Galesi changes look of townhouses


The Galesi Group has changed the design of the townhouses it is proposing for Mohawk Harbor and is again seeking site plan approval from the city Planning Commission.

The townhouses at the site of the future casino off Erie Boulevard have been downsized from 24 units to 15 units and the facade redesigned. The commission will review the project during its Sept. 16 meeting.

The commission previously approved the townhouses in June, but the nine-member board will review the changes and vote again on the new design.

David Buicko, chief operating officer of Galesi, said the number of units was decreased because the building couldn’t fit at the site’s location as previously proposed.

“On the construction side when we laid it out, the way the road configuration was, we weren’t able to fit it all,” he said. “We just couldn’t fit 24 there.”

The three-story townhouse building will have a garage on the first floor and living areas on the second and third floors. All of the units will have balconies and face the Mohawk River.

“We wanted to redesign it to have everyone look out at the water,” Buicko said. “I’m pretty bullish about this building.”

The previous design of the 35,000-square-foot building featured a dark brown brick exterior that received negative comments from several members of the Planning Commission when reviewed in June.

The new design by Re4orm Architecture of Schenectady has more of a white/gray exterior with some dark brown. The building design also appears more modern and looks similar to the apartment, office and retail buildings slated for the site.

The Planning Commission’s Sept. 16 meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. in Room 110 at City Hall.

The 60-acre Alco site is being transformed by the Galesi Group to house the future Rivers Casino and Resort at Mohawk Harbor in partnership with Rush Street Gaming of Chicago, along with housing, hotels, office and retail space and a 50-boat-slip harbor.

- Haley Viccaro