Future trips to the doctor could get a little bit easier for Niskayuna residents due to the construction of a sizable medical complex at 2125 River Road. The building began in earnest earlier this summer and has moved into high gear in recent weeks as steel girders have become visible from the street.
Under a plan approved by the town board nearly two years ago, the privately funded project spearheaded by ADD Development and Management LLC was originally slated to take up 81,000 square feet and be only one story tall. But when wetlands were discovered on the 9.3-acre site, the facility was redesigned to avoid running afoul of environmental rules.
They had to rework the building to make it smaller or else they would have disturbed wetlands and that would have raised a series of pretty complicated issues, said town board member Bill Chapman.
The new design scaled back the size of the project and added an additional floor to the originally one-story structure. Even with the altered design, the bulk of the work is expected to be finished before the winter with space becoming available by next spring.
`It will bring those offices closer to the folks out here in Niskayuna so they won’t have to travel as far or go into Schenectady for their doctor visits,` said Chapman, who said the space is supposed to include pediatric, geriatric and other medical offices.
`Lots of doctors in the area have their offices in converted homes,` he added. `With space like this becoming available, that might not be as necessary. And it is good to keep local doctors from Niskayuna and Schenectady in the area so people don’t have to drive as far for medical attention.`
Ready access to medical care is a key factor in maintaining the quality of life in suburban communities like Niskayuna, and the River Road section of town already has an office complex specializing in medical tenants.
`Evidently River Road will become something of a medical row once this building is complete,` said Liz Orzel Kasper, another town board member.
`I know every time my husband and I go to the doctor, the waiting rooms are full, so I guess there are plenty of patients,` she added.
Efforts to reach ADD Development and Management LLC were unsuccessful. “