Planning board approves 4‑story mixed‑use project at 130 Ontario Street with conditions
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Summary
The Albany City Planning Board approved demolition, conditional uses and a development plan for a four‑story, mixed‑use building at 130 Ontario Street that will include commercial space, a daycare and a community hub, subject to engineering and water‑department sign‑offs and lot consolidation before occupancy.
The Albany City Planning Board on July 8 approved demolition, conditional‑use permits and a development plan review for a proposed four‑story mixed‑use building at 130 Ontario Street that would replace an existing single‑story structure.
Applicant materials describe a 4‑story building containing commercial space on the First Floor — divided into a proposed daycare and a community hub — and multifamily units on the upper floors. The applicant and planning staff said the First Floor would include roughly 12,000 square feet of commercial space split into two pods (a daycare and a community hub), and the project proposes indoor and outdoor resident recreational space totaling more than the code minimum: the code required about 7,700 square feet of outdoor recreation and the application shows nearly 10,000 square feet of outdoor space plus about 2,200 square feet indoors.
Planning staff reviewed the application and said the project meets most zoning and site requirements in the MUFM/Neighborhood district but requires conditional‑use approvals because the parcel lies in the neighborhood area. Staff and the applicant discussed streetscape and curb improvements on West Street and Bradford Street, screening and a hedgerow planned along the southern and western lot lines to buffer adjacent homes, and mechanical equipment located in the interior courtyard so it will not be visible from the street.
The board approved a negative SEQR declaration, the demolition review and three conditional‑use permits; it then approved the development plan review (filed as DPR #0240) with three conditions: final engineering approval from the Department of Engineering, final approval from the Department of Water and Water Supply prior to building permit issuance, and completion of a lot modification/lot consolidation of the three properties and a portion of West Street prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy. Planning staff noted engineering comments are mostly minor and said that obtaining board site‑plan approval before the September HCR funding deadline will increase the project’s competitiveness for state funding. The applicant said estimated construction time is roughly 18 months after funding and approvals.
Board members asked about drop‑off routing for the daycare and whether Bradford Street improvements would include crosswalks; the applicant said the daycare drop off will occur from the internal parking area at the cul‑de‑sac on West Street and that Bradford Street improvements are on the city engineering schedule and will be coordinated.
The approvals allow the applicant to pursue HCR funding and to finalize required engineering and city department approvals before building and occupancy permits are issued.
