Ellis expansion, new Stewart's OK'd in Clifton Park

CLIFTON PARK — The Clifton Park Planning Board tackled a slew of significant projects at its Tuesday night meeting and ultimately approved two of them — a rebuild of a Stewart’s Shop on Grooms Road and an expansion to Ellis Medical Center in Clifton Park.

Both projects were approved by the board unanimously.

The new Stewart’s Shop will replace the current one at the corner of Grooms and Vischer Ferry roads. The plan, according to documents submitted to the town in December, is to build a 3,675-square-foot store on the same site as the current store.

The current shop would be razed when the new one is finished. The new store will stand on a 3.1-acre parcel and will offer eight fueling stations and an expanded parking lot.

Clifton Park Planning Director John Scavo said on Thursday that he expects construction on the new building to begin shortly.

The board also approved a 62,000-square-foot expansion to the Ellis Medical Center building, effectively doubling the structure in size.

The addition will function as an ambulatory surgery center, which will offer consumers a place for outpatient or same-day surgery.

The site measures just over 11 total acres. The existing center measures 38,200 square feet.

The Ellis project was approved with stipulations, including a promise from Ellis to mitigate any stormwater flooding issues that may come up at the request of Northstar Chevrolet, which sits on the neighboring property and often sees runoff water from the site, Scavo said.

Another project that the board addressed at the meeting, but has not yet approved, is the creation of a new animal hospital in Rexford.

The facility will be owned by Dr. Matthew Pike, who has owned the Aqueduct Animal Hospital on Balltown Road since 2009.

Pike originally sought approval for a new building at the southeast corner of the intersection of Balltown and Riverview roads.

But Pike has amended the project and is instead seeking to move into an already finished, vacant building on a neighboring site at 896 Riverview Road.

An outdoor play area is proposed to be added to the rear of the building and an additional entrance door will be added along the west side of the facility, according to project plans. The entire building measures approximately 14,150 square feet and is on a parcel that measures just under nine acres.

The building’s current use is a medical office and would be converted to serve as an animal hospital and animal care facility.

Typically, simply moving into a building would not necessitate a Planning Board review, Scavo said. But because Pike intends to build a new entrance and modifying parking on the site, the board must grant approval for the project.

Scavo said Pike will most likely be back before the Planning Board in April, and it’s possible that the project might be approved at that point.