Artist’s rendering of the Gateway Lofts project upon completion.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Planning Commission has once again put up a roadblock for the proposed $31 million Gateway Lofts project at the Gateway Center building in Jamestown.

On Tuesday afternoon the commission met with representatives from Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL) to discuss the updated project and also to consider a State Environmental Quality Review (SEQR) assessment as well as approving the final site plans.

After an hour-and-a-half of discussion (complete audio available at the WRFA soundcloud page), the commission ultimately gave unanimous approval for a positive declaration of the SEQR assessment, meaning STEL would have to complete an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the project before it could move forward.  It was the second time the commission made such a declaration on the project. In October 2018, it also gave a positive declaration on the original plans, which resulted in STEL updating its plan in an effort to address concerns put forward by the planning commission.

Much of Tuesday’s conversation involved the number of new housing units the project would be bringing online versus the number of units that would be removed in an effort to ensure the project complies with the city’s 2010 Neighborhood Revitalization Plan.  Among other things, the plan states that in order to ensure investment in neighborhood properties and prevent devaluation, an effort should be made to avoid adding any new housing development unless other housing is also removed.

The Gateway Lofts proposal calls for creating 110 total units, although 56 of them would be intended for homeless individuals who currently don’t have any other housing options available. That means a total of 54 units would be intended for renters, most of which would be on low or fixed income. In an effort to address the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan, the project also provides an estimated $315,000 in funding to help remove 21 housing units in other areas of the city through an agreement with the County Land Bank.

But commission members, including John LaMancuso, raised concerns not enough units were being taken off line to justify adding 54 new ones in a concentrated area.

“We talked about this before and I apologize for belaboring the point, but that’s where my concern comes from,” LaMancuso said while participating in the meeting via conference call. “As the planning commission, I think we ought to be very concerned about our plans that we’ve adopted in the city and that’s one of them. That’s the plan that we adopted 10 years ago to make our city better. I think a lot of the problems that the experts identified in that plan are still evident today.”

Attorney Steven Ricca of Bond, Schoeneck & King and representing STEL shows updated site plans for the proposed Gateway Lofts project during an October 2018 public hearing in the Jamestown City Council Chambers.

Attorney Steven Ricca from Bond, Schoeneck and King is working with STEL to get the project completed. He argued that while there isn’t a true one-to-one ratio for units being added versus those being removed, the commission should also be considering other benefits that the project brings to the table, which includes $6.4 million for Riverwalk development, preservation and beautification; Brownfield clean up; green space development; a brand new parking lot around the entire building; and facade improvements.

“This is a unicorn. This is a project that is not going to make everybody happy on every conceivable issue. But to suggest that the project would only be a win for the city if there was a one-to-one ratio, I think doesn’t give nearly as much weight to the many positive benefits that it will give. A one-to-one requirement as sort of a standard I think would be pretty challenging. So I implore the commission not to agree with everything I’m saying but to agree with the proposition that on balance this is going to benefit an awful lot of people,” Ricca said.

Despite Ricca’s request for the negative declaration and approval of the plans, the commission’s vote was unanimous on the positive declaration, meaning the EIS would have to be completed before any final site plan approval could be considered.

Following the meeting, City Development Director and Principal Planner Crystal Surdyk explained why she felt an EIS is necessary.

“It’s a lengthier process but it’s a much more in depth process that forces them to really justify all of the questions that we have. I understand that it costs money and takes time, but I think this is too important of a project, too big of a project, and it has too many implications on our entire community to not complete it,” Surdyk said.

In response, Ricca said the EIS won’t resolve the main issue that was discussed during the commission’s meeting involving the number of new units being put online versus those being removed. As a result, he requested that the project be brought back to the commission for further discussion during its next meeting.

The Jamestown Planning Commission and staff during the Oct. 9 Gateway Lofts public hearing.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Planning Commission is meeting Tuesday in city hall and will continue its review of site plans for the proposed Gateway Lofts project.

The meeting comes just one week after a public hearing was held focusing on the project and with more than 80 people in attendance.

The Planning Commission meeting is required to review site plans for the $31 million project and act on any permits needed to allow the project to move forward.

