AGAWAM — Construction on the vacant lot at the corner of Main and Suffield streets is expected to begin in early 2023, according to Frank Colaccino, president of the Springfield development company Colvest Group.

While plans for the development have yet to be formalized, Colaccino told Reminder Publishing that he plans to build three businesses on the long-empty site where a gas station and the former Agawam Motor Lodge once stood.

A Starbucks café, an urgent health care clinic, and a drive-through fast-food restaurant will occupy the buildings, Colaccino said. Other than Starbucks, he did not specify which particular brands are coming to the 2.25-acre lot. Rumors of a new Starbucks location have been circulating since February, after Mayor William Sapelli made comments about the coffee chain coming to Agawam.

Earlier this year, Sapelli sold a half-acre strip on the edge of the Town Hall parking lot to Colvest group, which added enough land to the corner lot to accommodate drive-through lanes and parking lots. The project will require a zoning change, as the Town Hall land is zoned for residential use.

As part of the deal, Colvest Group sold 50 Main St., a house lot abutting Doering School, to the town.

The school, the house lot and the Town Hall property at 36 Main St. all connect at the rear, though there remains one privately owned home, 46 Main St., that breaks up the town-owned frontage on Main Street.

In March, City Councilor Robert Rossi called the acquisition of 50 Main St. “a win for the town,” and said it would give “endless opportunities and options for the future” of the school. Sapelli had to secure City Council approval to buy and sell land.

Not everyone is excited about Starbucks, a global coffee retailer with nearly 34,000 locations, setting up shop at the busy intersection on Agawam’s side of the Morgan-Sullivan Bridge.

“I don’t dig the idea of a shop that will create traffic hazards and snafus [with middle school students] nearby. Not to mention the general traffic problems at dismissal time. That’s all we need is someone who’s raging because their Starbucks coffee wasn’t made right, and speeding out and hitting a kid,” said a Facebook user identified as Cathy O’Cathy.

Agawam resident and small business owner Michelle Fairman commented, “Getting out will be difficult. I know just trying to take a left out of Rocky’s is difficult.”

Fairman is the owner of Nutrition First, a tea and juice bar on Walnut Street, one block away from the proposed Starbucks.

When asked if she was concerned about competition from the forthcoming Starbucks, Farman said, “You are going to have two caffeinated places next to each other. We have caffeinated drinks, we have smoothies. Our drinks are healthy. I will leave it at that.”

Plans for the new development have not yet been finalized. The City Council has scheduled a public hearing for the zone change proposal on Aug. 1.

The property at 24 Main St. has sat vacant since the Colvest Group purchased it in 2015 from Chulho Yoo. Yoo sold the property after the town filed a lawsuit against the motel owner and 25 residents of the motel, claiming the property was in violation of health and safety codes. Some of the residents of the motel had lived there for over 20 years. After closing the motel, the town razed it in 2016.

During the bridge construction from 2018 to 2021, the Colvest property served as a staging area for construction materials and vehicles.