BCI Construction President Mike Benson said the development company is ready to move forward in building luxury condominiums as approved in 2008, after the Planning Board rejected a proposal to put up apartments instead.
After several members of the community voiced their opposition to building luxury apartments at the corner of Menands Road and Schuyler Road, also known as the Loudon House Project, Benson is taking the complaints into consideration. Benson said BCI will now move forward with constructing a 24-unit luxury condominium complex on the 2.63 acre site.
“The public hearing was held, and quite frankly, there was a lot of opposition to the idea of apartments,” he said. “We have public hearings for a reason. It’s a chance for the community to voice their opinion. There is substantial opposition and we understand that.”
It’s an issue that goes back to 2005 when the first ideas for the project came to forward to replace what was once the original site for Eamonn’s Loudon House. According to Benson, the first conceptual plans for the project were presented to the Colonie Planning Board in 2006 before a conditional site plan was approved in 2007. The final approval for the complex was in March of 2008 and in August BCI was issued a building permit.
That’s when the economy collapsed and plans began to change.
“We had eight letters of intent,” Benson said. “There were deals underway on eight condominiums, then financial turmoil took place and we watched eight contracts go to no contracts. At which point, without contracts, we were not able to continue to move the project forward. Since then we’ve been waiting for the economy to change.”
Colonie Town Attorney Michael Magguilli said the developers then asked to amend local law 12 to provide for either apartments or condominium units with changes to the interior of the building and no changes to the footprint of the property. This prompted the Town Board to refer to the Planning Board for public hearings and recommendations.
“At the hearing there was a great deal of public outcry and there’s a great deal of public opposition,” Magguilli said. “There’s still even opposition to the condominiums because of the density. So because of the public opposition, they denied the request.”
Amy Fox, a resident of Patroon Place in Loudonville, said that living 820 feet from the site, she has concern about the area becoming the site of high density housing. She said she had not planned on living in a high density area and is asking the Town Board to change the area, which is currently zoned as a Planned Development District, back to single-family residential zoning.
“We are fortunate enough to live in a town that has such a robust coding system, it’s looked on by other towns for best practices,” she said. “It’s not there to erode the intent of why it was created in the first place. That’s my personal opinion. If you have a municipality that erodes the intent of the code then why do we have the code to being with?”
She also expressed a fear of apartments being built near her neighborhood as she said it would not fit the character of the surrounding area. She also had some concern over the difference between someone owning the place and someone renting it.
“There’s no ownership stake in the community and it is a burden on town and school resources,” she said. “What stops four Siena students from renting out an apartment and splitting four ways?”
Condominiums, while in some way similar to apartments, are owned by the occupants instead of just rented.
“I think it’s just important we’re communicating effectively with everyone in the area,” Benson said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. It’s in everyone’s best interest to get this thing finished.”
Albany County Legislator Phillip Steck, D-Loudonville, also gave his opposition to the project through a letter to the Planning Board. He said while he was the Democratic chairman in the Town of Colonie he was hoping the government would be more responsive to the public and that the Planning Board essentially listened to the public outcry at the hearing.
He said the original proposal of luxury condominiums in that specific community was a bad idea, but since it was given final site approval in 2008 there is nothing that can be done.
“The Planning Board needs to listen to residents before any new concepts for the project can be approved,” he said. “I don’t think the residents want to see nothing there but the residents’ ideas must be listened to for what would be a more appropriate project.”
Denise Sheehan, a Republican who is currently running for supervisor in the Town of Colonie, was director of the Planning and Economic Development Department at the time the project came in front of the board. She said she believes the reason why the original plan was approved was because the neighborhood association and the Homeowners Association at Loudonville East showed their support for the project. The reason why was because the amount of effort the original developer, David Hayes, had put into informing the public and holding informal meetings with residents in the area.
“The neighbors had been involved in the project from the beginning,” she said. The neighbors had a very strong stake in that project… Talk and have dialogue instead of a public hearing where everyone bangs a drum. A lot get done through informal dialogue. You can talk in an open and honest way. That’s what I would do.”
This is where Benson said things are going to change.
He’s received criticism for leaving a trailer on the property for the past three years, which is something he said he wishes never happened.
“You know what, I would have pulled the trailer off three years ago if I knew it was going to be the source of problems,” he said. “Once I heard how that was perceived, I immediately took steps to remove it from the site.”
Magguilli said he did just that, as the trailer was recently removed from the site. Benson said he will also be adding 35 trees for green space and that he will also be scaling down the size of the condos, as he said it will fit for the market that exists today. The downsizing, he said, will have an effect on the ultimate price they are sold for.
What he said he regrets the most, especially after the public hearing, is not communicating with the public more. Recently he has sent out letters to surrounding residents explaining what will be happening with the project, and he said the response has been positive.
Benson was involved in the discussion back in 2007 and 2008 and said that type of activity was brought to a halt while BCI was waiting for the condition of the economy to change. He also said there will be a large community forum in the near future to discuss what will be done with the space.
“I think it’s just important we’re communicating effectively with everyone in the area,” Benson said. “That’s what we’re trying to do. It’s in everyone’s best interest to get this thing finished.”