Grocery store, 171 apartments part of $115M Schenectady proposal

SCHENECTADY - Save A Lot could fill a vacant lot.

The company by 2028 intends to occupy space for a grocery store in a newly proposed $115 million mixed-development project between State and Albany streets.

"At Save A Lot, we believe in the power of the neighborhood grocery store as a key to building vibrant communities," Save A Lot CEO Bill Mayo said in a statement.

The comprehensive project announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Tuesday also includes 171 apartment units spread among four buildings in a long-blighted area within the Hamilton Hill and Vale neighborhoods. 

The plans were pieced together in coordination between the state, private entities, the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority and Schenectady County, which paid $950,000 to purchase a 2.2 acre stretch of brownfield property. 

"I feel as though at this point we're actually living up to that commitment to make sure that the development doesn't just stay downtown and pushes out into the neighborhoods," Schenectady County Legislature Chairman Gary Hughes told the Times Union. "I know we haven't touched everybody, but we're working at it."

Hughes, a Schenectady representative in the legislature, said that neighborhood residents had long expressed interest in getting a grocery store. After Mohawk Auto Center shuttered in 2022, Hughes pushed for the County Legislature to buy the space.

Upon further review, officials dovetailed grocery store plans with plans to bolster affordable and workplace housing options in the area - a major push from the Hochul administration amid housing shortages statewide. 

The properties will all include one-, two- and three-bedroom units. Apartments will be partially subsidized based on income levels. More than two dozen units will be set aside for supportive housing, including for people with disabilities and those with a history of homelessness.

"Now we have not only the supermarket, but a significant number of new working-class apartments going in on Hamilton Hill, so this has really become a project that transforms that neighborhood in a real way," Hughes said.

Nine vacant buildings on Albany Street were torn down for redevelopment by Metroplex and the Capital Region Land Bank, and purchased by The Community Builders. The state chipped in $2.75 million in grant funding to demolish Mohawk Auto Center. 

Another $1 million from the state will go towards the construction of 86 units across three buildings at 748, 758 and 785 Albany St. 

The county is providing $3 million towards redevelopment overall. The lion's share of construction costs will come from developers 

Five Corners Development and The Community Builders, and Save A Lot, according to Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen.

The redevelopment project still needs to receive approval from the Schenectady City Planning Commission and then cleanup of 750 State St. through a state brownfield remediation program by 2027. Stakeholders expect the environmental cleanup will be smooth sailing. 

"It's an auto dealer," Gillen said. "It's nothing, you know? We've done all the testing. We've done the due diligence on the site."

Zoning approvals will not be needed, Gillen noted.

The Save A Lot grocery store is one of two grocery stores currently in the planning stages in Schenectady. Electric City Community Grocery, a co-op, is in the process of transforming a space in the Wedgeway Building on Erie Boulevard into a grocery store. The store intends to open in early 2027, according to the Daily Gazette.

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