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Planning board approves 575 Broadway conversion to 50 apartments, conditions final sign-off by water department
Summary
The City of Albany Planning Board approved a proposal from Redburn Development Partners to convert roughly 31,000 sq ft of office space at 575 Broadway into 50 apartments, retaining a data-floor and event lobby; final building permits require water-department sign-off and several partial waivers were granted for street trees and amenities.
The City of Albany Planning Board on Dec. 2 approved a development plan to convert roughly 30,980 square feet at 575 Broadway into 50 apartments, while retaining an existing 15,282-square-foot data floor and the building lobby for public events.
Joe Pernachero, a Redburn Development Partners representative, told the board the plan keeps the data center and lobby uses "so we can still have events without bothering future residents," and said the conversion largely reuses existing exterior fabric with interior changes to create the apartments. He said the project needed a new water service and that water-department review had driven the schedule for final sign-off: "That has all been reviewed by the water department. That's why we're installing a new water service," Pernachero said.
Planning staff summarized remaining departmental items and recommended approval with conditions. Staff noted partial waiver requests for street trees and street-amenity counts along Broadway and Columbia and said replacement utility work in the street — including a new water line and a sewer reroute to the county interceptor — must be completed before permits. The board approved the waivers and the development plan review but conditioned final approval on obtaining the required sign-off from the Department of Water and Water Supply.
Staff also said the project proposes required bicycle parking, trash storage and updated laundry and recreation spaces; it falls below any threshold requiring new area disturbance and therefore does not require an immediate historic certificate of appropriateness for exterior work. The applicant said the project provides on-site and nearby parking options, noting a city-owned/parking-authority lot and nearby garage; the plan proposes 35–40 spaces to remain and additional options in public lots.
The board's action allows Redburn to proceed to the building-permit stage once the water department and other reviewing agencies clear outstanding technical comments. The planning staff indicated engineering, water and DGS have signed off on prior submittals or are reviewing supplemental reports, and the item will return for final administrative sign-off before construction permits are issued.
