CAP COM Federal Credit Union is planning a sizable upgrade to its Colonie offices.
CAP COM’s main office is at 18 Computer Drive East in Colonie, but a desire to expand has the company eyeing a much larger location at 4 Winners Circle, about a mile from the main office building. The credit union has about 93,000 members and 280 employees in 11 Capital Region branches. At a Tuesday, Nov. 27, Colonie Planning Board meeting, board members approved a sketch plan for the new headquarters that will pave the way for a more detailed review.
Initially, CAP COM had looked at rebuilding at the former Smith Pontiac Dealership on Route 9. However, some issues arose including contamination concerns from motor oils, and they decided to opt for another location.
“They could’ve probably worked through the contamination issues but I think they were under time constraints,” Planning Board Director Joe LaCivita said. “(With the) potential complexities, they looked for a new site. CAP COM was very committed to stay in the Town of Colonie.”
The new three-story building would sit on 11 acres of land next to The Crossings of Colonie and house administrative, facilities, executives and main office staff. The headquarters will also have a bank branch, an ATM line, a drive-thru and a maintenance garage.
The sketch plan review showed the main building at 150,000 square feet, but Dave Hershberg, of Hershberg & Hershberg engineering, said plans would most likely call for an 116,000-square-foot structure when they return to the board for concept approval. That is still much larger than the credit union’s current home, which consists of three buildings totaling 45,000 square feet.
“We’re trying to plan this to make sure we have enough space,” Hershberg said. “But we want to design to plan for the future.”
One of the main hurdles for the project is figuring how traffic would access the site and finding a more convenient way to enter the building. Hershberg said they are thinking of developing an extension of Marcus Boulevard, “so that the future development of the site will accommodate a major transportation improvement,” either a roundabout or a four-way stop sign.
Hershberg said the plans exceed the town’s 35 percent green space requirement at about 48 percent. Although waivers for proposals aren’t usually discussed during sketch plan reviews, Hershberg said he wanted to make sure the company would not be penalized if green space is lost due to roadway enhancements after construction.
“We agree that the project should not be penalized for green space lost for having to accommodate future public infrastructure improvements,” Town Designated Engineer Joe Grasso said.
Board member Kathleen Dalton had some concerns about effects on the wildlife in the area. Hershberg said there won’t be any impact on wildlife, especially the Karner blue butterflies.
LaCivita said the project is expected to proceed quickly.
“We’re very, very happy they’ve decided to stay in Colonie,” LaCivita said. “We are happy they were working with us … this is where the majority of their people are.”
