All Over Albany

The apartments on Elm Street, The Lionheart, Colvin Ave mixed-use, and more exciting tales of the Albany Planning Board

Exciting Tales of the Albany Planning Board is a program recorded before a live studio audience once a month in which the fates of multi-million dollar projects around the city are (partially) decided.

Included this month: Approval for those controversial Elm Street apartment buildings, a Colvin Ave apartment proposal, The Lionheart, The Wilson, demolitions and how big is that sign...

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Clinton Square, every hundred years or so

We've had a bunch of items lately about the Clinton Square section of downtown Albany because the city is in the process of figuring out which projects there should get a slice of the $10 million from the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

So we thought you might find this photo interesting. It's Clinton Square -- the area around the intersection of North Pearl Street and Orange Street -- from (we're guessing) the 1920s. The photo is from the Albany Public Library History Collection. If you follow that link you can zoom into the photo and see a bunch of details.

One of the things that struck us about this photo is just how different this part of the city is now. There's no Palace Theater -- the old movie house wouldn't be built until 1930. There's no federal building in the background. And that row of buildings along the east side is now Wallenberg Park.

More than anything, though, there's just something overall about this scene that feels more human scale. At least, it does via the photo. (Also: Streetcars!)

Clinton Square is one one of the oldest major intersections in the city and it's been a topic of debate and discussion regarding development there for 200 years.

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Here are the projects in the mix for that $10 million that Albany has from the state for the Clinton Square area of downtown

The city of Albany has $10 million to spend in the Clinton Square section of downtown after winning the latest round of the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

Now it has to figure out what exactly that money should be spent on.

And here are the projects in the mix so far...

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A few of the ideas that are in the mix for the future of Albany's Lincoln Park

What should Albany's Lincoln Park look like five years from now? Or 10 years from now? Or even 50 years from now?

That's the question at the center of the ongoing process to develop a master plan for the city's second largest park.

"This is an iterative process, this is about asking you what you want," mayor Kathy Sheehan told the crowd at a public planning meeting at TOAST Elementary Tuesday evening. "And creating a vision for a park that will live on for decades -- and be a vision for the park that reflects the community."

The city has hired a landscape architecture firm out of Boston to help it develop this plan. On Tuesday the firm's reps presented a few ideas they have in mind, and members of the public highlighted what they like so far...

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How that new connector between the Northway and ALB will work

Major construction on that new connector from the Northway for Albany International Airport is set to begin this winter, the Cuomo admin announced this week. The plan is for the $50 million exit reconfiguration to be finished by spring 2020.

That video embedded above is a Cuomo admin explainer about how the new connector ramps will work. We found it helpful in understanding the reconfiguration.

You might remember ALB is also getting a new parking garage and some makeovers, a $42 million project that's backed by $22 million from the state.

The plan for a sewer facility in Lincoln Park is set to move forward next year -- with a significant change

The plan for the Beaver Creek Clean River Project -- the sewer facility planned for Albany's Lincoln Park that prompted an upswell of community skepticism this past spring -- has changed, officials announced at a public meeting Tuesday evening at TOAST Elementary.

The project still includes a new sewer facility and park space in the old Beaver Creek ravine, but engineers have made a significant design change that officials say will result in both a smaller footprint and smaller impact.

Here's what's up.

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Albany is set to build the link between Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail and the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail -- here's the plan

What part of the trail underneath 787 could look like.

The city of Albany is planning to start construction next year on the much-anticipated link between the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail and the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail.

The South End Connector is a key piece of the region's growing network of alternative transportation paths. When finished, it will offer a protected path for cyclists and pedestrians along the two miles from the rail trail's South End trailhead and the Mohawk-Hudson trail on the Hudson River. And it holds the potential to offer people within the South End a safer way to the riverfront.

The South End Connector has been in public planning for more two years, and the idea for the trail stretches back even farther. The city unveiled the construction plan and a new timeline last week at a public meeting.

Here's a look at what's in the works...

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Approval to convert two prominent downtown buildings, a warm response to increased density, and more exciting tales of the Albany Planning Board

This block is in line to get new life.

Exciting Tales of the Albany Planning Board is a program recorded before a live studio audience once a month in which the fates of multi-million dollar projects around the city are (partially) decided.

This month: Approval for residential conversion of two notable downtown buildings, a historic parking garage, that big residential/retail project across from St. Peter's, stormwater concerns, an addition to the Lionheart, a practice gym, and that enormous Kenwood project...

