GUILDERLAND — A property which in its younger days drew the ire of neighbors, the town, and Albany County Supreme Court for its hard-partying ways is growing up.

1434 Western Ave., currently home to a dog daycare and spa and once home to an illegal nightclub, is set to become a co-working space. 

“Elevation Coworks is a hybrid coworking and creative rental space designed for professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and content creators seeking a modern, community-centered environment,” according to the narrative provided to the town by owner Samuel Rucker. “Its mission is rooted in the belief that community elevates growth — offering a workspace where productivity, creativity, and collaboration thrive.”

The Guilderland Zoning Board of Appeals approved Rucker’s special-use permit during its Jan. 7 meeting. 

The property’s second floor once housed The Back Door, billed as “Albany’s premier event space,” which the Guilderland Town Board authorized its attorney to go to court to shut down in February 2022. A memorandum at the time from town attorney James Melita said the property was being used illegally “as a commercial entertainment location” in violation of the town’s zoning code.

The town subsequently took both the property owner and the late-night venue proprietor to court, earning a victory and shutdown in April 2022. 

Rucker bought the property from Kent Hansen for $800,000 at the end of 2025. 

His permit approval hit a snag in December when the site plan submitted with the application showed parking in two locations, in front of the building along the Route 20 right-of-way with additional rear spaces accessed via a driveway running along the property line shared with 1436 Western Ave.

The driveway access was labeled on the site plan as an “easement,” which turned out not to be true.  

Kathleen Baines, who was speaking on behalf of her client, Teresa Jusino, the owner of the neighboring 1436 Western Ave., told board members that the site plan’s representation of an easement was false. “No such easement exists,” Baines told the board, a fact Hansen was well aware of. 

Hansen, whose Inns of Altamont project was approved by the zoning board in June 2025, told the board he had “always understood” there was access to the rear parking via the adjacent property — which Baines said was through a license agreement and not an easement, and which Hansen had stopped making payments on and was thus terminated.

Without legal access to the rear parking area, the site plan didn’t meet the town’s parking requirements for the proposed use. Board Chairwoman Elizabeth Lott said she didn’t “feel comfortable moving forward” with the application until the issue was settled, telling Rucker to come back before the board when it was, which he did a month later. 

With the access issue taken care of, Rucker faced a new problem when he came before the board this month. 

Resident Christine Duffy questioned the legality of the front parking spaces shown on the site plan. Duffy identified herself as a pedestrian with disabilities who regularly walks along Route 20 in the area. She argued that the front parking spaces at 1434 Western Ave. encroached on the public right-of-way and were owned by New York state, not by Rucker and previously Hansen. 

The board listened to Duffy’s concerns, ultimately approving the application with conditions: 

— The special-use permit shall remain in effect only if there is a licensing agreement between the owners of 1434 and 1436 Western Ave.;

— Two parking spots in the front of the building are to be separately designated as a spot for someone with a handicap to park and as a loading zone; and 

— The co-working space is limited to operating between 7 a.m. and 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., on Saturday and Sunday.