Menands board authorizes application for Brownfield Opportunity Area nomination study

The Menands Village Board on Monday authorized staff to prepare and submit a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) nomination application to the New York State Department of State and approved the $5,000 application fee.

The BOA process would designate a portion of the Broadway/Route 378 corridor — roughly the stretch described in the presentation from Midland Farms north toward Regeneron and the town line — as an opportunity area for coordinated redevelopment, officials said. If nominated, the designation would make properties in the area eligible for predevelopment and redevelopment funding and other state incentives.

Planner Matt, who presented the application details to the board, said the BOA program provides up to 90% funding with a required municipal match of 10% and that the program’s per-project cap is $300,000. “We recommend a $200,000 process,” Matt said, describing a nomination study that would include strategic site reviews, conceptual designs, cost estimates and marketing strategies to advance redevelopment of underutilized or legacy industrial parcels.

The consultant explained the BOA boundary can be as large as 500 acres and that the village’s proposed polygon aims to include Broadway-facing properties up to the town line and to show how future state projects such as the Troy Broadway (Route 378) improvements could be incorporated into a coordinated plan. Matt told trustees the application is due at the end of July and — if awarded — the contract from the state would likely start in the following summer or fall.

Board discussion emphasized the potential benefits for making sites “shovel ready” and for making developers eligible for state incentives if properties enter the voluntary cleanup program. Matt said the nomination process is intended to increase private investment and reduce uncertainty for property owners by demonstrating local commitment through planning and public-private coordination.

Board members asked about the application cost and timing. The board approved authorization to prepare and submit the application and to pay the $5,000 application fee; trustees also discussed that the full nomination study would be budgeted at roughly $200,000 if the village is awarded the BOA contract.

The board did not take further action on implementation funding or zoning changes at this meeting; Matt said the nomination process would identify whether zoning updates are required and, if so, the BOA funds could support that work.

If awarded and formally nominated, the BOA designation would open additional predevelopment funding opportunities for environmental analysis, engineering and marketing to attract redevelopment, the presentation said.

Notes: The presentation described the area, the program's structure, and potential downstream funding but did not obligate the village to spend the larger study dollars; only the $5,000 application fee was authorized at the meeting.