Sweden welcoming more development

The Town of Sweden could soon be home to Bill Gray's Restaurant and to a newly proposed housing development.

It was announced at the April 23 town board meeting that the chain was considering opening a restaurant in Farash's Star Plaza, by the Dollar General Store.

"We don't have any concrete blueprints yet," Town Assessor Alan Bader said. "Developers will be coming to the planning board in May with a facade proposal."

Bader said it would be a welcome addition to the town as the restaurant chain is very well known and has been in the Rochester area for quite a while.

Developer James Northrup addressed the board with plans to develop 100 acres of land situated one-half mile north of Redman and Fourth Section Roads in the town. It would eventually be the site of more than 200 homes. "We have a good working relationship with Jim and this development could be mutually beneficial both to him and to the town," Bader said.

Bader said the town board and the supervisor have a vision of the quality of life for town residents and they are also working to make Sweden competitive. "When people are looking for a place to live, work and raise a family, we want them to consider Sweden," Bader said.

Northrup's proposed development, Bader said, is a positive step toward making Sweden competitive.

Board members passed a resolution to act as lead agency in the completion of a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) of the rezoning of the property. The change is proposed to decrease the lot size for the single family homes from 15,000 square feet to 10,200 square feet. Town Supervisor Nat O. Lester III recused himself from voting on the resolution and indicated he would leave the room when future discussions on the project were undertaken. "I have done legal work for Mr. Northrup ... in order to avoid a conflict of interest I'm abstaining from discussions on this project," he explained.

Northrup owns the Northfield subdivision in Clarkson and the Fieldstone Subdivision in Sweden. "We are just about built out on both of those projects and we need to have some more lots available," Northrup said of his reasons for undertaking this new project.

While Northrup is hoping to complete all necessary steps and break ground on the project before fall, it will take six to eight years to completely phase in, he said.