Beverwyck Neighborhood Association (2/4/17) Reference: 526 Central Ave Development Project To: Members of the Planning Board The Beverwyck Neighborhood Association voted at our last meeting on December 12, 2017 to support the proposed project at 526 Central Ave. While it was a close vote, the majority felt it was important that the vacant land is developed by someone expressing an ownership commitment for the next 30 years. This vote was taken after several meetings involving neighborhood input. By way of background, at our September meeting, the project was first presented by the developer to our membership. Numerous concerns and questions were voiced. The following week ur organization’s leadership team met with the residents that live on Manning Blvd and Kent St (those directly affected by the project). A letter detailing these issues in track order was sent to Capitalize Albany for the purpose of forwarding to the invested parties. ‘The main parties involved - Capitalize Albany, Regan Development, and Equinox attended our October meeting to respond to the letter. Due to time constrains, we did not address all the issues as intended. Using the original document, a new one was created showing both those answered as well as unanswered. A copy of that document is attached to this letter for board review in order to obtain a ‘more complete picture of where we currently are in this process. We have highlighted some of the more specific areas of concen: - Lack of commercial diversity. = Lack of security for high risk residents. - Lack of community involvement with selecting a project. = We currently have a pharmacy in the area and it has a high crime rate. Lack of parking, - The height of the building affecting neighborhood’s aesthetics. Regan Development has also stated that they have the strict guidelines to insure their tenants will be respectful of the neighborhood - a position we appreciate. We are an association that supports development if properly detailed and executed. With that said, we will hold developers accountable for their work and expect it to conform to the project guidelines agree to by all parties. Respectfully Submitted, Beverwyck Neighborhood AssociationOctober 10, 2017 Mr. Joseph Landy Senior Economic Developer I! Capitalize Albany Corporation Albany, NY Dear Mr. Landy: Thank you for arranging the 526 Central Avenue development proposal presentation for the September 19 Beverwyck Neighborhood Association (BNA) meeting. Since that date, we have had several internal leadership meetings as well as a meeting with a number of residents on Manning Blvd and Kent St. Many of whom also attended the September meeting. Overview By way of summarizing responses and issues expressed by the neighborhood, we, in part, position it in context of the ReZone workshop held August 2015 focusing on the Central Avenue corridor. The latter part of that workshop included a tabletop overlay from King St to Quail St. The exercise included our concept of future development characteristics including building form, parking, landscaping, traffic/bicycle patterns, lighting, Signage to name several. From is exercise, information gained from this workshop, in general, and other sources, we suggest the following actions: ‘Any major neighborhood development in the Beverwyck Neighborhood (and other neighborhoods within the 11th Ward within this corridor) is to include a development plan for the entire neighborhood. The purpose here is to develop a better composite of how the various components will fit together. The BNA, and other neighborhood associations, are to be included as development participants. One of the purposes of this participation is to Consider fair-share mixed use utilization. For neighborhood benefit, we also seek mixed ‘commercial use as well - not all the same type of business or services as is already prevalent in this corridor. With the above action in mind, we desire to partner.with Capitalize Albany on the review of all Proposals that impact our neighborhood versus being involved only after a decision on a proposed project is reached. At this point given where we are with regard to this project, we would like to meet with your leadership to further discuss this and other projects Capitalize Albany is considering within the boundaries described above. This lot has been vacant for about 10 years though it has been heavily marketed. There was some brief interest from Aldi’s. Additionally Stewart's considered expansion into this property, but that didn’t fit in with the Rezone vision for the neighborhood. Detailed Questions (project specific) These are categorized as described below: uild qu™~S Track Ty ‘* Include other neighborhood sites in the project's vetting: Aiba shools, inesses adjacent to this ste. ect watng: Ateny Cy Schoo, besiaames new or * Review environmental impact. Reference: The Swinburne Building project document, page 2. ..the site also previously had significant environmental issues... and further indicates that the site was leared and cleaned. DEC's Environmental Site Remediation database (site code: E401051) indicates. 2 brownfield but further action toward cleaning and remediation Is not specified. As a result, we desire to have the discrepancy between these findings clarified. Pollution concerns - site cleaned by city ~ DEC spill closure form has been performed: © Alpine environmental says remediation is complete, but well monitoring is stil performed ‘on the groundwater. This type of monitoring is often ongoing and doesn’t stop development. Monitoring results will continued to be provided. ‘+ What is the track record of mixed income housing in Albany—particularly given the census data in ‘our neighborhood. Provide good and bad examples. * How can luxury (non-subsidized) housing survive when the surrounding neighborhood is in disrepair? * Consider the bigger problem: How will current landlords be able to retain their current non- subsidized tenants and not be left with Section 8 tenants only. It Is not a hardship for a developer to maintain one building. The onus shifts to the individual landlords with small multi-unit residences to maintain the integrity of the neighborhood. ‘* We wish to see the project's report on the impact of the water-sewer system which is already under stress. What precipitates this concern is a large water main break of several years ago near the entrance to this property. Water, sewer, storm water etc. ~ the engineering reports are reviewed by other agencies to provide checks and balances. uild questions. ‘© What would be the construction hours of the build? Regular business hours? ‘© What is the expected construction duration? ‘© When Is the expected start date? © Will union labor be used? © Will there be hiring of local labor? ‘Track Three: Post Build Questions * How would the snow be handled? Plowed against the fence? Removed completely from the premises? The concern is that the snow would take up the limited parking spots and cause additional cars to park on Manning Blvd and Kent Street. 