Revised project receives an OK in Glenville

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Goot

A project to redevelop the business site on Route 50 across from the Price Chopper plaza may get under way, while a major townhouse development on Maple Avenue remains stalled.

The Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday approved a revised site plan by Nigro Companies for business structures.

The commission had approved an earlier version of the project a year ago that was to have included a Panera Bread bakery and cafe. However, officials for the franchise said market conditions stalled that.

The new plan changes the size of the multi-tenant building to 15,660 square feet. It also replaces the restaurant with a 2,700-square-foot Pioneer Savings Bank, which is the only business announced so far.

“We’re talking with several tenants and we’ll be in a position to announce who they are fairly soon,” said Nigro Companies Vice President Steven Powers.

Powers said he hopes to start construction on the brick, glass and masonry building as soon as they obtain the building permits and be completed by mid-fall. He would not disclose the cost of the development.

YATES FARM

In other business, the commission took no action on a project by Concord Development to construct the 44-unit Yates Farm Townhomes on 7 acres on Maple Avenue near its intersection with Alplaus Avenue.

Town Planner Michael Burns said about a dozen residents raised concerns about storm water runoff, the architecture of the homes and traffic. Maple Avenue is a busy commuter route, Burns said.

“I think one of their concerns is that the additional traffic will make it worse.”

There already is a $1 million project in the county’s Transportation Improvement Program to upgrade Maple Avenue and its intersection with Alplaus Avenue. There is a sharp bend on Maple that makes it difficult for drivers to see vehicles waiting to make a left turn onto Alplaus.

Burns said residents did not object to the project but wanted these questions answered. The commission postponed action on the project to get some more answers. The town has 72 days by law to act on the application following the public hearing.

An earlier version of the project was approved in April 2007 with 50 units and had involved construction on the Yates farmhouse parcel, which was the summer home of Union College founder and New York Gov. Joseph C. Yates. The new proposal does not.

Chris Myers, president of Concord Development LLC, said he scaled down the project at the suggestion of the Planning and Zoning Commission members and the public, who said there should be some more open space. He is planning to contribute an amount he would not disclose to the county highway project.

“There’s an existing traffic problem there — with or without my project. The county project will alleviate what’s already a problem,” he said.

The units will be two-and three-bedrooms and sell for between $225,000 and $250,000. He said the target market would be empty nesters.

Myers said he would like to obtain his approvals and begin construction later this spring. He has developed townhouse projects in Albany, Schenectady and Saratoga County, as well as the Parker Inn in Schenectady.