2442 & 2448 5th Ave Threatened by Unity House for Parking

Unity House is proposing to demolish 2442 and 2448 Fifth Avenue on the block north of Hoosick Street for a parking lot.  Below is the proposal from the agenda of tomorrows Planning Commission meeting, Wednesday, April 26, 2017.
PC2017‐0037 SEQRA and Site Plan Review of a proposal to demolish building for off‐street parking lot. Project is located at 2442‐2448 Fifth Avenue, a B‐4 Zone, ID 101.22‐11‐17. Applicant is Unity House, 2431 6th Avenue, Troy, NY 12180.
Last month the Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) denied Unity House's proposal to demolish six buildings after several neighbors and others objected to the poor plan. However they told Unity House that if they combined the six parcels with the Unity House lot they wouldn't need ZBA approval since parking would then be an allowed auxiliary use.  It isn't allowed as a primary use of a parcel.  Here is a copy of that proposal and the decision from the city website.

ZB 2017-14 Use Variance for a nonconforming use related to a proposal to demolish 6 vacant residential buildings, and create a parking lot for 26 vehicles, at 2436 Fifth Avenue, 2442 Fifth Avenue, 2448 Fifth Avenue, 22 Vanderheyden Street, 26 Vanderheyden Street, and 28 Vanderheyden Street, in a HWD Zone, ID 101.22-11-16. Applicant is Unity House of Troy, Inc., 2431 Sixth Avenue, Troy, NY 12180. DENIED

So it appears that Unity House has changed their plan and is not requesting the demolitions of 2436 Fifth Avenue, and 22, 26, and 28 Vanderheyden Street.  I believe it is still a bad idea to demolish these buildings for off street parking when there are already adequate parking spots available for the amount of demand that occurs.

If you look at an overhead view of the site you can see that there is currently an abundance of off street parking near the site.  There are 20 spots directly in back of the Unity House building, two lots of 11 spots each north of Vanderheyden Street and two lots totaling 37 spaces directly to the south of the building under the Collar City Bridge.  There are also over 20 on-street parking spots in proximity to the building.  In total there are over 100 parking spots within 100 feet of the site!  Also, across Sixth Avenue is a huge under used parking lot which Unity House does not own, but may have extra spaces.

Although 2442 and 2448 Fifth Avenue are currently vacant, they were occupied until they were purchased by Unity House.  They both appear to be in good shape and 2448 is the corner building and extends down Vanderheyden Street.  Their loss would be very visible and would negatively impact the character of the neighborhood.

These houses should remain on the tax roles and be renovated rather than hurting the tax base and the neighborhood building stock.  A smarter plan would be to give grants and loans to employees of Unity House to fix up and live in these buildings and walk to work.

Please come to the Planning Commission  meeting tomorrow and ask Unity House to withdraw their application to demolish these buildings and /or the Planning Commission to deny it.

The Planning Commission of the City of Troy, New York will conduct a public hearing on Wednesday, April 26, 2017 at 6:00 P.M. in the City Council Chambers, 5th Floor, City Hall, 433 River Street.  Any persons having any interest in the listed matters on the agenda will be heard at said time and place.

Additional information regarding the agenda items is available in the Department of Planning and Community Development located on the Fifth floor of Troy City Hall, 433 River Street, Troy, New York 12180. Telephone: 279-7152.

Or contact Chris Brown, Acting Executive Secretary of the City of Troy Planning Commission. His e-mail is: [email protected]   His phone number is: (518) 279-7155.  Office Hours are from 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. weekdays.

To see the agenda for Wednesday's Troy Planning Commission meeting you can go to:   http://www.troyny.gov/Libraries/Planning_2017/Agenda042617.sflb.ashx