Apartments And Retail Project Eyed In Milton

A development group is seeking to construct a four-building retail and apartment complex on 10.5 acres off Route 50 in Milton.

Geoffrey Booth and New York Development Group is seeking town approval for two structures planned for retail use—and two 37,800-square-foot apartment buildings on the west side of Route 50. The project would be located a short distance south of Route 50 and Northline Road.

The plans submitted to town officials call for the construction of one-story retail buildings and two four-story apartment buildings with a total of 60 apartments and enough parking for 213 cars and trucks.

The developer is working on the project with Yates Scott Lansing and Lansing Engineering of Malta.

The group presented the plans to the Wilton Town Board in July. Plans include a two-story medical center at a cost of $30 million that will feature multiple medical and surgical practices. Services ranging from complex surgery to pediatrics would be available, officials said.

The medical center would be a 116,000-square-foot structure at 611-623 Maple Ave. The 130-unit apartment and commercial development would be situated across the street at 631 Maple Ave. The residential component would include workforce housing among the 10 two-story apartment buildings. The goal is to have market-rate housing for nurses, x-ray technicians and other staff who would work at the medical center and may not be able to afford high rents elsewhere.

The board was told the development would be made up of some traditional apartments and some townhome-style units with garages.

Each of the practices in the Wilton medical center would be investors in the project, and have the option to invest in the mixed-use development as well. Officials said the model will allow independent physician practices like OrthoNY to stay independent.

The next step for the Wilton project is to do a traffic study. There will be more meeting with town officials before all approvals are in line.

If approved, it is estimated the medical center project might be completed sometime in 2025.

“We are proposing a mixed-use development of residential and two retail buildings,” Lansing told the board, according to documents filed with the town.

The first retail building will be approximately 5,400 square feet and is a single-story structure. The second building, a single-story structure, is on the south part of the parcel will be approximately 7,900 square feet.

The building to the south is proposing a drivethrough facility.

“Our proposal for the multifamily residential portion of the project is two structures, both four stories, with 30 units per building. The units will have attached garages on the back. We are proposing private driveways and private parking for the residents,” Lansing said.

Booth and his New York Development Group have built more than 2,000 apartments and homes over the past 20 years..

Located north of Ballston and three miles south of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center box office, the Broadalbin-based group’s proposed project is in an area that has grown steadily. The town of Milton’s population has grown by 28 percent, to 18,800, since 1990. And the town of Ballston’s population has increased by 55 percent, to 12,550, during the same period, officials said.

An average of more than 13,100 vehicles travel that stretch of Route 50 daily, according to data available from the state Department of Transportation.

Since 1945 Eastern Heating and Cooling, Inc. has been serving commercial and industrial customers through Upstate New York, Western Massachusetts and Southern Vermont with designs, installation and maintenance service. When faced with difficult complex problems, experience matters