvements will be on the lot listed as 4 Independence Drive, the application states, which is also owned by the applicant. That lot was cleared and graded in 2016 and would be converted into a parking area, with typical grading, storm water management, and landscaping. The parking area will have two entrances onto Freedom Drive and connect to the existing parking area at both ends.

A public hearing Oct. 24 to amend the current contract zone on the property to allow the expansion  drew no comment. Planning board members unanimously deemed the application complete for preliminary review.

The next step is for the board to hold a final meeting to review any changes, said Howard, and vote on the application. The proposal is tentatively scheduled for the Nov. 14 meeting.

Howard said a town meeting vote would not be required to approve the proposed changes to the contract zone. She said there can be changes to the plan with a subdivision or site plan review if they are in accord with the requirements of the contract.

Sebago Technics project manager Stephen Doe, who is representing the applicant, said minor changes had been made to the plan to accommodate trucks that unload at nearby Cummings’ Market. The application notes the loading area has been widened slightly and a streetlight by the service area has been moved four feet. The applicant has also changed the curb type along Freedom Way to be a mountable curb and will thicken the concrete sidewalk to allow delivery trucks to drive on it if needed to access the loading dock.

Ban Boothby, manager of Cummings’ Market, said the business has a good relationship with Hampton Inn & Suites. He did express concern about the amount of room the trucks will have as they back in to unload. He estimated there are three to four tractor trailers, plus smaller trucks, that unload daily at the market.

There were questions about the need for another catch basin, and the applicant was to discuss the matter with the town’s engineer.