Eliot Orton, a member of the family that founded the retail business in 1946, said he decided that after about a year of review, the payoff of opening a third store would be too slow.
“It’s a cumulation of everything,” he said Monday. The company has stores in Weston and Rockingham.
Stowe Zoning Director Rich Baker said the town was notified by email that the Ortons were withdrawing their permit. Reached by phone Monday, he said he didn’t know anything more.
Orton said his family had spent nearly $200,000 already on local permits and hadn’t begun the state process. Also, he said, they were concerned that existing Stowe businesses struggle with traffic, parking and competition from Stowe Mountain Resort, which has been bought by the ski mountain giant Vail Resorts.
The Ortons planned to build the nearly 17,000-square-foot retail business where the Stowe Motel sits, according to the Stowe Reporter.
In a Stowe Development Review Board meeting in April, some residents said they feared the large business could open the door for a Walmart, according to the Stowe Reporter. They also feared it would push out smaller, local businesses.
Orton would not say how much the family expected construction to cost, other than to say it would be “a lot.”
The family still plans to open a third store, but not in Stowe, Orton said.
“We hoped it would work out,” he said. “We certainly don’t hold any ill regard toward the process.”
