The former McDonald’s restaurant at 25 Mohawk Ave. in Scotia can no longer boast of serving more than a million burgers and fries to area residents.
In fact, for the last three years, the vacant McDonald’s hasn’t served anyone.
The building’s windows are boarded up and covered with graffiti, and the parking lot on the property is riddled with potholes.
Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature Susan E. Savage, D-Niskayuna, calls the property a blighted building, and that’s why, she said, she sent a letter to a McDonald’s Corp. executive last week, urging the fast food giant to sell their site.
According to county officials, an unnamed local developer has put in an offer to purchase the property. Ray Gillen, chair of the Metroplex Development Authority, said the developer wished to remain confidential.
In her letter, addressed to Richard Crawford, McDonald’s corporate vice president of government relations, Savage said she was `concerned about the safety, appearance, and the generally poor conditions that exist` at the vacant site.
She said that in its current condition, the building reflects poorly on its neighbors, namely a branch of the County Public Library and Collins Park, where the greening grass of early spring stands in stark contrast with the deteriorating former-burger joint.
Savage also said that continuing vandalism to the property has been a detriment to redeveloping the area.
`The goal is to take down the building and develop the site,` said Gillen. `The current condition is an eyesore and is unacceptable, and we have communicated that to McDonald’s, via the letter from Susan Savage.`
Savage’s letter made it clear that an offer had been made to purchase the site.
`We understand that McDonald’s has received an offer from a local developer to buy the site, clean-up any environmental issues at the site at their expense, and indemnify McDonald’s from any future liability,` wrote Savage.
`The developer has offered a fair price to McDonald’s in view of the fact that the site is vacant and the closed restaurant is in extremely poor condition.`
Gillen and other county officials would not say what the future use of the building might be.
A Prudential Blake-Atlantic Reality sign in front of the property reads `land lease/or build to suit,` in bright red letters, but even the sign itself is broken.
According to Prudential Blake-Atlantic’s Web site, Michael Del Vecchio is the realtor for the property. Calls to Del Vecchio were not immediately returned.
The Web site though, did provide some information on the property. The 1.1-acre lot rents for $1.60 per-square-foot-per-year.
The site also states that the best uses for the former restaurant include the possibility of various retail facilities, a pharmacy, a service station, a bank, a motel, a strip mall or office space.
County officials said McDonald’s has no interest in re-opening a store at the site and urged the company to remove from any sale agreement a condition that the site not be used by another restaurant.
Savage emphasized that the village of Scotia would have the final approval on any project or potential zoning changes. The property is currently zoned for commercial use.
County Legislator Joe Suhrada said he wasn’t sure why it was the county’s job to interfere with a private real estate transaction.
`It’s disgusting,` he said. `It’s the way things are, the county has its pet developers.`
Earlier this year, Gillen cited the McDonald’s site as a key area of redevelopment in Scotia. The county plans a number of faCade improvements on Mohawk Avenue as part of its main street initiative in county municipalities.
Savage also said that redevelopment on Mohawk Avenue would be an extenuation of the work done to State Street, in Schenectady, only a few blocks away.
`I don’t want to give the impression that Scotia has a problem with urban blight,` she said. `But we took care of the remaining blight on State Street and this is a continuation of that initiative.“