COLONIE — A traffic study along Central Avenue is being conducted by the developers who want to use 10 Jupiter Lane as a distribution point for mail order packages.
A representative from CESO, an engineering firm based in Ohio, presented a sketch plan of the project to the Village of Colonie Planning Board recently and the operation would entail having tractor trailers unload the packages and after they are sorted are loaded into vans for final delivery.
Some 36 vans every half hour to 45 minutes would look to get onto Central Avenue from Jupiter Lane, an industrial stretch of road that, for a time, turns into Walker Way. There will be an estimated 266 van trips per day running from about 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The state Department of Transportation will be involved in the traffic study, which basically electronically counts cars along the stretch of Central Avenue less than a mile west of the Northway.
The Albany Business Review reported the interested online retail company is Amazon, which is looking to build a $100 million distribution center in Schodack. The Colonie facility would be considered “last mile” with the next stop a package makes the consumer’s doorstep. It would operate similar to the UPS or FedEx trucks that drop packages at homes but the exact radius the vans would travel from the Colonie facility is not yet known.
People would not be able to pick up their packages at the Jupiter Lane facility as the Amazon is eliminating that service on the national level,
According to Alexandra Hart, the village’s deputy clerk, once the traffic study is complete the company will need to come back before the Planning Board for site plan review. According the way it was proposed at sketch plan, the company will need a special use permit to operate in a Commercial D zone.
The project may change depending on the traffic study, but Scott Uher, an architect for CESO, told the village Planning Board the plan is to demolish the northwest portion of the structure and leave six truck entrances on the north side of the building. Right now the warehouse is 138,000-square-foot and will shrink to 123,000-square-foot after the modifications. There is also 9,700-square-foot of office space.
There will be 77 employee parking spaces and 99 parking stalls for the vans. Right now, about 27 percent of the site is green space, which is in compliance with village code.
If approved there will be 68 employees per shift at the facility for a total of 133 employees per day.
The property is owned by Peter Luizzi under the name Jupiter Lane LLC. Previous tenants included FEMA and a liquor distributor.
Chris Dennis, chair of the village’s Planning Board, said the floor plan and exterior elevations are required along with the next submission and has concerns about traffic and the impact the facility will have on the surrounding neighborhoods in regards to noise and light.