2Possibility to have additional “bank” parking if needed. * How will the addtional ofice space for Equinox effect the other buildings they work out of? Is this Sn expansion of office space ora re-shifting of current employees? Offices at 500 Central will remain ~ this is an expansion, not a facility replacement. Equinox and RSS are not related, but are inthe same feld. Some client rervces might be provided on the 2d floor, * What will happen when the local housing market can’t support the non-subsidlzed rent? * How would the project effect the Quality of life withthe existing homeowners in the neighborhood If the project ends up providing low income subsidized housing? * Who will be responsible for the cleanup of trash on the building site to include parking area and Sidewalk. Also, will the health clinic be dispensing products that would be regarded as hazardous waste (example syringes). If so, who will be responsible for the proper disposition of this waste on public property, i.e. sidewalks. ‘* Verify that this building will be handicap accessible. Also will tenant occupancy priorities be Provided to those handicapped or veterans? * How has property in the city of Albany been affected by similar development projects? ‘+ How has property in the area of other Regan property affected by the development? * Will the apartment rental costs included utilities and cable? Suggestions Recap: We are interested in Capitalize Albany's position on the following. * Guarantee that the Equinox space proposed for the second floor would be for administrative offices only and not client-based services. Equinox - mostly administrative but some offices will be used to assist those in the building. Can’t guarantee future use. Erect tall, attractive, strong, iron fencing surrounding the entire premises, including the egress onto ‘Manning. With additional evergreens on the Manning Blvd side of the fencing. Will screen the project as the neighborhood would like: ‘© Some want landscaping to be more open feeling this is a more secure option while others want taller landscaping to provide a visual screen from the project. Fire access will be from Central Avenue. Flexible about the approach to closing off the property to the foot traffic. Will be closed off to Kent Street. Either crash fencing (for emergency access) can be erected or just regular fencing. 3City code requires fencing, typically brick columns and aluminum fencing in between. Code is 5-6 ft. Neighborhood requests a minimum of 6 feet to deter fence jumpers. This includes trees on outside ‘at Manning. Maintain a full time security guard presence. No full time security is planned, but there will be a full time superintendent living on the premises and a part time porter. So essentially there will be two people looking out for the property by day. The super will make rounds at night. Security cameras will be positioned inside and out and tied directly to the police central station. License plate scanner can also be included. Handle the neighborhood wildlife problem. Skunks are out of control and with less green space and hiding spaces for them, the concern is that they will move more onto the neighborhood. Skunks problem- cleaning up the site may help this situation. Will capture vermin during construction process so doesn’t spill over into neighborhood. Will work with an exterminator. Construct a permeable parking lot to deal with rainwater runoff. Permeable parking lot? The engineer doesn’t know yet and will have to wait until the storm water report is completed. Soil under the project determines the construction material. This type of lot doesn’t work well with clay. Planning and water department will determine this plan. ‘Sewer and the rain - The engineer said that holding tanks work well by releasing runoff very slowly. This is required by city code. Include BNA input when selecting the additional two store fronts, We want to ensure they will be a Positive neighbor and an overall benefit to the community. ‘There will be two smaller additional store fronts about 1500 square feet each. Occupancy for the proposed stores would be run by the BNA. Not looking for liquor stores etc. Contact local businesses for their input. Limit public or subsidized funded housing to Equinox residents only. Now we are talking at renting at 90% med, 60% median. No section 8. Regan Development feels that they will be able rent based on this rate. They haven't encountered a situation where this doesn’t work. Project is conservatively underwritten and the developer doesn’t want to have a plan that won't work. Sarah confirms the need for quality affordable housing. Guarantee that the special housing units would be used for the domestic violence victims only and not later on for other special needs.The 15 units are designated for domestic violence people victims, but these have other Problems too. The developer also wants a balance, a Draft a more detailed traffic study to determine the best route for egress onto Central Avenue. No traffic light in front of the building is planned. Traffic safety will be reviewed. Considering the character of the neighborhood, work together to determine a building height that does not negatively impact nearby neighborhood properties. Trade-off for a lower building height would be at the cost of the more limited parking options. Create a no-parking zone in front on Central Avenue to avoid the double parking problem that currently exists at 400 Central Avenue. Hire local and professional union contractors. Bids should go to the lowest responsible bidder with a proven track record. We look forward to working with you in clarifying the issues this project has surfaced. With that said, we appreciate the input from our neighborhood participants in preparing these points. Sincerely, Leadership Team Beverwyck Neighborhood Association