ALTAMONT — Five years following its first failed attempt at expansion and 18 months after resurrecting the bid, Stewart’s Shops is finally poised to win approval for its proposed Altamont Boulevard project.

At a special meeting on Monday, the Altamont Planning Board, after four consecutive months of Stewart’s-specific monthly meetings, arrived at the consensus that the company had satisfied the conditions laid out in the village code required of a project seeking a special-use permit and site-plan approval. 

The board took no formal action on Stewart’s application, instead deciding to first have board attorney Allyson Phillips draft a decision document that would express “the findings [of the board], and also just reflecting the deliberations we’ve had thus far … how we got to the building design where we are [with] the lighting plan,” Phillips explained.

Another virtual special meeting is set for Monday, June 15, at 6 p.m., where it’s likely the board will approve Stewart’s application.

The company is looking to replace its current 2,700-square-foot store on Altamont Boulevard with a 3,340-square-foot shop, which would involve tearing down a company-owned home at 107-109 Helderberg Ave.

Should the planning board approve Stewart’s application on June 15, work on Helderberg Avenue could start the following week, Chuck Marshall, a real-estate representative for Stewart’s, told The Enterprise. 

Marshall said that, before a demolition permit can be issued by the village, the home at 107-109 Helderberg Ave. has to first go through an asbestos-abatement process. 

If all of the permitting goes smoothly — Marshall said he would simultaneously submit a building permit application along with one for demolition — foundation work on the new shop could begin sometime in mid- to late July. 

Construction is anticipated to take 14 weeks.