To the Editor:

The plan proposed by Mr. Michael Davidson to construct a strip mall across from the Guilderland Town Hall (“Plaza proposed across from Town Hall,” Nov. 25, 2019, at AltamontEnterprise.com) misses the mark on what our town needs.

Guilderland needs more communities. We should be encouraging people to live in areas that are walkable, where there is easy access to food and other necessities, and — most importantly — that don’t require a car to commute.

This property has all the above. It’s within eyesight of Hannaford, just a hop and a skip from a CVS pharmacy and a laundromat, and it’s within walking distance of a major bus line (Capital District Transportation Authority Route 763).

What does all this mean? It means that Davidson shouldn’t be building a strip mall with a lone apartment above; he should be building a 4- to 12-unit apartment building with businesses below.

The project is in an early phase, so now is the ideal point for a town official to give Mr. Davidson a call. They should ask him if he’d like to spruce up his project, perhaps by including space for my apartments?

He need not fully build out those units — they could function as office space or a spacious luxury flat for now, if that’s his preference. Whatever use he chooses, the space for those units should be there from the start, ready and waiting for a future when we finally transform the area around this transit node into an attractive neighborhood center. 

Ian Benjamin

Guilderland