By Susan Elise Campbell
Sunrise Management & Consulting is wrapping up final details required by the Malta Planning Board to build a mixed-use building at the corner of Eastline Road and Route 67 in the Town of Malta, according to Jesse Holland, founder and president of Sunrise. The project will include 136 apartment units and approximately 8,000 square feet of commercial space.
The Sunrise team will also meet with a subcommittee of the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency next month as the firm seeks tax incentives for several features that Holland believes will deliver financial benefits for both residents and the public.
“We are excited to be building this property, which will provide a number of public benefits to the community,” said Holland.
Passersby at the northeast corner of the intersection are accustomed to seeing an abandoned farmhouse on the otherwise undeveloped 11.7-acre parcel.
Holland said he was told the building was once a church and, prior to that, a schoolhouse. While it is a historic structure in decline, its future is now secure. The developer plans to relocate the building farther from the road, renovate, and maintain the building for future commercial use, according to Holland.
Moving the historic building opens up the intersection of Eastline Road and Route 67, allowing the state to build a roundabout to improve traffic flow. Road construction is scheduled for two to three years from now, well after the Eastline Apartments project is completed.
Construction may begin as early as April or May, with occupancy approximately 12 months later, Holland said.
The proposed new construction is “an E-shaped building with three wings, with the spine of the E facing Route 67,” he said. It will be three stories with 136 one- and two-bedroom units and is zoned for mixed use. Approximately 8,000 square feet on the first floor is designed for office and commercial use, but not retail.
“We don’t have tenants yet, but our focus is on local businesses,” Holland said. “West of Northway Exit 12, there are some large office buildings. If you’re a large franchise, you can pay the high rents, but it’s hard for local businesses to find affordable space.”
“There is a great traffic count on the route, which commercial tenants are looking for,” he said.
Holland also said the AMI, or area median income, is one factor used to determine whether apartment units qualify as affordable housing. Sunrise plans are for providing “good, solid workforce housing.”
“A couple, each making $40,000 a year, could afford one of these units at around $2,000 per month and not be rent-burdened,” he said. “We believe that is what is needed across the Capital Region, and that is why we think the Saratoga IDA will want to make sure this project happens.”
The cost of housing is on everyone’s mind right now. While many factors go into determining rents, Holland said Sunrise wants to create a property that is accessible to the middle class.
“Our goal is always a good product at a fair price,” Holland said.
Another public benefit of the project is that it will connect two water systems, which “solves a municipal water problem,” according to Holland
Sunrise has yet to finalize finishes and amenities for the apartments. Planned features include elevators, washer/dryer hookups, and an intercom system.
“Eastline Apartments will be a pet-welcoming community, such as we have at the Van Allen Apartments in North Greenbush, which won an award from the Humane Society,” Holland said. “We do not have breed restrictions. Instead, we interview the pet.”
The complex will also include a dog-washing station.
Sunrise Management & Consulting is one of approximately 500 firms nationwide recognized as an Accredited Management Organization® by the Institute of Real Estate Management.
“We strive for Class A service with a focus on the experience of our residents,” Holland said. “We want each resident to feel at home and part of a community. We plan resident events and are committed to responding quickly to maintenance issues.”
“Good service and professional management mean we are responsible housing providers who follow the law and take it seriously,” he said. “We know all the rules and actively stay in compliance with maintenance and inspections.”
Holland said that when a Sunrise-managed apartment turns over, they perform a 40-item checklist before the next tenant moves in.
“It’s not just painting the walls and changing the locks, but checking that everything is working as it should,” he said.
Another benefit of adding Eastline Apartments to Sunrise’s property management portfolio is that it will result in 136 additional meals donated to the Regional Food Bank each month once the community is fully occupied.
When Sunrise purchased The Century House property, the company learned about a sustained giving program it had established: for every meal or overnight hotel stay, a meal would be donated to the Regional Food Bank. With Sunrise’s acquisition of The Comfort Inn, which the company renovated and rebranded as The Clocktower Hotel, Holland committed to carrying forward that legacy of giving.
Now that Sunrise has expanded the program to its multifamily portfolio—donating one meal for every month an apartment is rented—the firm has surpassed 70,000 meals donated.
“Our goal is to get to one million meals in the next ten years,” Holland said.
Learn more at sunrisemc.com.