By Lauren Young
Staff Writer
The Fayetteville Village Apartments project presented their plan to redevelop to a Planned Unit Development at the Fayetteville Planning Board meeting on Feb. 5.
“Villages are competing for this type of project,” said project engineer Jim Fahy, who was one of the presenters on behalf of the developer Morgan Management. “This is one of those types of communities that can become a prototype for some of the other townships. I think you’re going to draw an awful lot of attention to this because of the thought that has been put into, not only the site, but into the buildings that we’re proposing for.”
After the Fayetteville Village Board made a motion to send the PUD application to the planning board for further evaluation after their February meeting, the Fayetteville Planning Board heard the developer’s plans to redevelop the O’Brien & Gere site from its former status as an Accurate Die Site.
According to Jim Fahy, project architect from James Fahy Design, the architecture will be “traditional in nature,” incorporating a historical feel to the complex with the Greek revival style prominent within the village. Fahy said they want the architecture to “enhance the site,” as well as the village in its entirety.
The site proposal shows plans to build five apartments, ten townhouses, and two mixed-use buildings on the 32-acre site at 547 East Genesee Street. The five, three-story apartment buildings will hold thirty units each, totaling to 150 units. The townhouse-style units will include five units each totaling to fifty units, then two-story mixed-use buildings will feature 400 residential parking spaces. The total parking will result in 520 spaces. Additionally, the project will feature a 5,500 square-foot club house with an exterior pool, pool house, fitness center, leasing offices and a playground. Additional sidewalks, site landscaping, bicycle parking, dark sky compliant site lighting and walking trails are planned.
The five, three-story apartments will feature elevator service to all floors, a handful of garages and a ventilated trash room. The townhomes will have private entrances and a garage. The project will also include two access routes to Route 5, and a full sidewalk system integrated into the apartment complex. The design format for the project is “not only an attribute to the community, but it is in tune with village-style architecture,” said Fahy.
After originally submitting their application in 2015 to rezone to a Planned Residential District (PRD), the project was withdrawn after receiving several comments by the board regarding traffic concerns. The developer has since then reduced their total number of apartment units from 300 to 200. The apartments will be market-rate, with an intended demographic of single families, “empty nesters” and young professionals.
According to presenter Cathy Bennet, area schools have indicated that they have the capacity to support the residential development.
However, according to Fayetteville-Manlius District Superintendent Dr. Craig Tice, this is false, and he has “no idea” what the project’s information is based on. He said the developers have not reached out to F-M for for information, and the district has not given the developer any data about the district’s capacity.
Tice said F-M “does not have capacity at the elementary level” for more children. With the influx of children that could potentially enter the residential development, he said does not want the district “scrambling to add space,” which would affect spaces from classrooms to gymnasiums.
Planning board members expressed concerns during the Feb. 5 meeting that the project could be entirely residential, with the exception of the 20,000 square feet of two mixed-use buildings. “We have a lot to think about,” concluded the chairman.
While the planning board did not reach a recommendation for the project after the meeting, they have scheduled to discuss the project next month at their March 5 meeting. If the planning board decides to make a recommendation to the village board, the village board will review the plan and decide on whether or not to grant the zone change. In the meantime, the developers plan to send their completed traffic study to the board for further review.
