SCHENECTADY — Developers of a proposed 240-unit apartment complex at the former St. Clare’s Hospital campus on McClellan Street in Schenectady are requesting a zoning change to allow for residential units.
Under the proposal, the mostly vacant hospital site would be rezoned from institutional to R-3 multiple-family residential.
During a public hearing at the City Council’s Feb. 24 meeting, developer Jeff Buell said the site would also be the home of a 20,000-square-foot daycare.
“I genuinely think we can create one of the most dynamic places to live in the Capital District,” Buell said.
The sale of the former hospital to developers Buell and Chris Spraragen was approved by the Ellis Medicine board of directors in August, following the closure of Ellis’ 82-bed nursing home at the site last summer.
Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority and the city have applied for a Restore NY grant that could provide $1.5 million in state funding for the project.
“We can’t just have a big, empty hospital in the middle of our city and call our city a phoenix and a resurgent city,” Metroplex Chair Ray Gillen said during the hearing.
Three medical buildings will remain on the campus along with the Belanger School of Nursing.
“This is going to provide residences and provide a connection to [Central] Park and provide a connection to Price Chopper,” Gillen said. “It’s a great adaptive reuse of the building.”
Following the hearing, City Council President Marion Porterfield said she expects the rezoning amendment to be voted on by the council.
“That’s something that makes sense for that type of building, as opposed to taking it down and having single homes,” Porterfield said following the hearing.
The project would provide more rental options as Schenectady's population shifts from home ownership toward rentals. In 2022, just 45% of residents owned their own homes, down from 51% in 2010.
Schenectady Republican Party Chair Tom Kennedy told the council he believes the project would be disruptive to the neighborhood.
“As far as we’re concerned, it’s like dropping a bomb in the neighborhood,” Kennedy said. “We want to hear more about it. We want more home ownership.”
Mark Eagan, president and CEO of the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce, drew parallels from the St. Clare’s project to the redevelopment of the former American Locomotive Company [ALCO] site at Mohawk Harbor, with the riverside now populated by rental units, retail, Rivers Casino and the forthcoming arena.
“There’s really no longer a medical use for the St. Clare’s site and we have a perfect opportunity to put it to productive use,” Eagan told the council. “We could have had that site just sit there for a long time. We had the ALCO site that just sat there vacant for a generation and experienced a rebirth. We have an opportunity to not have this site sit, but to really transform it to a new use.”
Mayor Gary McCarthy said on Wednesday he believes an apartment complex would be a good use of the former hospital campus.
“It’s a big piece of real estate, so we want it to be utilized in some way,” he said. “This adds value to that site and the adjacent residential areas and the community as a whole.”
