Stewart's Shops receives approval for new Schenectady location

PHOTOGRAPHER:

Schenectady Planning Commission members granted site plan approval for a new Stewart's Shops location at the site of this former Sunoco convenience store and Jones Funeral Home on the right at 1501 and 1503 Union St. in Schenectady.

SCHENECTADY — The fourth time proved to be the charm for Stewart’s Shops, which gained site plan approval to open a new convenience store and gas station at the corner of Union and McClellan streets this past week.

Stewart’s has been seeking to build a 3,975-square-foot facility and gas canopy at 1501 and 1503 Union St. and 1020 McClellan St. for much of the past year, but has been forced to alter its plans three times after Schenectady Planning Commission members voiced concerns about the store’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood.

The lot is currently home to a shuttered gas station and funeral home, which the company plans to demolish to make way for the new gas station. The company currently operates nine locations in the city.

Plans call for constructing a convenience store along McClellan Street and a taller gas canopy near the Union Street corner as well as a pair of curb cuts to allow access from both streets. A three-foot pedestrian wall and seating area along McClellan Street are also included in the site plans.

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A vinyl fence and 33 feet of greenery would separate the gas station from neighbors on McClellan Street.

Several planning commissioners said they were on the fence about the project, citing concerns about altering a prominent corner in the city. They ultimately voted in favor over concerns about leaving the properties vacant for an extended period.

But members of the Upper Union Street Neighborhood Association were against the project.

Tom Carey, the group’s president, said the project does not fit into the historic neighborhood and raised concerns about approving a new gas station following the approval of legislation that would phase out the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035.

“It would be an ugly intrusion into the Union Street neighborhood,” he said

Marcus Andrew, an engineer for Stewart’s, said the company is aware of the legislation and that the company is working to install electric vehicle charging stations at its convenience stores.

He pointed out that while gas vehicles may no longer be sold in the state after 2035, such vehicles will remain on the road for years after. The pumps, he said, could easily be removed and electric charging stations could be installed under the gas canopy should the company ever stop selling gas.

As part of the site plan approval, the company must remove the gas pumps and tanks whenever gas is no longer sold at the location.

Contact reporter Chad Arnold at: 518-410-5117 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter: @ChadGArnold.