GUILDERLAND — Discussion of development projects took up most of the Guilderland Town Board’s time at its August meeting.

On Tuesday, the board dealt with extending timelines for two proposals, accepted an amended application for another, and approved the withdrawal of a fourth.

The board extended for one year Local Law Number 3 of 2020, which allowed for a Planned Unit Development in the Great Oaks complex, located off of Church Road, just west of the Northway, and to the south of Western Avenue. The 17-acre property is already home to three office buildings. 

Town Planner Kenneth Kovalchik’s memo recommended approving the year-long extension for Rosenblum Companies, Supervisor Peter Barber said on Aug. 15, “based upon the reasons provided by the applicant … including the severe price inflation.”

Barber also sought to “make it clear” that the extension applied only to “the local law that was adopted by the board. If there’s any change in [the project], that has to go through a whole new process.” He added that the project may change, “but if anything, it may be a downsizing ….”

Jeff Mirel, a principal with Rosenblum Companies, told board members, “We’re still committed to making the project work, but obviously we’re doing that iteratively now with our design team.” Noting the proposal he brought to the board in August of last year, he said, “We’re now working through our site-plan revision, so I believe our next stop will be the planning board to show them the revised site plan.”

Going with a single building was an attempt to “sort of try to bring costs into line and continue” with the project, he said, offering an example of the financial constraints the proposal is up against. “I mean, our geothermal system, which we’ve successfully deployed on two other multi-family projects, that cost increased some 300 percent,” Mirel said. 

“Nothing has changed other than the intensity of the use,” Mirel said.

The property developer had been before the board a year ago with a proposal to shrink the project by about a third. The company at the time asked the board members that it be able to change its 120 unit, two-building proposal to one five-story building with 78 residences. The 171,000-square-foot building would have 117 underground parking spaces, a fitness center, a community room, bike storage, and an outdoor patio.

Rosenblum plans to use Passive House construction, a process that typically features building for tightness with a ventilation system that lets fresh air come in and stale air go out, resulting in ultra-low energy use.

“Sustainability is actually at the core of our development practice,” Mirel told The Enterprise in March 2021. Rosenblum has a dozen properties across the Capital Region. “We have a 10-year goal to make all of our new development projects net-zero carbon. We have taken an iterative approach on our path to net zero, deploying high-efficiency assemblies and systems like geothermal heating and cooling and a significant amount of owned rooftop solar systems.”

“We’re going to maximize on-site solar PV,” Mirel said at the time, referring to photovoltaic cells that convert sunlight directly into electricity, “and the Passive House design that includes an airtight envelope that’s coupled with continuous filtered ventilation … energy-recovery ventilation and controlled humidity. That will allow us to achieve not only the net-zero energy goal but also superior comfort for our tenants and resilience for future climate hurdles.”

The town board unanimously approved the one-year extension of the local law.

Black Creek Run

The board briefly considered setting a Sept. 19 public hearing for the Black Creek Run Country Hamlet, but decided against it after no one from the project was on hand to discuss it. 

The 46-unit development, in one form or another, has been batted around by Guilderland’s boards for almost two decades. 

The project first appeared on the town’s radar sometime in 2004, stayed there for well over a decade, went silent for about seven years, and resurfaced in April of last year. 

The proposal by Rosetti Acquisitions for 6250 Depot Road includes: 

— 24 single-family homes;

— 14 senior apartments; and

— Eight townhome units.

It was decided that the motion to set the public hearing — not the hearing itself, only its scheduling — would be placed on the board’s next agenda, which might not be until Sept. 19. 

Laviano 

The town board on Aug. 15 also accepted an amended application from Christopher Laviano, who is looking to change the zoning of a 1.14-acre parcel on Western Avenue. 

Laviano previously had 1854 Western Ave., which is located in a Single-Family Residential zone, subdivided into three lots, one of which he sought to rezone from residential to business in May. 

“Since then, I’ve actually attended community meetings, [a] comprehensive plan meeting at Westmere fire department, and I was able to listen to what the community has to say. And I think rezoning it one lot as a whole Local Business is going to give it a lot more green space; it’s going to give a lot more of a buffer for the community, which is directly behind the property,” Laviano told board members on Aug. 15. “It’s matching the property that’s adjacent to it, so it’s going to be the same — I’m not asking for anything that’s different than what’s right directly next to it,” which is Local Business as well.

Earlier this year, Laviano proposed and received approval for an 8,500-square foot development next to his Laviano Wine & Liquor at 1871 Western Ave. The building’s first floor will have enough space for two offices and a retail tenant while the second floor will contain four apartments.

Laviano sought multiple variances for the project, in which the planning board in its report to the zoning board urged a change in the proposal to better conform to the 2016 Westmere Corridor Study; the current proposal does not seek variances. The zoning board ultimately approved the proposal in April. 

On Aug. 15, the town board repeatedly praised Laviano for his willingness to work with the town and local residents on his current project, and accepted the amended application.

“From my view,” Barber said, “we accept it, but then we turn it over to the planning board and the town planner to do a much more in-depth review.”

Route 146 multi-use path 

Also on Tuesday, town board members authorized Barber to sign a $241,500 agreement with Creighton Manning Engineering for services related to the construction of a multi-use path on the south side of Route 146 from Western Avenue to Tawasentha Park. 

Barber said the path will “actually [extend] beyond” Tawasentha Park, “to the bridge” over the CSX tracks running adjacent and into the Northeastern Industrial Park.

He said the town is currently working with the state Department of Transportation to include the “multi-use path as part of the reconstruction of the bridge,” adding that “it’s a rather large project” with “very involved engineering.”

Barber said the agreement with Creighton Manning constitutes about 20 percent of the total cost of the project, which translates to about $1.2 million.