Plans for Schenectady grocery store still on track

SCHENECTADY — Plans to bring a mid-size grocery store to a former used car lot between Albany and State streets are still on track, as work continues to complete a series of environmental reviews needed to move the project forward. 

Ray Gillen, chairman of the Metroplex Development Authority, said the county is in the process of completing a number of reviews critical to redeveloping the 2.1-acre property at 754 State St. into a grocery store. The property sits in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood with proximity to the Vale neighborhood and downtown area.

Among the work currently underway is an asbestos survey and a state-mandated environmental review that will determine if the soil at the site is contaminated. A site plan assessment and topography study are also being completed, and the cost to demolish the existing 20,000-square-foot building at the site are being worked out. A plan to regrade the site, which has a slight slope, are also being developed, Gillen said.

“You need to have these documents,” he said. “Any developer worth their salt is going to ask for these basic pieces of information.”

He added the preliminary work is expected to be completed early next year, though the process could take longer if any contaminants are discovered. So far, the asbestos survey has turned out to be “positive,” Gillen said. The property was a former used car lot owned by Mohawk Auto Group until it closed earlier this year. 

The Schenectady County Legislature in September approved a $10,000 agreement to secure the property for the next year and a half that would eventually be purchased for $950,000 with federal coronavirus-relief funding. The county has also pledged an additional $3 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to redevelop the site.

Metroplex is in the process of completing an application for a state grant that could be worth up to an additional $3 million that would be used demolish the existing building at the site. A Schenectady City Council committee on Monday took the first step in advancing the application.

The application is subject to a public hearing that will take place next month.

In the meantime, Gillen said the county has drafted a request for proposals that will be released once the studies are completed.

“It’d be great it we could get the money,” Gillen said.

Access to healthy food has long been an issue in Schenectady, where grocery stores are scarce, poverty rates are high and adequate transportation can be hard to come by for some residents.

Schenectady County, in 2017, completed its Healthy and Equitable Food Access Plan, which recommended building a grocery store in underserved areas as a way to combat food insecurity.

But attracting a store has proven difficult.

Officials hope having a buildable lot along with monetary incentives will help spur the creation of a supermarket.

City lawmakers, earlier this year, also allocated $1 million in ARPA funds to the Schenectady Foundation, Schenectady Community Ministries and SUNY Schenectady to tackle issues around food insecurity. An additional $50,000 was allocated to the Schenectady Greenmarket to support its food box program, which delivers health food at low costs to low-income families.

County lawmakers, separately, have pledged an additional $3 million to support the development of the Electric City Co-op. The community effort has been in talks for years, but has recently started eyeing the old OrthNY building along Liberty Street after forming a working collaboration with the Honest Weight Co-op in Albany earlier this year.

Contact reporter Chad Arnold at: [email protected] or by calling 518-395-3120.

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