SOUTH DEERFIELD — Following the Deerfield Zoning Board of Appeals’ approval of a special permit this week, Hamshaw Lumber just needs to secure a building permit before it can proceed with a 12,245-square-foot expansion project.

The ZBA approved the special permit for the expanded lumber storage and warehouse space at 14 Elm St., which will join the existing store at 16 Elm St. A special permit from the ZBA is necessary to allow retail sales or rentals in a builder greater than 4,000 square feet. The Deerfield Planning Board previously approved the site plan and stormwater permit.

Hamshaw Lumber Facilities Manager Chip Farnum said the company plans to get the project started as soon as possible.

“Hamshaw wants to break ground as soon as possible before winter,” he said, adding that once they start, it should “go rather quickly.”

Along with the new building, which will have a flat roof to accommodate solar panels, Hamshaw Lumber will also undertake several improvements around the site, including expanding the gravel lot behind the store, which will add about 15 extra parking spaces. The company also said the addition will try to mirror the aesthetics of the Greenfield location.

While the function of the business will not change much, several ZBA members raised concerns about having such a large building be added to what Chair Adam Sokoloski called the “gateway into the center of South Deerfield.”

“With respect to the new building, [we’re] certainly aware that it faces Elm Street and has a significant presence along that streetscape,” said Berkshire Design Group Principal and landscape architect Jeff Squire, who also worked with the town on the adjacent Leary Lot. “The scale and proportions are consistent with the architecture up and down that face of Elm Street.”

One of the major requests was additional lighting on the existing building and more lighting on the eastern side of the addition, which will abut the Leary Lot’s driveway onto Elm Street. The company also agreed to spruce up the public parking area on Railroad Street, as well as remove weeds around the property.

“It’s a thriving business and we want good business, but we would love to lean into some of that enhancement,” said ZBA member David Potter.

With limited public comment, the ZBA issued the special permit with several additional conditions, as the company will be required to finish the project in 36 months, add downward lighting around the new and existing buildings, and maintain property around the building lots, along with general permit conditions.

Speaking to the 36-month, or three-year, time limit, Sokoloski acknowledged Hamshaw Lumber will likely complete the project in far less time, but it’s an additional mechanism to protect Deerfield from special permits that aren’t acted on.

“I’ve seen a couple projects in town that have been approved — one approved by this board and others not — that have been dragged out for a substantial period of time or the person hasn’t acted on the special permit,” he said.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.