By Ashley M. Casey

Staff Writer

After the former Gravina’s Nursery site was leveled earlier this year, Alberici General Contractors is looking to expand the Ravada Hill Apartments on Buckley Road.

Site engineer Alex Wisniewski appeared at the Clay Town Board’s July 16 meeting to request a zone change for the property from RC-1 (Regional Commercial) to R-APT (Residential Apartment). Wisniewski said the expansion would offer a “more upscale option for renters” in the town of Clay.

The site of Gravina’s Nursery, which closed in 2016 and was razed in April 2018, is approximately 8.68 acres. Wisniewski said Alberici could build out five “pods” of three-story buildings with a total of 60 residential units. The project would remove one of two curb cuts at the property, leaving one ingress/egress point.

Marsha Ramirez, a resident of Fitzpatrick Drive, said during a public hearing that she was concerned about drainage issues stemming from vegetation piling up between her property and Gravina’s.

“As they were cleaning up … they would just dump the stuff over onto our yard over the fence, so there’s a lot of vegetation there which is affecting our drainage. We have a lot of drainage problems,” Ramirez said. “We just want to make sure that that’s not going to be [the case with this project].”

“I can’t speak for what Gravina’s had done in the past, but obviously if there’s an opportunity to rectify that issue, this site redevelopment would present that opportunity,” Wisniewski said. “The runoff from Gravina’s that currently comes onto your property that comes toward you … We’re going to have a swale along that perimeter that intercepts that stormwater.”

Councilor Ryan Pleskach followed up on Ramirez’ drainage question.

“Any chance that stormwater management pond can be moved to be between the two properties rather than in the backyards of the people on Grapewood Lane?” he asked.

“The natural grading of the site is directing the stormwater to this corner, so to try to put stormwater over here is a challenge because the grade here is substantially higher,” Wisniewski explained. “We have not done full site design drawings yet, obviously, but just based on the topography of the site, I expect that there’s going to be a need for stormwater [management] there.”

Ramirez also raised concerns about privacy.

“With the apartments being three floors … are they going to be able to just look right down into our backyard?” she asked.

Wisniewski said garages and trees would act as a buffer between the properties. He assured Ramirez that her “comments would be entertained” during the planning board process.

James Schoolcraft, a resident of Woodmark Drive, asked if the plan would leave the existing trees on the property line.

“Your home sits next to where we’re able to maintain the largest amount of green space and vegetation. Of all these neighbors, yours would probably be the best buffer from the development,” Wisniewski said.

The town board referred the issue to the planning board, and Alberici General Contractors will return to the town board Aug. 20.

Byrne Dairy could have car wash

Buckley Road could see even more development if Byrne Dairy gets the go-ahead to build on a vacant 6.76-acre site on the corner of Buckley and Henry Clay Boulevard. The property has 893 feet of frontage on Henry Clay and 319 feet along Buckley Road.

Christian Brunelle, senior executive vice president for Byrne Dairy, appeared before the board to request a zone change from HC-1 (Highway Commercial) to LUC-1 (Limited Use for Gasoline Services).

Brunelle said the proposed convenience store and gas station would be very similar to other recently built Byrne Dairy stores on Thompson Road in DeWitt, South Bay Road in Cicero and State Fair Boulevard in Geddes. The Geddes store opened earlier this month.

The store would operate 24 hours a day and would have dark sky-compliant LED lighting and 39 parking spaces.

The store would have four full-access ingress/egress points, three on Henry Clay and one on Buckley. Brunelle said two of those access points will facilitate fuel delivery so as not to disturb customer activity.

“As you know, Byrne Dairy stores are very, very unique as compared to other C-stores around in that we sell a lot of milk, a lot of dairy, a lot of ice cream,” Brunelle said. “So it’s very important that we have some separation from the fueling facility. That’s why we put the tanks further away from the store than most people do.”

Byrne Dairy is proposing a car wash for the Buckley Road site, which would be a first for the company.

Brunelle said the proposed store would have 10 gas pumps with 20 fueling positions.

Pleskach said he was “very much in favor of Byrne Dairy,” but he balked at the prospect of another gas station on Buckley Road.

“I’m not crazy about the gas station and the car wash. To me that just speaks back to 20 years ago of economic development,” he said. “The town has a ton of gas stations within just a couple miles. Driving along Buckley, you hit five or six gas stations. I’m not sure it’s needed.”

Brunelle said Byrne Dairy’s new stores all include a gas station to give consumers a one-stop shop for gas and grocery staples such as milk.

“We will not open a Byrne Dairy without a fueling facility,” he said. “They’re just not economically feasible.”

The town board referred Byrne Dairy’s project to the planning board and will revisit it at the Aug. 20 meeting.