Bob Blank, a principal with HDB and a developer for the chain drug store, said he is anticipating preliminary work on the building to begin sometime next month.
Is this a different type of speaking under anonymity? "Bob ____" Says...
ROTTERDAM Walgreens plan moving forward Company said plan was dead, developer says otherwise BY JUSTIN MASON Gazette Reporter
Plans for a Walgreens at the former Capitol Plaza in Rotterdam are back on the table. Less than three weeks after a spokeswoman disclosed that the Illinois-based pharmacy was no longer interested in a project to build a 14,700-square-foot store on the bustling corner of Altamont Avenue and Curry Road, a developer under contract with the company said plans are back on track. Bob Blank, a principal with HDB and a developer for the drugstore chain, said he is anticipating preliminary work on the building to begin sometime next month. “I’m going to move forward,” he said during a phone interview Thursday. “We plan on proceeding with the plan as presented to the town.” Town officials confirmed Blank’s intentions. Rotterdam Planning Commission Chairman Lawrence DiLallo said he met with Blank Thursday to discuss advancing the project in accordance with what the town approved in 2006. “He’s telling us he’s confident in the next couple of weeks he’ll be able to resolve his contract issues with [Capitol Plaza owner] Jeff Musiker and go forward with the deal,” he said. The Walgreens project is slated to be discussed by the commission during their fi rst meeting in September. DiLallo said Blank must reapply for a special-use permit he had received to add a drive-through to the building, since it expired earlier this year. Town Planner Peter Comenzo said Blank seemed earnest in his efforts to build the Walgreens and even presented final drawings to the town during their meeting. Attempts to contact Walgreens were unsuccessful Thursday. In 2005, developers proposed demolishing the 1950s-era shopping plaza to make way for the chain pharmacy and a 65-space parking lot. The project faced numerous setbacks, including a lengthy relocation of the plaza’s 14 business tenants and the acquisition of a sliver of state Department of Transportation-owned land adjacent to the plaza. The last business left the plaza in February, and Blank had initially discussed demolishing the structure in March. Then nearly five months later, a Walgreens spokeswoman disclosed that the company was no longer interested in locating a store in Rotterdam. Initial reports of the deal’s apparent failure perplexed Blank, Musiker and town officials. At the time, Blank insisted that he would pursue the project, but not without Walgreens on board. Blank said the apparent problems with the deal arose when Walgreens removed the project from their active project list. He said the company routinely opens about 400 stores per year, so it’s not difficult for some of the longer-term projects to fall out of their purview. “The [Rotterdam] store had been removed from the list because it was put on hold,” he explained. Blank said his discussions with Musiker have been in an attempt to make the project economically feasible. And while the deal hasn’t closed, he’s confident that the project will advance to the demolition phase sometime this fall. “It’s been a bit of a dance,” he said of the ongoing project.
Okay, now that the 'work' is done on altamont ave. they can move on......interesting....very very interesting......however, I hope that our investment will keep the store open and functioning unlike the empty drug store building on Brandywine/State.......we must be very very careful of the crap too close together......it could end up just like the surrounding areas of the city......
timing is everything.......WHERE ARE THE SEWERS FOR HAMBURG STREET.......
cough cough cough.....geez,,,,the smoke is getting thicker and thicker......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
...at least you'll have a pharmacy nearby to get your antibiotics filled...the obe at Eckerd, the old CVS (until the new one opens up), or Walgreens (maybe, eventually...)
The water issue just may have been a problem for Walgreens cause it has been ongoing for a very long time. Long before Walgreens came on the scene. Perhaps they got wind of it, huh? Perhaps they did their homework?
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
The water issue just may have been a problem for Walgreens cause it has been ongoing for a very long time. Long before Walgreens came on the scene. Perhaps they got wind of it, huh? Perhaps they did their homework?
Nah,,,,,they knew long beforehand.....these folks aren't stupid and certainly dont miss the cliffs as they walk......if anything they string us along very nicely---credit and all......
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
I don't find it mysterious at all. Like everything everywhere right now it's all about the economy. Most businesses are reigning in planned expansion on pure economics. McLanes, Von Roll, etc.
This deal may not be dead, just off the immediate radar and under review internally at the company, just as indicated in the article.
Whatever happens, this is a prime piece of real estate that will be redeveloped by someone in relatively short order, I think.
Re Aug. 8 letter, “Town should use Capitol Plaza for own business”: I think the town of Rotterdam should consider the property at 679 Mariaville Rd., the V Stream Manufacturing building, for the police station and all town offices. The property has 7.5 acres that can be used for expansion if the building is not large enough to house all town departments. It is not far from the present police station, is easy to locate and has plenty of room for parking and a garage for the police cars. Who says the police station has to be in the middle of town? PAT COOKINGHAM Rotterdam
very mysterious indeed that the town needs a gigantic complex now, they just need a state of the art police station to get into the 21st century for our boys to keep them safe over here
Pat Cookingham...a.k.a. Bob, "No Change" Godlewski. This was a suggestion back while "No Change" was sitting on the board. I think that Steve was supposed to go over and take a look at some point, but I don't remember when that was, definitely back when "No Change" was on the board. Anyway, this might be an OK location, I would just be worried about a delay of reaction time from the police (if they're moved into the same building) to the mall, the Junction and Pattersonville due to train traffic closing the only 2 main routes from this location (Putnam Road or Burdeck Street). Either that, or the police could always go over and cut through by Schenectady Steel. I would compare it to the South Schenectady Fire Department, but the SSFD doesn't have to cover anywhere near the same area.
I may be misunderstanding this reason for where the police station is to be located. From what I'm reading, it would seems like the officers on duty are just sitting in the police station waiting for a call. If that were the case, than location is everything.
I was under the assumption, and please correct me if I'm wrong, that officers, when on duty are out patrolling the streets. When a call comes in, they are dispatched from their patrol cars. If this is true, then location isn't everything. Yes? No?
Yes, to some extent, but there's not always going to be times that they are out and roaming around...and in that case, you only have so many that can go around such an expanse of area. There needs to be one base, central location, as I see it. Look at it this way. If you live in Rotterdam proper, would you want to wait for a police car to come in from Pattersonville in case of an emergency? Or roll the dice and hope one is rolling through your neighborhood or an area near yours? And for communication, since they were just looking at a new radio setup recently, location is everything. That NEEDS to be able to reach the full distance...which it might not be able to do if it is located on one end of the area that needs to be covered. It may be spotty when the officer is trying to determine the address and the radio is breaking up because they're so many miles from the base.
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