Public hearing up next for proposed Scotia hotel

PHOTOGRAPHER: Peter R. Barber

The Scotia Motel office at 3 Neal Ave. in Scotia is seen on May 12.

The application for a new hotel in Scotia is complete and the project will be opened up for a public hearing at the next Planning Board meeting in July.

The owners of the Scotia Motel on Neal Street are seeking to replace the current building with a Comfort Inn & Suites. The original proposal for the hotel was submitted in January, and since then the owners have made several adjustments to the plan.

At Monday’s Planning Board meeting, project leaders addressed the need for a storm water management system. Now that the application is considered complete, a public hearing will be held before the project can receive final approval.

“I think the owners are just trying to upgrade the facility,” said Frank Herba, a consultant on the project. “It’s over 50 years old and doesn’t meet today’s standards.”

The proposed hotel would be three stories tall and include 64 rooms, said Luis Aguero, the building inspector for Scotia.

A few residents who neighbor the proposed hotel site attended Monday’s meeting because they had questions regarding the project. Aguero said in an interview that the project shouldn’t affect too many residents. Those in attendance were told they could view documents for the plan at the village clerk’s office prior to next month’s hearing.

The storm water runoff system needed to be addressed because there had been flooding issues in the past along Route 147, Aguero said. ABD Engineering in Schenectady worked on the drainage system proposal that was presented on Monday.

In addition, the hotel’s lighting will be addressed if needed once the building goes up to ensure that the lights don’t shine into neighboring homes.

Several other questions and concerns have been addressed in the past few months. A traffic study was conducted to see how many additional cars the hotel might bring, and sidewalks and curb cuts were previously addressed as well.

The proposed hotel is one of four being built near the new casino in Schenectady. One is being built at the casino site, another is being built in Glenville off Freemans Bridge Road and a second hotel is planned on the casino site.

Aguero said the hotel would also benefit area residents who have family that want to visit and stay in the neighborhood.

“I think it’s a very good proposal,” he said. “It’s good for the village.”