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Here are some of the options for remaking upper Washington Ave in Albany

One of the options would re-stripe the road to include bike lanes.

The part of Washington Ave by UAlbany and the Harriman State Office Campus is a weird stretch. It's really wide. All sorts of ramps slip on and off it. There's been a lot of development, but it's hard to get from one thing to another. Pedestrians dart across it. And the speed limit probably feels frustratingly slow for drivers.

So: Are there ways to fix some of these issues, making the street work better and feel better for all sorts of people -- pedestrians, cyclists, drivers?

For the past six months the Washington Avenue-Patroon Creek Corridor Study -- a collaboration between the Capital District Transportation Committee, city of Albany, University at Albany, and engineering consultants -- has been looking into that question.

And Thursday evening during a crowded public meeting at UAlbany the engineers showed off a trio of possible designs for making over the road...

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How Albany is figuring out what to spend $10 million on downtown

The proposed zone in which the funding will be focused. (Here's a larger version.)

Earlier this fall the state announced that the city of Albany is getting $10 million in the latest round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative for a series of projects centered on Clinton Square.

Now the city has to spend that money. Quickly.

So... how to do that? That was the topic of a public meeting Wednesday at The Palace.

Here are a few takeaways -- about why Clinton Square, what sort of stuff will and won't get funded, and how your project might be able to land some money.

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Making it someone's job (literally) to push Albany toward streets that are safer and friendlier for all sorts of people

Update: Kathy Sheehan tells Amanda Fries the city won't be adding the position, but will be assigning one of its current engineers to oversee complete streets and ADA compliance. [TU]
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Should the city of Albany have a staff member whose full-time job is to keep the city on track towards its goal of creating streets that are safer and friendly to pedestrians, cyclists, and people with disabilities?

A group called Capital Region Complete Streets is pushing for the city to create such a position -- a complete streets coordinator -- and it would like to see the job included in the budget the city's working to finalize. The group has posted a doc outlining its argument (also embedded below). A clip:

It is evident that the City of Albany is making some progress with ADA Compliance, Complete Streets, and combating climate change, but the progress is slow. A Complete Streets Coordinator will help move things forward more efficiently, leading to a more inclusive, safe, walkable, and inviting city. One indicator that this position would be useful is that the city has had a Bicycle Master Plan in place since 2009, nearly a decade, yet has not come close to establishing a connected bicycle network. In fact, since 2009, the city has only managed to construct 4 mostly unconnected bike lanes (Clinton Ave, Northern Blvd, Madison Ave and Ten Broeck) that amount to about 2.8 miles.

A leading 21st century city is a safe and inviting place to live and work. Walkable streets, and navigable bike and transit networks are hallmark quality-of-life essentials for today's families, students, businesses and innovators. A Complete Streets Coordinator will allow Albany to be more responsive to the needs of its residents, while increasing its competitiveness with surrounding communities.

The city already has an ordinance requiring it to work toward "complete" streets, and a few years ago it put together what's essentially a recipe book for laying out streets with pedestrians and bikes in mind.

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Here's the new concept plan for 1 Monument Square in downtown Troy

There's a new plan for 1 Monument Square -- and a long way still to go.

That's the big takeaway from Monday's meeting in which the city of Troy and its consultants showed off concept plan for the redevelopment of Monument Square that's centered on a large public plaza.

The new plan is the product of a public input process pursued this year in an attempt to create a solid consensus about what to do with the site -- at the heart of downtown Troy -- and then pursue developers interested in following that vision.

"Don't get too hung up on the particulars of the design, it's meant to illustrate proportions more than a specific design or specific building materials," mayor Patrick Madden told a packed crowd at the Arts Center of the Capital Region. "And don't get too wigged out at this point about the challenges -- not yet, anyway."

Let's a have a look at some renderings and a few of those challenges...

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There's a new, bigger proposal for residential + retail development on New Scotland Ave across from St. Peter's Hospital

A rendering of the building that would stand at New Scotland and South Allen in the new proposal.

There's proposal for a new residential/retail development across from St. Peter's Hospital on New Scotland Ave is back -- bigger, this time, and will a new developer.

In planning docs filed with the city of Albany, the Jankow Companies is proposing to demolish seven structures on the site to make way for four new buildings that would include 188 apartments along with more than 13,000 square feet of retail.

