Troy ZBA approves variances for 73-unit senior affordable housing at 2751 Fifth Avenue

The Troy Zoning Board of Appeals on Aug. 6 approved five area variances to allow Home Leasing to build a five-story, 73-unit affordable senior housing development at 2751 Fifth Avenue, a condemned brownfield site in North Central Troy.

The variances approved cover building height, front setback for exterior parking, orientation of the main entrance, ground-floor transparency and roof form. Board members voted to approve the height variance in a 3-1 vote. The applicant said the building would be 58 feet, 6 inches tall in a zone that allows a maximum 40 feet (three stories).

The applicant team — represented by attorney Andy Brick and joined by project engineer Kelsey Carr, developer Sameet Gupta of 5 Corners Development and Angela Eichholtz of Home Leasing — told the ZBA the site constraints require more height to make the financing work. Brick said the project would provide 73 affordable units for residents aged 55 and older and would remediate the underlying brownfield.

Why it matters: The applicant said the additional stories spread fixed construction and remediation costs across more units and make the project viable for New York State Housing and Community Renewal (HCR) financing and low-income housing tax-credit underwriting. The board’s approval clears a key local regulatory hurdle for a project the applicant says addresses senior affordability and cleans up a long-vacant, condemned property.

Key details and supporting facts: The site was used by First American Towing and Recovery and has been vacant since 2023. The design responds to steep grade changes on the parcel, shallow bedrock and an area of unexcavated bedrock; the applicant said roughly 47% of the parcel cannot be built on, which reduces the usable footprint and drives the need for vertical development. The applicant reported a preliminary brownfield-remediation cost estimate of about $1.2 million to $1.5 million, subject to a remedial action work plan with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Home Leasing said it will use federal low-income housing tax credits and state subsidy in the capital stack; the project is underwritten to finance rents targeted to households at or below 60% of area median income (AMI). The team estimated typical rents in underwriting today “in the $800 to $1,000 range,” and said income bands will include units at about 50%, 60% and 70% of AMI. Angela Eichholtz said HCR’s underwriting and environmental review will impose additional requirements and oversight.

On design and neighborhood concerns: Several board members and members of the public said they supported the cleanup and affordable units but raised aesthetic concerns about the building’s massing and façade. Resident Ellen Sinopoli urged the board to protect Troy’s architectural character and avoid “boxy” buildings. The applicant said it would add façade undulation, color variation, landscaping and additional windows on the Fifth Avenue frontage to reduce the visual impact and to screen the ground-floor parking garage.

Safety and operations: The applicant said it met with Troy fire and police officials and expects fire-department radio amplification and alarm-tiering requirements; the applicant described alarm tiers that avoid automatic 911 dispatch for minor incidents and said the building will have on-site property management and maintenance staff. The project is not an assisted-living facility, the applicant said; it is conventional affordable rental housing for seniors.

Variances and board action: The ZBA approved the set of area variances necessary to move the project to planning-board site-plan review. The height variance (from 40 feet to 58 feet 6 inches) was the most contested; the board determined that, because of the site constraints and the financing structure required by HCR and tax-credit underwriting, the benefit to the city and to seniors outweighed the visual impacts cited by opponents. The board also approved reduced front-setback parking (three-foot setback proposed where 25 feet is required), front-door orientation to the north (door facing accessible parking/sidewalk), reduced ground-floor transparency (7% proposed where 50% is required, due to interior parking), and the alternate roof-form treatment using facade variations instead of dormers.

Next steps: With variances granted, the project returns to the planning board for site-plan review and to HCR for capital funding and environmental review. The applicant said it holds the property under contract and plans demolition after National Grid completes a final utility disconnect. The applicant emphasized a closing has not occurred and that DEC remedial approvals and HCR funding remain to be secured.

What remains unresolved: The board and the public asked for stronger architectural detail and recommended the planning board consider conditions or recommendations on façade materials and roof lines. The project’s financing, final rents, exact remediation method and final design will be determined later through HCR underwriting, DEC remediation requirements and planning-board review.