The plans call for two areas of development separated by a stretch of federal wetlands that cannot be built upon. The developer is proposing a 2,900-square-foot Stewart’s store with fueling stations and 18 parking spaces at the corner of Krumkill and Russell roads.
To the east, down Russell Road, would be a development of six buildings housing 44 condominium units. Though the design of the condos has not been finalized, consulting engineer Daniel Hershberg of Hershberg & Hershberg said the buildings would likely hold 1,200- to 1,600-square-foot units on two floors with garages beneath. The buildings would be built on a grade so the garage spaces would only be visible from the rear, making for a two-story structure to the front.
Blessing Road resident Jim Martley addressed the Planning Board during public comment to summarize issues raised by a meeting of area residents in November. Both Martley and the developer agreed that the meeting was well attended. The town was not represented.
“A majority of the residents were not in favor of the Stewart’s part of this project,” Martley said. “It would be nice to have the condos there, but the Stewart’s is not in the personality of this area.”
He cited a range of concerns including fumes from the fueling station, increased traffic in the area, minors having access to alcohol and tobacco and the general commercialization of the area.
Hershberg said that while there is a contingent of residents who are flat out opposed to the project, many of those who attended the November meeting had legitimate concerns that also had legitimate answers. He presented the Planning Board with a letter from the Albany County Department of Public Works endorsing the traffic patterns proposed in the plan.
He also said that the Stewart’s store would be built in the “Manchester model” of design, which he presented as more visually agreeable for suburban communities, and that the Stewart’s will not have as big an impact on the surrounding community as many seem to think.
“If this board wants to constrain the hours at the end of the day, Stewart’s would be fine with that,” he said.
The issue of visual impacts is a chief concern for nearby residents however, and Hershberg posited that “very significant landscaping” would screen the project.
“We will obviously work with planning to have a good screen of evergreen trees,” he said of the rear of the condo development.
Planning Board member Nicholas Behuniak said he would like to see more detail on the landscaping and the condominium buildings themselves in the near future.
“I certainly would expect to see something that would fit in and enhance the community,” he said.
He also praised the addition to the proposal of a sidewalk running down Krumkill Road.
The Planning Board voted unanimously to extend the deadline for the review of the Planned Development District until March 7.
In other business, the Planning Board closed a public hearing on a special use permit for the Journey United Church of Christ, which is hoping to relocate from Slingerlands to a space at 500 Kenwood Ave. in Delmar. The building is owned by Michael Parker, who operates an orthodontic practice there. The remaining space would have room for 70 persons to accommodate the growing congregation.
No member of the public spoke on the project. The Planning Board has 62 days from the closing of the hearing to make a determination on the special use permit.
Officials from Northeast Health and The Eddy Village at Beverwyck presented plans to amend a Planned Development District that was approved in 2006 into something else entirely. The retirement community is looking to scrap its plans to build a 38-bed skilled nursing care and Alzheimer’s expansion in favor of two, 12-bed structures in the greenhouse style of nursing home care.
The buildings would provide private rooms and communal dining for a more homelike living experience that has seen much success in other parts of the country. The company is in the process of building 16 such buildings at its Cohoes location.
The addition of the greenhouse units would also round out Beverwyck’s Slingerlands offerings to cover all stages of nursing home care.
“They don’t help with the institution’s bottom line, they lose money” said Northeast Health’s David Wendth of greenhouse designs. “The reason why we put them in is it’s the right thing to do.”
The Planning Board tabled the application with plans to move forward on the review in the Planning Department.
The Planning Board issued a 60-day extension to the Phillipin Kill Manor PDD application for 83 units of single-family homes and townhouses off of Fisher Boulevard. The project has been appearing before the town in various incarnations for seven years.
