By Lauren Young
Staff Writer
Developers from Morgan Management gave a series of presentations to the Fayetteville Village Board on Monday outlining their interest in creating additional affordable housing and decreasing the traffic flow in the community.
Stephanie Bennet, of Morgan Management, presented the company’s proposed remodel of 547 E. Genesee St., formerly the O’Brien & Gere manufacturing site, to a mixed use commercial development and residential area. The plan features 200 housing units, a proposed open space, trails, sidewalks, a playground and clubhouse. The establishment will also feature over 400 parking spaces.
Additionally, affordable apartments were discussed as an initiative to creating supplementary living spaces for senior citizens and young adults starting in the workforce.
“There are over 17,000 houses in Fayetteville, but only roughly 17 for sale,” said Mayor Mark Olson. “That’s a problem.”
The proposal would need a rezoning from Industrial to Planned Unit Development.
This is Morgan Management’s second attempt to develop the O’Brien & Gere manufacturing site. They previously proposed a 312-unit apartment complex, a 5,500-square-foot clubhouse and 624 parking spaces in 2015. After pulling their application to revise the plan, they have since downsized their concept to better appeal to the village.
As part of the renewed proposal, Morgan Management has plans to help alleviate traffic in the village by creating more middle and turn lanes.
According to the project’s traffic engineer, the data used by the 2015 traffic study by SMT (Syracuse Metropolitan Transportation) shows that daily traffic has actually decreased over the years, but peak hour traffic in the village has been building up, leading to congestion and delays.
“What’s happening is that the traffic is building [creating backups],” Olson clarified to those skeptical about the traffic data. “The traffic study by these engineers shows the numbers and they don’t lie.” To remedy the issue, the developers mentioned constructing more turn lanes and middle lanes.
Olson also relayed a previous suggestion of creating a “twiddle” lane, which acts as a middle lane for drivers to pass through if someone is waiting to turn into another road. Olson reiterated that the village wants to refrain from widening Route 5, in order to preserve the community’s character.
The project has already been approved for the Brownfield Cleanup Program — to clean the chemical contamination in the ground from the former Accurate Die Casting business there — and plans to destroy the existing structure on Genesee Street in order to rebuild.
The Board of Trustees will vote on the draft presented by the developers once there is a public meeting about the matter, tentatively slated for February.
“Remember, it’s our village,” said the mayor. “We’re all making the decision together.”
