PARIS — The Planning Board voted Tuesday evening to approve a permit application to demolish the existing McDonald’s restaurant on 118 Main St. and construct a new McDonald’s restaurant in the adjacent lot.

Code Enforcement Officer Fred Collins Jr. said that the Planning Board reviewed the permit application at its May 24 meeting and voted to approve it, “as long as it meets the approval of the fire marshal.”

McDonald’s owns two lots on Main Street: the lot that the current McDonald’s restaurant sits on, and a parking lot adjacent to the restaurant.

The project would be overseen by Bohler Engineering, Collins said.

He said that the tentative plan is for Bohler Engineering to “break ground sometime in July, where they will begin constructing the building on the parking lot adjacent to the current McDonald’s restaurant.”

After the new building is constructed, Collins said that in mid- to late September, the old McDonald’s would be torn down.

“The idea is to keep the restaurant closed for as short a time as possible,” he said. “I think that they’re looking at three weeks of being closed.”

The land that currently houses the McDonald’s restaurant would be turned into a new parking lot.

“It’s a good plan that Bohler Engineering put forth, and they’re good engineers,” Collins said. “They’re going to be building an up-to-date facility with everything up to code.”

The new building would be 4,850 square feet, which is slightly smaller than the current McDonald’s restaurant, Collins said.

It will have a “more modern look” and a “newer design, similar to other McDonald’s restaurants throughout the state,” he continued. “The design of the buildings are required to stick pretty close to what other McDonald’s restaurants have done in the past.”

The site development plans also call for 51 parking spaces, which is less than the current parking lot.

“There’s a lot of empty, unused space in the parking lot right now, so there will be less spaces, but more greenery and landscaping,” Collins said.

He said that the town “seems excited” about the project, and is “excited to see a new and improved building.”

The Napoli Group, based in New Hampshire, is the owner/operator of the South Paris McDonald’s, in addition to McDonald’s restaurants in Rumford, Jay, Farmington and Kittery.

In 2015, Bohler Engineering tore down the McDonald’s restaurant in Farmington and rebuilt a new facility with updated features, including a double-order station for takeout orders, a modern dining area with television and WiFi, and an automated beverage service that fills an order when it is taken.

mdaigle@sunmediagroup.net