Gallery Automotive

Rockland and Hingham, MA
Key Elements
  • Extensive local and state permitting 
  • Stormwater management system maintenance planning 
  • Public engagement 

The Gallery Automotive Dealership is a 58,000-square-foot automotive dealership that straddles the town lines of Rockland and Hingham. The project included a showroom and service space for BMW and MINI, along with 468 parking/inventory spaces. Access to the development is via a new access driveway through an existing office building property.    

Nitsch developed preliminary site planning concepts that were used by the owner in discussions with potential occupants. The concepts included different building scenarios and site designs, including offsite improvements that eventually assisted the owner with coming to an agreement with Gallery Automotive.  

Our site design included 1.4 acres of new porous asphalt located in the vehicle inventory storage areas, as well as a small amount of wetlands fill and wetlands replication, and a green infrastructure swale and bioretention basin to collect and treat stormwater run-off generated by Route 3. 

One particular challenge on the project was the extensive permitting. Nitsch prepared permit applications and received approval from both local and state agencies:

  • Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Certificate from the Massachusetts Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs 
  • Planning Board Approval from the Rockland Planning Board 
  • Special Permit and Variances from the Rockland Zoning Board of Appeals 
  • Order of Conditions from the Rockland Conservation Commission 
  • Site Plan and Special Permit Approval from the Hingham Planning Board 
  • Variances from the Hingham Zoning Board of Appeals 
  • Order of Conditions from the Hingham Conservation Commission 
  • Approval Not Required (ANR) sign-off from both Hingham and Rockland Planning Board 
  • Indirect Access Permit from Massachusetts Department of Transportation 

We also provided additional professional civil engineering services associated with the long-term operation and maintenance of the stormwater management system, as outlined in the Long-Term Pollution Prevention and Stormwater Operation and Maintenance Plan we developed during design and permitting of the project. 

Key Collaborators 

Owner: A.W. Perry, Inc. 
Landscape Architect: Radner Design Associates 
Construction Manager: Integrated Builders