Developers outline proposals for Saratoga Springs parking garage

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen, left, listens to Paramount principal architect Richard de Vito make a presentation for a new parking garage on High Rock Avenue at City Hall Tuesday, November 10, 2015.

The public had its first look Tuesday night at two private proposals to develop a mixed-use project with parking on the High Rock lot behind City Hall, in competition with the controversial single-use parking garage the City Center Authority would like to build there.

About 100 people attended the developers’ 45-minute presentations in the third-floor meeting room at Saratoga Springs City Hall, most hoping to hear about creative alternatives from bidders Paramount Realty and Hyman Hemispheric to the garage being proposed by the City Center.

Paramount Realty Group of Syracuse is calling its project High Rock Village. It is working in partnership with The Community Builders of Albany, a non-profit housing developer. They are proposing an $80 million investment in the site, said Paramount Realty principal Richard deVito.

The Paramount Realty proposal calls for a three-story parking garage, with one level of parking below ground. It proposes 607 parking spaces, with the first hour of parking free, and additional time charged at a rate of $1.50 per hour. Half the annual parking garage revenue would be shared with the city, deVito said.

The Paramount proposal also includes 166 apartment or condominium units, and 49,800-square-feet of commercial space. Promenades would connect to surround streets and a proposed multi-use trail through the city.

DeVito said he’s been interested in developing the lot since a year ago, when he saw it during a visit to the city, only to learn that a traditional parking garage was being proposed on the land. He has met with Citizens for High Rock, a group that’s been pushing for mixed-use development of the city-owned property.

“I know there is tremendous support within the community for something other than just a parking garage,” deVito said.

He said his firm has helped redevelop central Syracuse in recent years, and he believes that experience can be applied in Saratoga Springs. “We are financially ready to go with this development,” deVito said. “We could be ready to go as soon as the spring of 2016.”

Jeff Hyman, principal of Hyman Hemispheric Group of Voorheesville, said his firm’s proposal could allow for major retail development, housing for working-class income groups, and the hundreds of parking spaces that nearly everyone agrees is needed downtown. He said that “2.6-acres like this doesn’t exist in downtown Saratoga Springs.”

Hyman’s proposal could have up to 656 parking spaces and 200,000-square-feet of residential or commercial development, including up to four floors of office space, totaling 65,500-square-feet. About 350 of the parking spaces would be for tenant use. About 106,000-square-feet of space would be housing. In addition, 35,600 square feet of green space is also included in the form of pocket parks and grassed areas. The developer did not say how much it would be investing.

Hyman is proposing coming up with a final design in consultation with the City Center, city government, business organizations, Citizens for High Rock and the general public. “This team, very intentionally, did not come in with a proposal that said, ‘This is it, take it or leave it,’ ” said Michael Phinney, a Saratoga Springs architect working with Hyman. “We think that ultimately, that is the only way it will be successful.”

The two proposals, submitted in September in response to a request for proposals, are in competition for city approval with the City Center’s parking garage plan, which has been criticized by many residents as too large, or for not including commercial or other uses that would attract people downtown.

The decision among the proposals will be made by the City Council, though it has appointed an advisory committee to help it make the decision. Some council members said parking may need more emphasis.

“I think they were both impressive proposals,” said city Public Safety Commissioner Chris Mathiesen. He urged the developers, though, to work with the City Center, which says it needs more parking. “I don’t think that was addressed by either proposal,” he said.

“I want to see the City Center involved in the technical review process,” said Finance Commissioner Michele Madigan.

“They have very specific needs.” She also said the proposals appear very large for the size of the lot.

“These proposals are considerably better than what we’re seeing from the City Center,” said Accounts Commissioner John Franck.

The City Center proposal is due to be discussed by the city Planning Board Thursday night.

The City Center’s last two appearances have been canceled, though, because of a lawsuit filed against the city by the owners of the Mouzon House, a restaurant next to the proposed parking garage site.