All Over Albany

Here are a few bits about the latest big apartment project proposed for Albany

The latest apartment project formally proposed for Albany: The "Sandidge Way Apartments," a $46 million complex that would include 252 units tucked along one of the western borders of the city near SUNY Poly off Fuller Road.

The project is on the planning board agenda for December 14 and it will no doubt be the subject of much discussion.

Here are a few more details...

Basics

Dawn Home Management is backing the project. (Here's the project's online document file.) A quick overview:

+ 252 residential units spread across 7 four-story buildings. The units would a mix of 1 and 2 bedrooms, according to the floor plans on file.

+ The four stories would be over parking garages.

+ Total parking space for the project: 401 -- 188 of them in the garages.

+ The building facing Fuller Road would include a rental office and common areas for the complex.

+ The complex would also include a maintenance shed.

+ To make room for the new buildings, 13 single-family homes would be demolished. Eleven of those are currently vacant and already owned by the developer. The two others -- at 273 and 275 Fuller Road -- are occupied and acquisition is pending, according to docs filed with the planning board.

The project description from the development plan app:

The plan includes 252 residential units in 7 buildings and a maintenance shed. Office & common areas are within Building 6. Off street parking for 401 +/- cars is provided including 188 +/- parking spaces at the lower level of the buildings. This provides adequate parking for both tenants and visitors. The plan proposes to consolidate the individual lots along Sandidge Way into two new lots and add a 20 foot wide property currently a portion of 261 Fuller Road. One lot southeast of Sandidge Way shown as Proposed No. 2 Sandidge Way will contain 3.89 acres of land of which 68.64%+/- will be pervious. A second lot northwest of Sandidge Way shown as Proposed No. 1 Sandidge Way will contain 2.60 acres of land of which 65.77%+/- will be pervious.

Estimated start date for construction is June 2018 and estimated occupancy date is June 2019, according to the application.

Another angle to keep an eye on: Whether this project made it before the deadline for the city's new inclusionary zoning rules. [Biz Review]

Site plan and elevations

They're at the top in large format -- click or scroll all the way up.

Backstory on this site

Yeah, so there's a lot. And it can be split into major parts, which we'll summarize quickly.

History SUNY Poly intrigue
This site -- which was earlier called Loughlin Street -- had originally been floated for a SUNY Poly dorm project involving Columbia Development. It was that project -- more specifically the process surrounding it -- that prompted the state Attorney General's Office to file bid-rigging charges against former SUNY Poly nano emperor Alain Kaloyeros and Columbia Development's Joe Nicolla. (Both have pleaded not guilty to the charges an attorney for Nicolla has called the allegations against his client "absolute nonsense.") An affiliate of Columbia sold the land in 2016 to the backers of the current project. [TU 2016] [Biz Review 2016 x2]

Neighborhood concerns
The other big part of the story surrounding this site involves the big makeover of the city's zoning code earlier this year. The roots of the push to develop this site stretch back to at least 2014, and building apartments there required a change in zoning, which got rolled into Rezone Albany.

The zoning change prompted a vocal turnout from residents of the Fuller Road neighborhood -- many of whom live just across the city line in Guilderland -- who said they were concerned about how taller apartment buildings would affect the character of the neighborhood, and argued that Fuller can't handle additional traffic. The Common Council ultimately approved the Rezone Albany package, which included the change for Sandidge Way zoning to "residential village."

We're guessing there's a very good chance some of these neighborhood residents will be returning to push back against this specific project.

Planning board meeting

The agenda for December 14 planning board meeting is packed with high-profile projects. Among them:

+ The big mixed-use development planned at Quackenbush Square

+ The Playdium site redevelopment

+ The New Scotland Village apartment/retail project across from St. Peter's Hospital

+ And the five-story mixed-use building proposed for 526 Central Ave

This month's meeting will also be at a different place and time than usual. It will be at the city's planning department building at 200 Henry Johnson Blvd in the community room at 6:30 pm, which should provide plenty of space if you'd like to attend.