Planning Board favors Newell Street project
A former hardware store that overlooks the Black River in Watertown likely will see its fair share of hammers and fresh paint again in the coming months.
The site plan for the former Bradley Hardware building at 497 Newell St. was reviewed by the city Planning Board on Tuesday. The board does not have the authority to approve the plans, but it recommended that the City Council do so.
Developer Michael A. Treanor plans to renovate the building, using the ground floor for commercial space and upper floors for many as 31 apartments.
Ryan G. Churchill, a design engineer for GYMO Architecture, Engineering & Land Surveying, said Mr. Treanor plans to put at least 18 two-bedroom apartments and 11 one-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors. The top floor will be used as a "loft area." The bottom floor will consist of 9,068 square feet of commercial space.
The Watertown firm was hired to handle the site plan process and is working with the city to resolve issues with parking and sewage.
Mr. Treanor was awarded $1 million for the project earlier this summer from the state's Restore NY grant program. He has developed a track record in recent years of purchasing aged properties and using grant money to revitalize them.
The developer is a principal of P.X. Realty, which renovated a former high school in Adams into a 30-unit apartment complex known as Pinehurst Apartments. Under the banner Buckley Realty LLC, Mr. Treanor is renovating the Buckley Building in Carthage, and he received a Restore NY grant to fund a portion of the work. He recently closed on the Woolworth Building in downtown Watertown and plans to turn it into a hotel.
On Tuesday, the city Planning Board agreed to recommend that the Newell Street building be included in the "riverfront overlay" district. The scarcely used district eases parking restrictions for businesses that border the river.
"They need more than 30 feet from the riverbank and must be within 300 feet of a public parking lot to be included," said Kenneth A. Mix, city planning and community development coordinator.
Across the street from Mr. Treanor's property, the city owns two lots on either side of the Black River Brew Pub, 456 Newell St., that are considered public parking lots.
A 34-car parking lot will be constructed to the south of the apartment building and more spots are available in the city lots. Zoning for the area mandates that 51 spots be available at the apartment complex, because of the building's size and the number of apartments.
Mr. Mix said the city shouldn't force the developer to create more parking for the project.
"We can't keep paving the world because someone can't find a parking spot right away," he said.
Following the meeting, City Engineer Kurt W. Hauk said the developer will have to make upgrades to the sewage system connected to the building. The sewage main from Newell Street to the city treatment plant is at maximum capacity because the sewage and stormwater runoff are combined and both are sent to the plant to be treated.
Redirecting the stormwater to another main will free space for sewage created from the proposed apartments. Where the stormwater runoff will be sent is still being discussed, Mr. Hauk said.
The City Council will meet at 7 p.m. Aug. 18 and could act on the site plan and overlay district at the meeting.
