Schenectady OKs new apartments, Dunkin’ move

The city Planning Commission approved a four-story apartment building on Erie Boulevard close to the Mohawk Harbor site, which is also being developed with housing.

The commission unanimously granted David Fusco’s proposal for apartments at 1419 Erie Boulevard during a meeting Wednesday evening. The project was downsized from 60 units to 52 with a total of 52 parking spaces.

The commission OK’d the project despite concerns from several residents about traffic on Front Street. A couple of commissioners also expressed concerns about limited parking on the site.

The 1.45-acre property, which is now vacant, is two-tenths of a mile from the Mohawk Harbor site, which is being developed by the Galesi Group with apartments, condominiums and townhouses, plus hotels, office and retail buildings and a casino.

Fusco’s $5.5 million proposal was tabled during the commission’s meeting last month due to parking and traffic concerns.

Following that meeting, the developer shifted plans to have cars only make a right-hand turn out of the property onto Front Street. Cars would enter and exit the site from Erie Boulevard.

Commissioner Chris Rush suggested eliminating the exit onto Front Street. Commissioner Brad Lewis agreed with Rush. But the developer’s engineer successfully pushed to keep it.

The nine-member commission granted site plan approval for the project, but the developer would need a variance for parking since the requirement is 1.5 spaces per unit.

Other than a variance, the developer could also try to reach a space-sharing agreement with Galesi to use spaces on the nearby Mohawk Harbor site, City Planner Christine Primiano said.

The apartment building would include one- and two-bedroom units. The price for a one-bedroom would be about $900 a month and $1,150 a month for a two-bedroom.

Fusco is planning to start construction in the spring and lease the units in about eight months.

The apartment building comes after Fusco proposed a controversial project at the site in 2014 that included a gas station with a Dunkin’ Donuts drive-thru.

Downtown parking

The Planning Commission is recommending that the City Council change the parking requirement in the city’s downtown district from 1.5 spaces to 0 in “the core of downtown” and from 1.5 spaces to 1 in the outlying areas.

The commission’s original recommendation was to cut the requirement from 1.5 spaces to 0 in the entire downtown district. But commissioners agreed that some areas of the district are not actually in the heart of downtown and therefore should still require parking.

The City Council is scheduled to have a public hearing on the commission’s original recommendation during a meeting Monday evening.

The Planning Commission will establish the boundaries of what it considers the core of downtown at its meeting next month. Primiano said the council will most likely opt to postpone the public hearing until the boundaries are set.

“We should distinguish between downtown and waterfront areas,” Commissioner Sara Bonacquist said. “They are definitely different conditions. Less parking downtown is in line with the vision for downtown Schenectady. But it’s more problematic in other areas. So I think we should change that.”

Dunkin’ Donuts

After coming before the commission last month, representatives for a project to relocate Dunkin’ Donuts from 1621 to 1706 Union St. were given the OK to do so by the commission.

The Dunkin’ Donuts, with a drive-thru, will be located at the former Trustco Bank branch at 1706 Union, which is a 2,200-square-foot building. The store will be open from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. with 15 parking spaces.

Last month, commissioners and residents expressed concerns of traffic on Dean Street and Livingston Avenue and noise from the drive-thru’s intercom system.

As a result, the entrance and exit on Livingston has been removed. Cars would only be able to exit the Dunkin’ Donuts onto Union Street and wouldn’t be able to enter from Union.

The drive-thru intercom was also changed to be on an angle with the speaker facing Dean Street.

Commissioner Julia Stone voted against the project, saying she is against having a drive-thru at the location. The former Trustco Bank branch there also had a drive-thru. The vote was 6-1.

The Upper Union Street Business Improvement District unanimously supports the relocation of Dunkin’ Donuts, said co-executive director Madelyn Thorne. There are 95 businesses in the area now.

New chair

The Planning Commission did not vote for a new chair and vice chair due to the absence of three commissioners.

The need to vote for a new chair comes after Mayor Gary McCarthy opted not to re-appoint Matthew Cuevas, who was unanimously voted as chair by his colleagues in September.

Randall Beach, a partner at Albany law firm Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, replaced Cuevas, who served on the commission for 20 years. Beach was one of the commissioners not at Wednesday’s meeting.

Vice Chair Mary Moore Wallinger led the meeting Wednesday evening. The commission plans to vote for a new chair and vice chair at its next meeting in March.

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