The Gateway Lofts project is an effort by Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL), Community Helping Hands and the YWCA of Jamestown to provide 80 single and multi-family housing units in the upper floors of the Gateway Center on Water St.

Of these units, 39 would offer affordable housing options for low income residents, 16 would go to single-parent families assisted by the YWCA, and 25 units would be administered by STEL and designated for non-violent individuals who are homeless and have a serious mental illness or a substance use disorder – with a history of criminal offending or are at risk of offending.

The Gateway Center is the former Chautauqua Hardware furniture manufacturing company and part of the project would also include environmental remediation. It currently houses several service agencies including the Mental Health Association, Community Helping Hands and the St. Susan Center – which developers and supporter say make it an ideal location for the development project.

During last week’s hearing several questions from the public were asked about the project, including safety and environmental concerns as well as the large price tag associated with renovating the building.

Representatives for the project offered their responses during the hearing and now it’s up to the planning commission to determine if the project should proceed or if other issues still need to be addressed.

According to the developers, support for the project has been given by several local officials, including: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Catherine Young, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, County Executive George Borrello, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and IDA director Mark Geise, Sheriff Joseph Gerace, county Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler, and the Homeless Coalition.

Tuesday’s planning commission meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. on the 4^th floor of city hall in the mayors conference room and is open to the public.

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JAMESTOWN – More than 80 people showed up Tuesday night for the Jamestown Planning Commission’s public hearing on the proposed Gateway Lofts housing development.

At the start of the two-hour hearing, representatives from Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL) went over the updated details of the project proposed for the Gateway Center on Water Street in Jamestown, which is the site of the former Chautauqua Hardware building.

Attorney Steven Ricca of Bond, Schoeneck & King and representing Southern Tier Environments for Living shows updated site plans for the proposed Gateway Lofts project during the Oct. 9 public hearing in the Jamestown City Council Chambers.

The proposal project is now an estimated $31 million with a total of 80 housing units. Of these units, 39 unites on the 2nd floor would offer affordable housing options by Community Helping Hands, 16 units on the 3rd floor would go to single-parent families assisted by the YWCA of Jamestown, and 25 units on the 4th floor administered by STEL would be designated for non-violent individuals who are homeless and have a serious mental illness or a substance use disorder with a history of criminal offending or are at risk of offending.

STEL attorney Steven Ricca with the law form Bond, Schoeneck and King also announced that after the Planning Commission expressed some concerns over the project during its September meeting, the developers are now committed to purchasing two additional adjacent properties to create more green space opportunity for residents, especially children, who would be living in the development. They also said that they would increase the number of parking spaces to bring the project closer in compliance with city code.

The group also re-emphasized why the location was selected, saying the Gateway Center project is in a centrally located area where several other social service organizations are based – including Community Helping Hands, Love Inc., BOCES, the Mental Health Association, and St. Susan’s Soup Kitchen.

“The whole point of leveraging all the community organizations and resources is to be efficient and make the best use of taxpayer dollars – which in this case would be limited to state and federal dollars – and to leverage centers of critical mass as is encouraged in the 1998 city comprehensive plan,” Ricca said.

As for the public comment, 27 different people offered comments related to support or concerns for the project, as well as asking questions focusing on issues related to the site plans and environmental review, as well as general questions about the need and cost for the project.

“My vision for this program is to have single parents and families come out of the third floor, have people on the second floor and the fourth floor become citizens of the city that raise their children to not be in the same place that they are in. My vision for this program is to make this a reality for all of us and I know that we all want that,” said YWCA Executive Director Jacqueline Chiarot Phelps.

Andrew O’Brien, who had served on the county’s Opioid Addiction Task Force, voiced his support for the Gateway Lofts project during the Oct. 9 public hearing.

Andrew O’Brien, who had worked at UPMC Chautauqua prior to retiring and also served on the county’s Opioid Addiction Task Force.

“A couple years ago the county’s task force on opioid addiction visited a model program in Canandaigua similar to this and shared details of the transitional housing program being developed at UPMC Chautauqua and the executive director of that program asked what are you going to do about permanent supportive housing, rather than just transitional housing. He was emphasizing that if you’re going to have a comprehensive approach, particular to mental health problems and substance abuse problems including the opioid epidemic, you need to have the right levels of care in place and not just bits of the system to help resolve the issues,” O’Brien said. “So I need to point out today that is still one of the more substantial needs that we have in Chautauqua County and in Jamestown.”

