Claremont
Jim Keady, who owns Keady Family Practice with his wife, Cecilia, a nurse practitioner, said the property will allow the practice to meet demand.
“We have outgrown our space (on Pleasant Street) and we just need a bigger facility,” Keady said on Monday. “This seemed like the right amount of space and an opportunity to begin with a clean slate.”
Keady said the Pleasant Street office has 2,700 square feet of space on the first floor, and while they have another 2,700 feet on the second floor, they cannot use it for patients because there is no elevator.
“The new site will have 4,200 square feet on one floor,” he said. “We now have eight exam rooms and will increase that to 16.”
Ideally, Keady said they would like to be in the renovated space by February but that will depend largely on scheduling of contractors.
Keady said he has been told by the city’s Planning and Development department that the property is zoned for the planned use, so there is no need for either Planning Board or Zoning Board of Adjustment approval; however, building permits will be required
The interior demolition won’t be difficult because the restaurant has an “open floor” plan, but removing the restaurant equipment will pose some challenges, he said.
“We bought the building and everything in it,” said Keady, adding that his son is working on finding buyers for the equipment.
He also said they plan to remove a large walk-in cooler at the rear of the building, which will add to the 22 parking spaces.
In anticipation of expansion, the practice has hired another nurse practitioner, who will begin work after the first of the year, Keady said.
Family-owned Bricker’s at one time was one of the city’s most popular restaurants. It closed in 2013 but reopened earlier this year after the Planning Board approved a parking plan and a new traffic pattern for customers. The plan was opposed by the owner of the plaza where the restaurant is located — though it is on a separate parcel — because of concerns restaurant patrons would park on plaza property. Previously, there was an easement between the plaza owner and the restaurant that allowed shared parking, but that agreement expired in 2013 and no new agreement could be reached.
After the Planning Board approved the parking plan for Bricker’s, the plaza owner erected a guardrail on the property line with the goal of preventing diners from parking in the plaza lot while eating at the restaurant. The restaurant remained open for several months before closing in late summer.
Asked about the guardrail, Keady said he has not spoken to the plaza owner but he would not mind seeing it removed and allowing Keady patients to access the practice at the traffic light entrance to the plaza, which he said would be particularly beneficial to the elderly.
Keady did not disclose the purchase price. The property is assessed at $307,000.
Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.
