Lisonbee Phillips, local counsel for National Grid, told the Troy City Planning Board that the proposed Troy UTEN (underground thermal energy network) at 249 River Street will include a new 1,400‑square‑foot energy center building on city‑owned property to be leased to the Troy Local Development Corporation and subleased to National Grid. Phillips said the project team revised plans in response to prior planning‑board and Historic Review Commission comments and obtained a variance from the zoning code provision requiring a 30‑foot separation intended to preserve an unobstructed view to the water.
The board considered whether to grant a waiver to allow essential public‑utility infrastructure in the Resilient Waterfront and Flood Risk overlay zone (RWF). Staff advised the board that, because portions of the parcel appear on different maps to lie in the overlay, a waiver would be sought “out of an abundance of caution.” The board voted to grant the waiver, then declared the application complete and scheduled a public hearing for the August meeting.
Why it matters: The project places utility infrastructure on a downtown riverfront parcel and requires coordination with multiple review bodies, overlay‑zone rules and city departments.
Project engineers said utilities under and around the proposed building will be rerouted outside building footprints. Nick Schwartz, principal landscape architect with CHA, said the team has been “working with the city's department of public works” and that water, sewer, stormwater, gas and electric connections are being rerouted to ensure city access to utilities. Brennan Hall of CHA, the project engineer of record, described the routing and said the geothermal wells will be located in Riverfront Park and will route through Front Street up to the site. Hall noted the site’s finish grade is higher than the 100‑year flood elevation cited in project materials.
Phillips and the project team also addressed likely impacts: the energy‑center building will be slab‑on‑grade, contain pumps and mechanical equipment, and be configured with a parapet to attenuate rooftop equipment noise. The team said the design will comply with applicable noise limits and that they would coordinate a modest exterior lighting plan compatible with downtown guidelines.
Formal actions recorded: motion to grant the waiver to permit a utility structure in the RWF overlay (passed 3–0), motion to declare the application complete (passed 3–0), and motion to schedule an August hearing (passed 3–0). The board made a SEQR completeness determination as an unlisted action and issued the procedural votes needed to advance the review.
Next steps: the applicant will provide final civil plans, confirm the overlay‑mapping details for the record, complete required HRC and municipal reviews, and return for the August public hearing. The board did not make a final site‑plan approval at this meeting.