Panera Bread gets go-ahead for Glenville store

PHOTOGRAPHER: Michael Goot

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Panini and sourdough bread are coming to Glenville.

The Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday approved plans by RD Management for a 3,800-square-foot Panera Bread at the new Target plaza on Route 50. Engineer Richard Pearson said the cafe bakery plans to start construction as soon as possible.

“They’re anxious to come to Glenville,” he said.

There was no timetable for when the project would be completed.

Kevin Corcoran, the town’s director of economic development and planning, said Panera officials have already submitted a building permit application, so it is really happening. This is unlike five years ago, when the restaurant was supposed to be the anchor for a 20,000-square-foot plaza to be constructed across from Price Chopper on Route 50 following the demolition of a vacant Dollar Store and a tile shop.

Company officials backed out of the plan, saying that nearby locations in Niskayuna and Clifton Park were underperforming and the town’s older population was not the demographic it sought.

Panera specializes in bread and pastries, cold and hot panini sandwiches, salads and a variety of coffee, tea and other beverages. It had 1,562 locations nationwide as of March, including sites on Balltown Road in Niskayuna, Maxwell Drive in Clifton Park and Crossgates Commons in Albany.

Construction work on the anchor tenant of the plaza — the 135,000-square-foot Target — remains on schedule. Workers have completed the site work and are now finishing the interior of the store, according to Pearson.

Commission Chairman Michael Carr said he is excited about the redevelopment of the former Kmart plaza.

“It’s really transforming the area down here. It’s been a long road but we’re happy,” he said.

other business

In other business, a proposal by William Socha to construct a 60,000-square-foot mixed use building on 10 acres between Socha Plaza and Socha Plaza South was pulled off the agenda but will be considered next month. Corcoran said the drainage plans needed further review, and the project requires another variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals to have parking in front of the building.

The board also postponed a recommendation on a proposed zoning amendment to limit the density of multifamily housing. One of the changes would require that the commercial component of a mixed-use project be built at the same time as the residential portion.