The Planning Board’s first introduction of the proposed retail center on Albany Shaker Road included nearly an hour-long discussion about mostly traffic concerns.
The proposed 50.7-acre retail project, called the Old Maxwell Shopping Center on the Planning Board agenda, was introduced to the board for the first time Tuesday, May 5, with a sketch plan review. The conference room at Colonie’s Public Works building was filled with neighboring Colonie residents concerned about the potential traffic impact.
The project at 645A Albany Shaker Road went before the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) for a special use permit on April 16. The potential buyer of the 50.7-acre land is the O’Connell Development Group. Developers are looking to build six structures on the property, including two large retail spaces, one smaller retail space and two restaurants.
While the restaurants are allowed in the commercial office-zoned area, the retail spaces require a special use permit, which the ZBA has yet to be approved.
According to the project’s narrative, there would be a 106,000-square-foot space for an “outdoor superstore,” which some are speculating is a Cabela’s, with the nearest site 128 miles away. The other 150,000 square foot building would be for multi-retail use, according to project manager Dan Cleary.
About 1,625 parking spaces are being proposed for the site. Plans call for the main operating hours would be 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday with less hours Sunday, and that a restaurant could operate up to 24 hours, depending on the tenant.
O’Connell Development officials are not confirming what retailers are looking at the space, but previously said at the ZBA meeting that possible tenants are national retailers. Another rumored tenant is Costco Wholesale, with the nearest site 115 miles away.
While the project cannot move forward without ZBA approval of the special use permit, Cleary said they wanted to introduce the project to the planning board.
Planning board members and Old Maxwell Road neighbors alike had one main concern: traffic. Although the planning board does not traditionally take public comment of sketch plan reviews, chairman Peter Stuto said that since this project is large and has already garnered widespread attention, the board wanted to hear public input.
“The traffic circle is not designed to handle the amount of traffic we already have,” said one resident of the Maxwell Road roundabout. “It’s got to be a lot bigger, or there’s going to be a lot of safety concerns.”
Most comments centered on the Maxwell Road circle, which already sees a buildup of traffic during rush hour commutes. The site lies just behind the Times Union headquarters on Albany Shaker, less than a mile from Wolf Road and backing up against I-87 North.
According to Wendy Holsberger of Creighton Manning Engineering, 552 new vehicle trips total, coming and going, would be seen during peak evening hours. About 75 percent could come from Albany Shaker Road through the roundabout to enter the site’s main access on Serviceberry Avenue from Maxwell. The other 25 percent would be traveling from Old Niskayuna Road north of the site.
“If I had young kids that were going to be driving, I’d be scared every day that they were going to have to go up there and get on that traffic circle,” said another Colonie resident.
While shoppers could take Old Maxwell Road to take a left onto Serviceberry, that intersection with Albany Shaker would remain a right-in, right-out only. Holsberger also said she expects a light would be put in at the main intersection of Serviceberry and Old Maxwell.
Joe LaCivita, director of the Planning and Economic Development Department, said that a full traffic study would take into account upcoming projects, including the First Columbia hotel/office at the Wolf Road-Albany Shaker intersection, Exit 4 construction, and a future connection of Aviation Road to the Maxwell roundabout.
On top of concerns about car crashes at the roundabout and backed up traffic were concerns about pedestrian safety. With limited sidewalk access in the neighborhood, some residents questions how safe bikers and pedestrians would be.
However, human safety was not the only issue neighborhood residents had. Former Assemblyman Bob Reilly, who lives in the area, said that he walks the wooded site where the development will go. On the property is a protected watercourse, he said, which lies in the middle of the potential development.
Other neighbors and planning board member Kathleen Dalton also expressed their concerns over the habitats that would be disturbed in the development. Cleary said that a habitat study will be done with environmental review requirements.
“It does irritate me,” said Reilly. “The zoning does not allow this. You can come up and have your variances and all that…. The neighbors were here first. And now you’re moving in. and you want to change what the comprehensive plan was.”
Both the planning board and ZBA will hold future public hearings concerning the retail development. Announcements will be posted on at colonie.org.
