LOUDONVILLE – The redevelopment of the Century House restaurant and hotel at 997 Loudon Road to include an apartment complex is going back to the drawing board.
The Colonie Planning Board rejected the concept plan from Latham Century Partners and Hershberg & Hershberg on Tuesday, April 4, due to concerns raised by the town engineer, board members and Boght Fire Department over project site logistics. The plan will not be advancing until improvements are made.
“This project needs a lot of work,” planning board member Louis Mion said.
Town Engineer Joe Grasso cited a dozen concerns about the project, including not enough parking, inadequate access for emergency vehicles, the placement and height of apartment buildings, and lack of trash storage on site.
Latham Century Partners proposed 296 spaces with an additional 12 to be optional or banked spaces. Grasso said he does not want the site to be over-parked due to the proposed locations of the apartments and central courtyard.
Another concern was emergency vehicle access. Due to tight parameters between the apartments, it would be difficult for emergency vehicles to navigate areas on the site and limited turning access.
The town emergency services center sent a letter to Grasso concerning the lack of adequate vehicle access for emergency personnel.
Boght Fire Department officials also voiced concern for the site plan in June. The fire department cited substantial grading issues near the rear apartment complex as being too steep for fire fighting and rescue. In addition, they noted the height of the buildings, at three-and-a-half stories, would not allow firefighters to place their ladder on the structure to extinguish a fire.
Planning Board Chairman Steven Heider expressed concern for apartment placement and fire safety.
“This is just apartments. To put a three-and-a-half story building that is 10 and 12 feet off the property line is just absolutely ludacris and poor planning,” Heider said. “I’ve never seen (the local fire coordinator) approve a plan that looked like this.”
The site plan also offered limited trash storage and did not contain any sidewalks due to tight spacing. Grasso recommended sidewalks be built on site.
The planned apartment size and the number of apartment units did not shrink as they should have, according to the planning board.
“We were pretty specific with this the last time. The rear apartment building didn’t shrink,” Heider said. “To see that back building increase in size, I am surprised. … I just don’t think another apartment complex fits that definition.”
What will happen to Century House?
All parties were supportive of the preservation of the historic front portion of Century House for public benefit. Heider spoke to Town Supervisor Peter Crummy about the idea, but Crummy is going to get input from the historical society for the building. No decision has been made yet.
Century House is a building of historical significance to the town. Grasso recommended the planning board consult with the Office of Historic Preservation on what to do with the landmark and any proposed changes to it.
During the height of the pandemic, according to Jesse Calhoun of The New Group, (Century House owner) Colin DeMers reached out to him to discuss the future of Century House.
“I knew immediately that this was one of those special projects, one that the entire community has an attachment to,” Calhoun said. “No matter what, we need to connect to the history and the caretaker of the past while transitioning to the future for this site. … We want to make sure that the history and the memories get preserved while the properties continue to transform to meet people’s needs.”
The Century House building, located on the northwest corner of the property site along New Loudon Road, could possibly be turned into a museum for the Town Historical Society as part of the town’s benefit, he said.
Other planning board items on the agenda had some action.
The medical office facility at 4 Wellness Way received final site plan approval and The O’Reilly Auto Parts addition plan was not approved at this time and will have to come back.