To the Editor:

As a 26-year resident of Guilderland, and as the community manager at Hamilton Parc, I am writing to The Enterprise to finally place our voice within these pages.

Many readers know me because I’m from our town of Guilderland. I joined the Hamilton Parc team several months ago, and in early January I made sure to welcome every single invited news reporter who attended our special media tour.

We spent an hour or more with these reporters, taking time to discuss details and answer questions. The Altamont Enterprise was included on our invite list but did not attend the media tour. The newspaper did receive our emails about Hamilton Parc, and later quoted some of the details here.

Since that tour, we’ve been dismayed to see The Altamont Enterprise not only rebuff our invitation, but subsequently choose to write about Hamilton Parc without reaching out to speak with me, our developer, or our leasing director.

Still, the team here knows that we have plenty to offer Guilderland, and much more than what’s been included in recent coverage [“Luxury senior housing comes to Guilderland after years of controversy,” The Altamont Enterprise, Jan. 9, 2024] or opinion essays [“Guilderland needs affordable, accessible housing for its elderly residents,” Altamont Enterprise editorial, Jan. 18, 2024].

Let me assure you: There is plenty of excitement about Hamilton Parc!

Our lease commitments are rising each week and the active adult, luxury living community lifestyle is proven to be attractive in vibrant towns like Guilderland. But I feel I must be clear: “active adult” is not analogous to “affordable” senior living and should not be compared as equal.

We believe low-income housing investments ought to be able to co-exist with an active adult, luxury living development — and so does Guilderland, a reality reflected by our approvals from town government. Now, as our Phase 1 units are completely built and near-ready for residents to move in, those residents will enjoy a lifestyle rivaling any found in the region.

Hamilton Parc offers a reward for the years of equity, investment, and care that many seniors have placed in their own properties. If eligible 55+ individuals choose to do so — and no one is forcing them! — then they may trade in the maintenance and responsibility of a standalone residence for the amenity-rich lifestyle we are providing. They may sign a lease with the rental price locked for five years, and we’ll agree to hold their apartment rent-free until their contingent home sale date.

Then, they may swim indoors year-round; visit our gym and sauna daily; enjoy a salon haircut without even leaving the building; view a movie in their own community theater; and much more. For those who live independently but may have mobility issues, our ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] -compliant hallways and doorways are wide, our entryways are no-step, our units’ bathrooms are accessible and we have elevators available.

All of these amenities and necessities are a proven attraction — and though they come with a cost, it’s one that our committed residents have already shown they’re willing to accept.

We are built on the former Hiawatha Trails golf course, and in the spirit of honoring history, we’ve built a year-round indoor golf simulator at Hamilton Parc. That’s not to mention the six other golf courses within a 20-minute drive of our front door!

And as far as the old course’s green space: We’ve used less than half of the former course, with the remaining 24 acres given back to the community for public walking and hiking trails. We eagerly anticipate the town’s development of this parcel, hopefully as soon as this spring, to maintain a significant amount of “forever wild” green space for Guilderland.

The Enterprise has called into question our ability or aim to help Guilderland residents. An editorial in this paper suggested, among other things, that Guilderland would be better served by a paid “village membership” model like one started at the Beacon Hill Village in Boston. This model was created to serve some of the most affluent neighborhoods in Boston, where former presidential candidate John Kerry lives and where home sales currently average about $2 million.

The City of Albany now has a local chapter of the village model, for those who wish to use their virtual classes or other services [“Elderly neighbors help each other stay in their homes,” The Altamont Enterprise, Nov. 2, 2017]. But while 90 percent of seniors wish to age in their homes, Hamilton Parc fills the gap for the remaining 10 percent — those for whom community, transportation, and accessibility will not be issues.

We are instead committed to helping Guilderland through the local economy. No municipality suffers from more property tax receipts and more financially stable residents. Hamilton Parc will provide millions in annual school and property taxes, plus plenty of resident economic activity.

With our development joining other growth, Guilderland will continue to enjoy better-than-average services and amenities, more funding for schools, and an improved overall quality of suburban life that we all enjoy. If we succeed, Guilderland succeeds.

We’re glad to welcome anyone interested to view Hamilton Parc for themselves. Our team will offer personal tours of the space and show you our ambition to grow and welcome even more residents to town.

The Hamilton Parc that I know is committed to being a great neighbor, a collaborative partner, and an outstanding housing choice for hundreds on State Farm Road. “Upscale elderly” or otherwise, we are ready to welcome our people home to Guilderland, a town which still greets each new face with the warm disposition we’ve always provided.

Jeanne Bender

Guilderland

Editor’s note: The Enterprise’s goal in covering news is to provide useful information — such as rent prices for a new apartment complex — and context, such as the history of controversy over a particular project like Hamilton Parc, rather than to promote a business.

Our goal in the editorial you reference was to urge town leaders to consider the needs of elderly Guilderland residents for affordable, accessible housing. In that editorial, we wished the new residents of Hamilton Parc well and we cited a groundbreaking Harvard study that considered housing and care for the elderly as one while suggesting the “village model” — a model we’ve covered locally in a neighborhood that is not affluent and that is furthered by such organizations as Community Caregivers — as one solution.