You might remember a somewhat similar proposal -- "New Scotland Village" -- came up late last year under a different developer. It prompted a strong negative response from neighbors, and the planning board was less than impressed with that design.

This new proposal is one of 14 projects on the tentative agenda for the November 15 Albany planning board meeting -- there's a workshop meeting about the agenda, open to the public, tonight (Monday, November 5) at 5:45 pm at the 200 Henry Johnson building.

That tentative agenda includes a bunch of high-profile and/or controversial projects. So here's a quick overview of the new New Scotland Ave proposal, and a few bits about the rest of the projects.

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Here's a chance to provide input on how the city of Albany should spend $10 million downtown

Back in September the city of Albany won the latest round of the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative and it's now in line to get $10 million for a variety of projects. And next Wednesday, November 7 there's a public meeting at the The Palace to talk about how to spend that money. Blurbage:

The city's DRI application focused on the Clinton Square section of downtown, a gateway into the city off 787 and the intersection of downtown proper, Sheridan Hollow, Arbor Hill, and the area that sits between downtown and the Warehouse District. The application specifically names a bunch of projects that could be in line for funding. The Skyway, affordable housing, and streetscape improvements were among the proposed ideas (see that link).

But, as we pointed out in September, those projects aren't necessarily guaranteed to get a slice of the money. That decisions about which projects get money -- and how much -- will be part of a plan developed by the city and a committee. Here's a list of the members of that committee.

So, if there's a particular project or projects in that area that you think should definitely get funding (or conversely, shouldn't get funding), this is a chance to say something.

The public meeting is Wednesday, November 7 from 6:30-8 pm at The Palace.

That look at traffic and pedestrian safety along New Scotland Ave is happening, and there's a meeting coming up to talk about it

The city of Albany has a public meeting November 13 to talk about the long-awaited New Scotland/Whitehall/Buckingham Corridor Traffic Study.

You might remember the city announced back in August 2017 that St. Peter's Health Partners was putting up $100k to study what mayor Kathy Sheehan described as "a significant increase in traffic" along the New Scotland Ave corridor, a major channel for the daily influx of commuters into the city. Speeding, pedestrian safety, and congestion have all become common complaints in neighborhoods along the corridor.

The city has hired the engineering firm Creighton Manning to assist with the project. Meeting blurbage:

This meeting will provide a brief overview of the study and draft project objectives. Community members will also have an opportunity to provide comments regarding existing needs and ideas for transportation improvements, and will help shape the future traffic patterns in this

It will be interesting to hear some of the ideas for the corridor. There are certainly some things that could be done with the street itself. Example: The segment of New Scotland from St. Peter's to Buckingham currently has a make-your-own-rules feel because of the (lack of) design and marking.

But it's also probably true that addressing the issues people are concerned about will also mean changing behaviors and other patterns. Is it possible for St. Peter's and Albany Med and other employers along the corridor to get fewer people driving to work alone? Are there ways to encourage development and residential choices so that more people can walk or bike to where they're going along the corridor?

There are a lot of pieces to fit together.

The public meeting is Tuesday, November 13 from 5:30-7:00 pm at the Mercy Auditorium at St. Peter's Hospital's 310 South Manning Blvd building. It's across the street from the main hospital building.

By the way: That's the same night at the South End Connector Trail meeting at the Howe Branch of the APL. That meeting's open house starts at 7 pm.

Earlier and elsewhere
+ Studying one of the channels of the daily commuting tide into and out of Albany
+ Parking as a daily choice
+ CityLab: Durham's Plan to 'Nudge' Drivers Out of Cars

The city of Albany is planning to start building that connector between the rail trail and the riverfront next year -- and there's a chance next month to see the plans

One of the renderings from 2017 of what the section under 787 might look like.

The city of Albany will show off the concept plans for the South End Connector Trail at a public meeting November 13 at the Howe Branch of the Albany Public Library.

The South End Connector is planned to be a roughly two-mile path to connect the end of the Helderberg Hudson Rail Trail in the South End with the Mohawk Hudson Bike Hike Trail along the riverfront. The public planning process for the project started more than two years ago, and the city and its consultants unveiled a plan in May 2017.

It's an important project because of the connection it will form between the two popular bike trails and the progress toward building a larger regional trail network. And it also potentially will open a safer way for people in the South End to get to the riverfront.

There are a two bits of news in the city's meeting announcement:
+ The city says it's anticipating that construction of the project's multi-use pathwill start in the summer of 2019.
+ A second phase -- that "include enhancements such as additional lighting and public art to the section of the route that goes under I-787" -- is scheduled for 2020. The city is calling that segment the "South End Connector Underline."

