Developer pitches independent living apartments in Saratoga Springs

PHOTOGRAPHER: Lee Coleman

An Albany developer wants to build 90 independent living apartments for people 55 and older, along with some retail and commercial space, near the corner of West Avenue and Church Street.

Omni Development Co. Inc. of Beaver Street outlined its plans at Wednesday night’s city Planning Board meeting.

The 2.79-acre site on the southeast corner of West and Church is currently vacant.

“We are early in the process,” said Duncan Barrett, Omni’s chief operating officer.

He said the $25 million project would include 5,500 square feet of commercial space for such things as a restaurant and retail shops. He said the commercial space would be oriented toward people who live in the four-story apartment building.

Omni Development is not new to Saratoga Springs. The company did a $12 million renovation of the 208-unit Embury Apartments on Lawrence Street in 2008. It has also done a number of major development projects in the city of Albany over the years.

Michael Ingersoll of the LA Group in Saratoga Springs, the company presenting the site plans for Omni, said the apartment building would have a dining facility and parking under the building, so vehicles would be protected from the weather. The building would be U-shaped, with an interior courtyard that would allow for gardens and dining terraces, Ingersoll said.

Kate Maynard, the city’s principal planner, said this was the Planning Board’s first look at the project. She said developers are seeking a special use permit to build the project in the Transect-5 zone, which is a neighborhood center zone. The project’s site plans would also need to be approved by the Planning Board.

The project will be referred to the city Design Review Commission and must be reviewed according to State Environmental Quality Review Act guidelines.

Ingersoll said the building and retail space would be oriented toward the corner of West and Church, and the grounds would include some sort of water feature that could be seen from the intersection.