Residents take a last stand against project they say will further damage historic home
Controversy rages on over the old Ingersoll Home as the Niskayuna Planning Board, against some residents’ pleas, approved the revised site plan to move the Stanford Mansion.
At the board meeting on Monday, July 12, residents and local activists voiced their concerns about the progress of the Stanford Crossing Shopping Center project. Many residents echoed past complaints that the Ingersoll Home had become an eyesore to the town of Niskayuna and entrance to Schenectady.
The developer wants to move this historic mansion off its foundation to another location in the same development, and this will cause more damage to a building that’s already been damaged by having a 19th-century addition removed from it and windows and doorways smashed and other damage in the inside, said John Wolcott, an Albany resident, who spoke during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Wolcott said the building is standing on a pedestal on consolidated sand and gravel with no trees or shrubbery nearby. The vacant lot, as many residents and members of the board agreed, is currently a blemish on the Niskayuna landscape.
`I have copies of the plans for Stanford Crossing ` the one that was approved ` and I hadn’t seen a cross section in elevations,` continued Wolcott. `I presume that the Highbridge original plans involved cutting down some areas on the natural landscape with removing some soil and filling in other areas. That must have been what was approved and not what we see now.`
Residents also showed some distrust in believing Highbridge Development truly had a restaurant in negotiations to move into the Stanford Mansion.
According to the company, the restaurateur said there wasn’t ample space for preparing food.
`I hope you have the common sense to require that they show proof of pending lease holders if you’re gonna do something that will add to the damage of a historical building,` said Wolcott.
Kevin Walsh, chairman of the planning board, said he believed the company did have a restaurant lined up, but negotiations failed to reach a positive outcome.
Linda Champagne, head of the Friends of Stanford Home, also gave an impassioned speech, which left the audience clapping.
`Everybody turned away and we all hid and this horrid thing kept happening,` said Champagne. `The developer, one man with a vision of money, overtook the vision of everyone else. There was no respect shown by this developer for anything or anybody and certainly for the residents of this town.`
Again, she questioned the town’s oversight of the project.
`There’s something terrible wrong with the engineering or this town’s oversight of these things. All the trees that were cut ` the tree ordinance in this town was violated because nobody went and marked the tress of a certain diameter and insisted that they be saved,` said Champagne.
Champagne said many residents believe the company needs another special use permit because the plans have changed.
Eric Dickson, town attorney, said the changes don’t call for another special use permit.
There wasn’t much discussion between board members before approving the revised plans for Stanford Crossings. The point of elevations being absent from the originally approved plan was also not addressed by the board.
`We need to get this project going,` said Walsh. `The applicant has met all the questions that the board had.`
Walsh discussed stimulating the economy of Niskayuna and the importance of moving forward with a project. He said he wished someone had purchased the property and decided to preserve the history, but that isn’t what happened. The developer had purchased the land and was free to develop it.
`I have confidence the building can be moved and not destroyed,` said Walsh.“
