A presentation has been scheduled for the ad hoc committee, which has been studying the impact of development around Albany Shaker Road, for the second Town Board meeting in October.
According to Planning and Economic Development Department Director Joe LaCivita, the ad hoc committee will present an update on its findings before the Town Board at its Thursday, Oct. 22, meeting.
The committee was formed to study the traffic analysis done for the 50.7-acre retail project proposed for 645A Albany Shaker Road—a proposal that was pulled in early September.
The ad hoc committee, comprised of county and town organizations and officials, has been looking at the impact of a high development along the Albany Shaker Road corridor, including traffic and impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.
Since the committee formed, “projects of impact” are no long of concern. The 80-unit Foegtli Farms subdivision was voted down by the Planning Board due to its high density.
The Albany Shaker Road retail center, behind the Times Union headquarters, was pulled by developers “because of the complexity of the impact on the area,” said LaCivita.
LaCivita put to rest rumors that a Costco Wholesale had been looking to go into the site. While there were plans for a big box store on the development, he said Costco never had plans to set up there.
However, “Cabela’s is still interested,” said LaCivita, but where the national outdoor retailer will establish its first regional location in the Capital District is unknown.
The large retail project would likely have not been approved, though. After studying the impact the project would have had on the area, LaCivita said the committee felt it would not have been a good fit for the Albany Shaker Road property.
“We realized the complexity in that area was not the right space for that level of development,” he said.