The public meeting is Tuesday, November 13 at at the Howe Branch of the APL (105 Schuyler Street). There's an open house from 7-7:30 pm and a project presentation from 7:30-8:30 pm.

Earlier
+ The plan to connect two major bike paths at the Albany waterfront (2017 May)
+ Plotting a path for the Albany waterfront bike trail connector (2016 June)
+ Mapping out the future for an alternative transportation network in the Capital District (2018 September)
+ Elsewhere: "Miami's Underline underscores potential of park projects" [Curbed]

The saga of the Western Ave apartment project and more exciting tales of the Albany Planning Board

One of the latest renderings for the proposed 1211 Western Ave apartment project.

Exciting Tales of the Albany Planning Board is a program recorded before a live studio audience once a month in which the fates of multi-million dollar projects around the city are (partially) decided.

This month: The ongoing fight over a big apartment project on Western Ave, a place for school buses, a gym plan delayed, and the conversion of a tiny church...

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There's another public meeting coming up to talk about ideas for 1 Monument Square

The fifth major attempt to redevelop the 1 Monument Square site in the heart of downtown Troy takes another step November 5 with a public meeting to formally present ideas developed during the public planning sessions this past summer.

City press release blurbage:

During the meeting, project designers and planners will present a refined concept for the site. Following the presentation, the City, along with the design team, will analyze project costs, available grant funding, and other factors necessary to move the project forward. The City previously held a multi-day workshop to study the site, inviting Troy residents, business owners, employees and the general public to participate in developing a shared vision for the One Monument Square site. The feedback provided during the meetings were used to develop a series of site illustrations which feature significant open public space, two levels of parking, views of the Hudson River, and pedestrian connections down to the adjacent William D. Chamberlain Riverfront Park.

Officials have said the idea this time around is to figure out some sort of consensus on how the site should be used before finding developers interested in the site.

This next meeting is Monday, November 5 at 7 pm at the Arts Center of the Capita Region (265 River Street).

Earlier: Five takeaways from the start of the fifth major effort to redevelop 1 Monument Square

A year later I'm still using a bike to get around town -- here are a few thoughts about how that's worked out

About this time last year I shared how I ended up becoming a person who uses a bike as one of my primary ways of of getting around town.

A year later I am still that person. (Even the Times Union says I'm a cyclist.)

And here are a few thoughts about how that's worked out...

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Talking about the future of Lincoln Park

You could understand if Albany's Lincoln Park feels a little left out.

Washington Park gets the events, the tulips, the Instagram pics, the fame. It's the older sibling, the first born, the one who gets all the praise and attention.

Meanwhile, Lincoln Park stands not that far away, roughly the same size, with a loved-but-leaky pool, some sports fields, and an overgrown ravine. It hasn't had any sort of official, overall planning done for it in more than a century.

That's now changing. The city of Albany has started a process to develop a master plan for Lincoln Park. And it's brought in a consulting firm, Stimson, to help things along.

"It's like no other park in Albany and it's really of a huge scale," said Stimson's Glen Valentine at a public meeting to gather input this week at Hackett Middle School. "And we hope that this will lead to those kind of big ideas because people aren't afraid in this forum to speak whatever they want to do, whatever they think is interesting."

Here's an overview of the ideas that have bubbled up so far...

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Walkable Albany survey

The new local group Walkable Albany has posted a survey looking for public feedback about places in the city that could use some attention in terms of pedestrian amenities and safety. Survey blurbage:

Walkable Albany is seeking your input about what places in Albany need improvement so that we can build a list of places in Albany to focus on in our advocacy efforts.

Walkable Albany is a group of Albanians who want to advocate for better streets. We believe Albany is a beautiful city with a historic walkable core and transit-friendly outer neighborhoods. Its core should be embraced for its walkable urban potential and its outer neighborhoods should be improved to make walking easier, safer, and more useful.

Pedestrian safety and complete streets should be a top priority for the City of Albany. Neighborhood and downtown streets should be designed to protect pedestrians and slow traffic whenever it is appropriate. Safe spaces for all road users, including bicyclists and alternative transportation options, are essential.

These sorts of topics -- walkability, dangerous intersections, urban planning -- get discussed fairly often here at AOA, so we figured you might be interested in this survey.

