A developer who wants to turn a stretch of land behind the Price Chopper on Ballston Avenue into a group of affordably priced townhouses will present his case to the Saratoga Springs Planning Board on Wednesday, Feb. 11.
The Planning Board scratched the project from its Jan. 14 meeting agenda to allow for more time to review the materials. Developer Garry Olsen will be seeking a positive recommendation from the seven-member committee, who will give their advice to the City Council. The Council will decide whether or not to approve a PUD, or planned unit development, near the Railroad Run walking trail.
In past months, Olsen has taken the city’s comments and gone back to the drawing board. The number of units has dropped to 86, and the developer said he feels that concerns about noise, light, traffic and storm drainage have been addressed.
He also plans to implement measures to control the appreciation and resale of the units to make sure the price doesn’t balloon and the affordable housing becomes expensive. The three-bedroom homes will be priced around $155,000.
We’ve been listening to the information the city has been passing along, so we’re putting into place more checks and balances to make sure the buyers of the units are truly who it’s intended for, said Olsen.
And who might the typical buyer of a Railroad Run property be? According to Olsen, the ideal candidates are young families looking for a first home and making $40,000 per year. He said the project has received support from Saratoga Hospital and the city’s school system because oftentimes nurses and young teachers can’t afford to live within the city.
`I 100 percent believe that there is a tremendous demand for this,` Olsen said. `If we get it approved, we’ll sell out in two to three months.`
Previous public discussions of the project have seen vocal opposition from neighbors who believe the project will create too much traffic, noise and light. Olsen’s plans now call for visual and noise barriers. Some still decry the project, prompting a `not in my backyard`-type discussion.
`I was beyond shocked to hear the neighbors complain about this,` said Olsen, who said the property is currently an `eyesore.` `I truly expected this to be something they would welcome.`
He said that he hopes to see some of the hundreds of people who have expressed their support to him at Wednesday’s Planning Board meeting.
Mayor Scott Johnson recently spoke in support of affordable housing within Saratoga Springs during his State of the City Address.
`We must as a community work continue to work toward a change of perception to increase the willingness of neighborhoods to keep an open mind and accept affordable housing in their backyard,` he said.
Johnson declined to comment on the Railroad Run project specifically, but did point out that it differs from other affordable housing ventures in the city because it does not draw on public funds.
`One thing about the project that must be noted is that it’s proposed solely with independent money,` said Johnson.
Those other initiatives are run by the Saratoga Affordable Housing Group. With help from the city, the nonprofit group purchased 28 units on Allen Drive this summer with plans to use them for affordable housing. The branch of the Saratoga Springs Housing Authority is searching for funds to build another 15 units, as well. The group has 339 other affordable units around the city, and the demand is there to fill them.
`It’s a big issue in Saratoga,` said Gerard Hawthorne, facilities manager for the housing authority and a board member of the group. `We’re probably the first real shot at affordable housing in Saratoga that has actually made progress.`
Hawthorne said that townhouse-style units like those proposed at Railroad Run might be in the group’s future, but for now the focus is on rental properties so that people of all incomes can live within the city.
`I think the politicians need to get together and make these things work and the neighborhoods need to be more proactive, because it is needed,` he said.“