The Town of Malta Planning Board heard three proposals that could have significant impacts on the area at the Tuesday, Jan. 20, meeting. The board sent two developers back to the drawing board, but also approved a subdivision that sets the stage for the Foundry Company to deliver a site plan for their nanotech manufacturing facility at the Luther Forest Technology Campus.
Luther Forest subdivision
The board unanimously approved the Luther Forest Technology Campus’ request to split up a parcel of its land to create a 163-acre area for a microchip manufacturing facility. It was an expected, but necessary, proposal that has also been approved in the Town of Stillwater, where some of the parcel in question lies.
The water lines are going in, the roads are being built, we’re at a stage now where we have a buyer, and we need to subdivide the land in order to have a parcel, said LFTC representative Mike Ingersoll.
The subdivision clears the way for Foundry to present the town with a site plan. The $4.6 billion plant is expected to employ 1,465, and the company has expressed hopes for a groundbreaking in the summer.
Hearn Road Medical Center
The Planning Board cast a critical eye toward a proposed medical complex off of Hearn Road and Route 9. MSA Properties and The Environmental Design Partnership first pitched the project to the town in April, and since then have taken the town’s suggestions and made significant upgrades.
`The plans have come a long way since we last met,` said Gavin Vuillaume, of Environmental Design Partnership.
Most notably, the developers settled on one three-story, 85,000-square-foot building instead of three smaller ones.
The project was also resituated in light of concerns about grading the site’s steep slopes, meaning that 50,000 cubic yards of excavation will be necessary instead of 145,000.
One thing that remains unchanged is the developers’ drive to build an environmentally conscious structure.
`It is our intent to make this a LEED-certified building, hopefully with a silver rating,` said architect James Gerou of Einhorn Yaffee Prescott Architecture.
To that end, solar panels are planned for the roof, panels made from recycled materials will comprise the building’s exterior, unobtrusive lighting will be featured in the 300-space parking lot and 26 of the site’s 34 acres will remain undisturbed.
The design of the building is undeniably modern, with slopping roofs and sleek sides. Some argued that it won’t fit into the rural character of the area, and could even be distracting to passersby on Route 9.
Nearby resident Mark Hammond, who has been concerned with how the project will impact the view from his house, said that the building will clash with the surrounding historic barns, churches and home designs.
`It’s going to change the entire look of that area,` he argued. `It’s what the town used to be, and it’s what the town is moving away from.`
But what traffic on Route 9 will see was deemed secondary to how it will be directly affected by the project. There will be no direct connection to Route 9. Instead, traffic will travel for a short distance on Hearn Road before turning.
That change raised eyebrows among board members and the audience gathered for a public hearing, who were concerned that increased traffic turning left on to busy Route 9 would create dangerous situations.
`Making a left turn out of Hearn Road on to Route 9 is a real bear,` said Fred Lee, a member of the Malta Ridge Fire Department, which has a station on Hearn. `We’ll have an increased number of traffic accidents that we’ll have to respond to at Hearn Road.`
The developers pointed to their traffic study and said that the facility will not see as much use as one might imagine.
`We don’t want to make anything that resembles a hospital,` said Matt Ward of MSA Properties. Instead, he envisions the building as home to five specialties and perhaps 10 practitioners offering high-tech procedures like CT, MRI and PET scans.
`This will be the most advanced health-care facility in the state,` he said.
Concerns were also raised about the possible impact to nearby Drummond Creek, where flooding is already an issue, and the view neighbors will have of the facility and parking lot.
The Planning Board sent the developers away with a request to better address the issues at hand, but some members said the project might simply be too much for the immediate area.
`It’s my belief that this site is just not appropriate for a project of this magnitude,` said Kyle Kordich. `I don’t think it fits with the rural character.`
MSA’s Ward disagreed.
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