After residents and city leaders criticized the design of the Saratoga Springs City Center following the unveiling of the $16 million expansion project more than two months ago, their concerns turned to praise at Tuesday's City Council and thus ended in unanimous approval by council members.
Following the unveiling of the expansion project on March 16, many
business and community leaders spoke out against the new look - which
consisted of mostly glass and limestone - saying it was out of
character with the Victorian neighborhood and even comparing its look
to that of a "glass-box."
In response to concerns from citizens, the City Center Authority requested permission from the City Council to have the plans sent before the city's Design Review Commission on April 7 in an effort to take input on the design and open up the process. After a number of intense workshops and meetings between the Authority and DRC, a new design for the City Center that incorporates more of the red brick and arches that exist in the current design of the building was revealed.
After the changes had satisfied members of the DRC, they approved the new design and sent it back to the City Council - who is the ultimate decision maker in the project - for a vote on the revised design.
Prior to the vote, a number of business leaders spoke during the meeting's public comment period to give their support of the new design and urge members of the council to swiftly approve the design, which they say is crucial to future economic prosperity in the city.
Joe Dalton, President of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said while no design is ever perfect the new design that the DRC and City Center Authority have come up with is exactly what the city needs in downtown Saratoga.
"This end of Broadway from Church St. to the City Center is dead the majority of the year," Dalton said of the area around the City Center on North Broadway. "This will attract people up on North Broadway, increase the property values, support the retailers up there and I strongly urge that you support the design so we can get construction underway and start bringing more money into this city."
While the expansion project is sure to help downtown businesses, it is also going to help the city define itself as a premier convention and destination area in the highly competitive market.
David Zunker, President of the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau, said the Bureau is currently chomping at the bit to get out there and market the expansion, which he expects will give the Bureau a competitive advantage in the convention marketplace and in the region.
Ron Day, General Manager of Saratoga Hilton, said his sales team has already begun getting the word out about the proposed enhancements to prospective group planners and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
"The meetings business which is already highly competitive is even more so now in this downtrodden economy," Day said. "We cannot afford to delay any longer in getting this project off the ground. Every week that goes by without a definitive completion time line puts us at risk of losing the opportunity to host a piece of business that could potentially bring this community hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue as well as stable income for many of its residents."
During a presentation of the new design at the meeting, Mark Baker said the changes that currently exist in the design exceed the $16 million budget by more than $500,000. He added that while the design is over budget, the Authority expects to meet the strict budget constraints by taking advantage of competitive bids that are occurring in the down economy.
While Baker and City Council members were confident the project could be completed within the tight budget constraints, Kyle York, of 59 Railroad Place, said during the public comment period that he had brought the plans to an independent architecture group and they had all agreed there was no way the city will be able to complete what is in the renderings under the current budget constraints.
While York's plight was a reasonable one, Commissioner of Accounts John Franck said he personally believed the project would still come in considerably under budget even with the improvements.
"I personally think this is going to come in considerably under budget, I could be wrong, but from what we are seeing on other bids I believe it could happen," Franck said.
Following comments from members of the council, the new design was unanimously approved in a 5-0 vote. The City Center Authority, who originally intended to have construction begin at the end of May, now expects work to begin on the project in September.
In response to concerns from citizens, the City Center Authority requested permission from the City Council to have the plans sent before the city's Design Review Commission on April 7 in an effort to take input on the design and open up the process. After a number of intense workshops and meetings between the Authority and DRC, a new design for the City Center that incorporates more of the red brick and arches that exist in the current design of the building was revealed.
After the changes had satisfied members of the DRC, they approved the new design and sent it back to the City Council - who is the ultimate decision maker in the project - for a vote on the revised design.
Prior to the vote, a number of business leaders spoke during the meeting's public comment period to give their support of the new design and urge members of the council to swiftly approve the design, which they say is crucial to future economic prosperity in the city.
Joe Dalton, President of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce, said while no design is ever perfect the new design that the DRC and City Center Authority have come up with is exactly what the city needs in downtown Saratoga.
"This end of Broadway from Church St. to the City Center is dead the majority of the year," Dalton said of the area around the City Center on North Broadway. "This will attract people up on North Broadway, increase the property values, support the retailers up there and I strongly urge that you support the design so we can get construction underway and start bringing more money into this city."
While the expansion project is sure to help downtown businesses, it is also going to help the city define itself as a premier convention and destination area in the highly competitive market.
David Zunker, President of the Saratoga Convention and Tourism Bureau, said the Bureau is currently chomping at the bit to get out there and market the expansion, which he expects will give the Bureau a competitive advantage in the convention marketplace and in the region.
Ron Day, General Manager of Saratoga Hilton, said his sales team has already begun getting the word out about the proposed enhancements to prospective group planners and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
"The meetings business which is already highly competitive is even more so now in this downtrodden economy," Day said. "We cannot afford to delay any longer in getting this project off the ground. Every week that goes by without a definitive completion time line puts us at risk of losing the opportunity to host a piece of business that could potentially bring this community hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue as well as stable income for many of its residents."
During a presentation of the new design at the meeting, Mark Baker said the changes that currently exist in the design exceed the $16 million budget by more than $500,000. He added that while the design is over budget, the Authority expects to meet the strict budget constraints by taking advantage of competitive bids that are occurring in the down economy.
While Baker and City Council members were confident the project could be completed within the tight budget constraints, Kyle York, of 59 Railroad Place, said during the public comment period that he had brought the plans to an independent architecture group and they had all agreed there was no way the city will be able to complete what is in the renderings under the current budget constraints.
While York's plight was a reasonable one, Commissioner of Accounts John Franck said he personally believed the project would still come in considerably under budget even with the improvements.
"I personally think this is going to come in considerably under budget, I could be wrong, but from what we are seeing on other bids I believe it could happen," Franck said.
Following comments from members of the council, the new design was unanimously approved in a 5-0 vote. The City Center Authority, who originally intended to have construction begin at the end of May, now expects work to begin on the project in September.
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