GUILDERLAND — The empty Price Chopper building on Western Avenue may soon have new occupants.

The planning board last Wednesday approved a site plan to allow George Amedore, of Amedore Homes, to refurbish the building as office space. The Amedore Homes office sits across the street from the former grocery store, which is also across from Robinson’s Hardware and Cumberland Farms.

Engineer Daniel Hershberg told the board that Amedore also proposes to build a free-standing bank in the parking lot.
"We add the bank" to make the project affordable, Hershberg said. Without the extra income from a bank rental, he said, the cost to refurbish the grocery store would be too high.

Hershberg said that no particular bank has been named, and that Amedore is shopping for tenants.

The plan calls for improvements to the site.
"The entrance is overly wide," Hershberg said. He said that the project will narrow the entrance and add sidewalks.

The site has more than 220 parking spaces, but that may not be adequate for the projected 80 employees and visitors.
"Certainly, it’s an improvement on the site," said planning board Chairman Stephen Feeney.

Board member Paul Caputo suggested that a Dumpster planned for the center of the site be moved.
"You’ve done a good job with this plan," Caputo said.
With its approval, the board asked that: the existing parking lot islands be extended to control traffic; water-quality controls be examined at the existing catch basins; the amount and location of asphalt removal be identified; intended plantings and their heights be specified; pedestrian connections to the bank be considered; and an alternative to the "unmovable" 12-inch curb proposed on the site be studied.

The planning board suggested that the town’s zoning board review changes of tenancy in the building to keep parking at manageable levels. The project needs final approval from the zoning board.

Recycling for recyclables

Last Wednesday, the planning board also approved a plan by Metro WastePaper Recovery to use an existing 192,000-square-foot building at the Northeastern Industrial Park, in Guilderland Center.

Thomas Bourne, a representative for the recycling business, said that Metro WastePaper Recovery handles residential waste brought in by existing haulers rather than individuals.
"We are not a garbage collector," Bourne said.

He said that fiber will be sorted and bailed in Guilderland, but that recyclable cans may be sent to a different facility.
"We have a very sophisticated system in Rochester," Bourne said. He said that, if a lot of materials are brought there, the company may put similar machinery in the Guilderland plant.

The plant may have up to 30 trucks entering and exiting daily, he said.

Bourne said that the building does not have interior floor drains. He said that any liquids from materials brought in will be swept up after a drying agent is applied, but that more liquid is tracked in from rain or snow than is accumulated from dirty recyclables.

The town has been waiting several years for the industrial park to submit its environmental impact study. Its leverage for getting the study was placing a hold on any further permits from the zoning board.

The hold, however, was only on new buildings at the industrial park, Supervisor Kenneth Runion told The Enterprise earlier.

This summer, the industrial park submitted a draft of its environmental impact study to the board. It has not yet been approved.

Other business

In other business, the planning board:

— Tabled a plan review of the construction of a 9,600 square-foot church by Marantha Ministries. The proposed site has 9.5 acres, at 2787 Curry Road. The plan calls for the church, proposed as a large metal building, to be built near the property line, adjacent to a neighboring house.
"It’s right on top of them," said board member Thomas Robert. The property is zoned residential.

Minister Richard Frank said that the proposed location of the church would allow room for a parsonage to be built on the site.

Engineer Harold Berger said that the proposed water use for the church is 800 to 900 gallons per day. Area homes have shallow wells, he said.

The board told Frank to submit a revision, if he is willing to move the building; an elevation drawing, if he is not; and a rendering of the building; and

— Heard a concept presentation of a three-lot subdivision of 14.4 acres on Brookview Drive, which has been designated for partial protection by the Albany Pine Bush Commission.

Todd Westerveld, of ABD Engineers and Surveyors, said that each lot would be about five acres. Two of the lots would share a driveway, he said. All are wooded lots, and portions have small tributaries, he said. The development will be on top of the flat areas, he said.
"We are very restricted on these lots" because of the angle of repose and the required setbacks, Westerveld said. "We don’t have any plans to dedicate any lands over," he said.