The founder of Walkable Albany is Andrew Neidhardt. The group has a meeting next Monday, October 15 at the Washington Ave Branch of the Albany Public Library at 6:30 pm.

A call for ideas for Rensselaer Riverfront Park

One of the murals in Rensselaer's Riverfront Park.

The city of Rensselaer is looking to make some improvements to its Riverfront Park -- and it's hoping you have some ideas.

There's a quick online survey asking people about their preferences for updated park amenities such as new lighting, pathways, benches, or even the many murals that are around the park. The survey will be collecting responses through November 15. (There are also physical copies of the survey at City Hall and the Rensselaer Public Library.)

Ketura Vics -- the assistant director of planning and development for Rensselaer -- said the city has $125,000 state grant via Assembly member John McDonald to pay for improvements, so it wants to get a sense of what's important to people. And while the city won't be able to make every suggested improvement -- that money will only go so far -- the feedback will also allow the city to plan for the future.

Speaking of the future... Rensselaer recently officially opened a new esplanade just a bit north of Riverfront Park. And Vics said via email the city is thinking about the bigger picture here: "As the city continues to grow and develop, we hope to have trails all along the waterfront and through the city that are connected via 'complete street' designs in order to improve access and mobility throughout our small, linear city."

Albany-Rensselaer
We've mentioned this a few times before, but it's worth saying again: The cities of Albany and Rensselaer could both benefit from a better pedestrian/bike/whatever connection across the river.

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An update on what's in the works for the public portion of that sewer project in Lincoln Park

A sketch of what the proposed meditation labyrinth and garden could look like.

Here's a quick update on that reflection and learning garden* that's to go along with the planned Beaver Creek Clean River Project sewer facility in Albany's Lincoln Park.

Here are the city-posted notes from the latest meeting of the community board that's providing input on the project. They include updates from CHA -- the firm working with the city on the project -- about the possible design for the indoor/outdoor classroom, meditation labyrinth, walking paths, play structures, and wetland that would occupy the Beaver Creek ravine.

There are also new renderings of the possible design, and they're probably the fastest way of getting a sense of what's being discussed. So we've clipped a few of them -- see below.

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Downtown Albany is in line to get $10 million from the state -- here are some of the projects that could get a slice of that money

A rendering of a potential gateway at Broadway and Clinton that Capitalize Albany released last year.

A bunch of projects in downtown Albany are in line to get a slice of a $10 million block of money from New York State after the city was named one of the winners in the latest round of the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

Specifically, Capitalize Albany -- the development arm of the city -- put together an application that focused on the Clinton Square area of downtown. It's the section more or less centered on the intersection of North Pearl Street and Clinton Ave. The pitch was that this area is a major gateway to the city, is the interface for multiple neighborhoods, and already has some momentum in the form of real estate development, affordable housing, and the arts.

Albany was in the running against a handful of other cities in this region, including Troy and Cohoes.

So what's up for the cash? Here's the list, along with a few thoughts.

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Here's a chance to help map out the future of Albany's Lincoln Park

What should be the future of Albany's Lincoln Park?

That's the question at the center of a public meeting the city of Albany has lined up for October 9 as it works toward putting a master plan for the large park. Blurbage:

Mayor Kathy Sheehan, the City of Albany Department of Planning & Development, and STIMSON Studio Landscape Architects will host a public meeting to provide an overview and receive community input regarding the Lincoln Park Master Plan design project. This is an exciting opportunity for residents, visitors, and community organizations to learn about the original design intent of Lincoln Park, take part in shaping its future, and help to prioritize projects and initiatives within the Park.

The meeting is Tuesday, October 9 at 6:30 pm at Hackett Middle School (45 Delaware Ave). If you can't make it to the meeting and want to offer a comment -- or just feel comfortable submitting a prepared statement -- there's ran online comment form.

Lincoln Park occupied a big chunk of Albany's south side, almost 70 acres.* And in addition to figuring an overall plan for the future and potential upgrades, there are two important projects facing the city there:

+ The Albany Water Department is planning the Beaver Creek Clean River Project, a sewer facility that's part of an effort to reduce sewage overflows in the Hudson River. The largely underground facility would also add some park amenities and address a longstanding problem with a sewer line and a ravine.

+ The Lincoln Park Pool is leaking huge amounts of water and has probably reached the end of its life. The city needs map out a plan for the next version of the pool.

So there's a lot to talk about.

* Washington Park is a little more than 80 acres.