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Board approves variances for downtown conversion, requires 400-square-foot minimum per unit
Summary
The Albany City Board of Zoning Appeals granted area variances for a returning downtown conversion project, approving multiple variances on condition that each studio or one-bedroom unit be at least 400 square feet. Applicants said the 21-unit project includes off-street parking and targets one-bedroom demand from traveling nurses and young professionals.
The Albany City Board of Zoning Appeals on Aug. 5 approved multiple area variances for a returning downtown conversion project — but only after requiring a stipulation that each unit measure at least 400 square feet.
Applicants told the board they plan to restore historic buildings and create 21 apartment units downtown. Architect Sophia Lane said the team provided the supplemental alternatives analysis requested at the prior hearing and that the proposed mix meets local market demand: “we are just looking at options that will really give this property the highest and best use, bring back these buildings to residential use, and create 21 new apartment units in downtown.” The applicants said they will provide off-street parking for every unit and that the current plan would deliver roughly 30 parking spaces behind the buildings.
Board members pressed the applicants on unit sizes and economic feasibility. Applicant representatives said comparable one-bedroom rents run about $1,500 per month while two-bedroom duplex conversions would command roughly $2,000, creating an estimated annual rental-income loss if the units were reconfigured to larger layouts. The team also proposed modest layout changes — for example sharing a stair between two units — that would raise the smallest studios from the 350–395-square-foot range to about 410–415 square feet to meet guidance.
Because only three board members were present, the chair reminded the public that any action required a unanimous vote of the three members; after discussion, a board member moved to approve area variances for items 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 with the written condition that each unit be at least 400 square feet. The motion passed with board members recorded as voting to grant the variances. Applicants indicated willingness to accept the stipulation to ensure units were not left as very small “closet”-like spaces.
The approval resolves the returning Hamilton Street application for now; applicants and staff will incorporate the 400-square-foot condition into the permit documentation and the applicants may proceed with finalized plans consistent with that stipulation.
The full discussion began with the board’s decision to move the returning item to the start of the agenda so the applicants could present before a member had to leave at 7 p.m.
