by William Matthias
The first phase of development on the property at 120 Big Ridge Road in the village of Spencerport, future home to a 20-unit luxury apartment complex, is expected to be completed by the end of the summer, said Val Visca, co-owner of Big Ridge Holdings and Land Re.
Big Ridge Holdings is constructing eight units in two buildings at Parkview Apartments – four in each building – which will be available for rent in September, with plans to complete the other three buildings by the same time next year. Plans are also in the works for the land surrounding the complex, which is adjacent to the two-year-old Unity at Spencerport building.
A 25-acre senior townhomes complex and an additional 24 acres filled with professional office buildings, “convenience types of establishments,” and off-street parking will make up Land Re’s Parkview Center, Visca said. The Parkview Center development was put on hold when Land Re sold the land for the Unity Health System building, created the private road Land Re Way to give traffic from Big Ridge Road access to the facility, and realized the potential for an apartment complex, Visca said.
Stonewall Construction, owned by Val Visca and his brother Dan, broke ground on Parkview Apartments in early April. The 1,100-square foot apartments, the first eight of which will be two-bedroom units, fall within the boundaries of the village, while Parkview Center is part of the Town of Ogden. The apartments will rent for $1,100 per month with utilities excluded.
Visca said several prospective tenants have already contacted him inquiring about the apartments, as they are being built in a “convenient location,” across the street from Pineway Ponds Park and Barefoot Landing, less than half a mile from the Erie Canal and the Spencerport business district.
“Apartments are going up all over, in nearby towns and villages, but none of them have as quaint of a location as we do,” Visca said. “Not even close.”
Mike Domenico, co-owner of Big Ridge Holdings and Land Re, said the apartments will not only include newer technologies, such as energy efficient furnaces and fire prevention sprinklers, but they will also have “low electrical rates” since they are within the Spencerport Village Electric service area.
The first floor of each building will be handicap accessible. This, along with the “quad” style of the buildings (four units in each building), makes the complex dissimilar from others in the area, said Town of Ogden Building Inspector Jack Crooks.
“There hasn’t been a lot of this type of development in the area for quite some time,” Crooks said. “The demand for handicap accessible housing has really come into fruition in the last few years as the baby boomers begin to age, and a lot of the apartment complexes and senior housing projects in the area pre-date ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) requirements.”
The land surrounding the Parkview Apartments complex was originally zoned as single-family residential. Land Re purchased the property in 2006 and submitted an application for rezoning in 2008, to pursue the Parkview Center plan.
Several Ogden residents expressed concerns about drainage control at the site and traffic back-up on North Union Street during a public hearing prior to rezoning, but the issues have since been resolved, Visca said.
“Regarding any traffic increases, the nearby residents have been understanding,” Visca said. “And the drainage issues have all been addressed by Land Tech and the village engineers. The village and town have been great to work with and the project is moving forward smoothly.”
The Town of Ogden rezoned the area for Parkview Center – “restricted” business to the west and senior citizen housing to the east – after the town’s planning board reviewed the project proposal, with input from Spencerport’s planning board, and expressed its approval by issuing a “Negative Declaration of environmental significance,” according to meeting minutes.
“The rezoning of the area was a reasonable request and the town sees the plan for development as good for the area,” Crooks said. “The development will assist the town’s tax base and it will bring support, services and employment to the community.”
The plan for the “restricted” business area includes ten, 15,000 square-foot medical offices and 100,000 square feet of businesses “slated to serve the neighborhood,” Visca said.
“We are proposing such things as a bank, a deli, a restaurant, a pharmacy, a training center and an insurance office in this area, professional in nature and meeting the code of restricted business,” Visca said.
The plans for Parkview Center include an extensive network of sidewalks throughout, with access reaching to the village and the canal,” said John Sciarabba, land technician and engineer representing Land Re. Visca said there is no date set to break ground on Parkview Center, as the focus for him and his partners is currently on completing the Parkview Apartment project.
Note: For other information, visit www.stonewallconstruction.net or call Val Visca at 585-789-1360.