“Safe, quality, affordable housing and all the supports that are needed to empower those living in those housing are the most basic determinants of public health,” explained County Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler. “Gateway lofts project provides an incredible opportunity to improve the overall physical and mental health of our community. ”

City resident and at large councilman Andrew Liuzzo had some concerns for the proposed project related to both the cost as well as the health hazards that could come from housing people in a building previously used for manufacturing.

“Is this funding secured? Because if it’s not, then what are we talking about? If it is, is this the best place to put $34 million?”asked city resident and at large councilman Andrew Liuzzo. who was also concerned with the amount of toxic chemical residue that could still be in the building because it was once a manufacturing plant. “If this comes from a Brownfield grant, then why don’t you take something like the building on Harrison and Willard that’s already half fallen down? Knock that down and building something new. I’m not saying that this is not a good intended project but I think there’s other ways to do this, especially if the money’s not there.”

“We have to decide where are we going to go and what direction are we going to lead the people of Jamestown? Are we going to lead people back to work or is this going to be the beginning of more big government, more social services in the city of Jamestown that has been cultivated by the present administration for the past 17 years?” asked city resident Anthony Toda, adding, “Once the cost of this rehab goes through, what’s going to sustain the ongoing costs of this operation?”

In all a total of 14 different questions were asked and the developers did their best to address each one, explaining that if the project hadn’t been proposed for the current location, it’s unlikely the brownfield site would see any environmental remediation. Developers said the project would be covered primarily through state and federal funding and tax credits that it wouldn’t be able to receive if it were proposed elsewhere.

According to the developers, support for the project has been given by several local officials, including: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Catherine Young, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, County Executive George Borrello, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and IDA director Mark Geise, Sheriff Joseph Gerace, county Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler, and the Homeless Coalition.

The city planning commission and staff

Planning Commission Chair Greg Rabb told WRFA after the hearing was over that he was impressed with the turnout.

“I’m always heartened when I see this many people. Even if I don’t agree with people, I’m always happy to see this many people turn out, especially if they are residents from the city. I welcome our friends from outside of the city, but as soon as somebody tells me they live in this city I pay particular attention,” Rabb said “And it was a beautiful day. I think there were record-breaking temperatures today, so for folks to give up their evening to come and talk to us makes me feel good because that means a lot of people in Jamestown care about what our next steps are.”

Rabb said that the planning commission will likely consider the revised site plans for the loft project when it holds its monthly meeting next Tuesday at 4 p.m. in City Hall.

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JAMESTOWN – The proposed Gateway Lofts project at the Gateway Center building on Water Street was the focus of discussion during Thursday’s Strategic Planning and Partnership Commission meeting.

The Strategic Planning and Partnership Commission during its Aug. 16, 2018 meeting.

Representatives from the law firms representing the two main developers of the project – Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL) and Community Helping Hands – went over the specific details of the plan. Representatives of STEL, Community Helping Hands, and the YWCA of Jamestown were also on hand to provide information and answer questions.

• GATEWAY LOFTS POWER POINT PRESENTATION

Those on hand representing the project developers were STEL Development Director Steven Ald, Community Helping Hands Executive Director Tami Berg, YWCA executive director Jacqueline Chiarot Phelps, and attorneys Steven Ricca with Bond, Schoeneck & King and Matt Mazgaj from Phillips Lytle.

At the start of the presentation, Ricca explained why the Gateway Center was selected.

“This particular site selection was based on a complex algorithm of a number of factors – acreage, zoning, support services, access to transportation, and the like. So we didn’t take site selection here lightly at all,” Ricca said.

The development proposal, situated on the 5.8 acre Gateway Center location, is described as a multifamily affordable housing project that would include 70 housing units. Of these units, 39 would offer affordable housing options, 16 would go to single-parent families assisted by the YWCA, and 25 units administered by STEL would be designated for non-violent individuals who are homeless and have a serious mental illness or a substance use disorder with a history of criminal offending or are at risk of offending.

Attorney Steven Ricca with Bond, Schoeneck & King presents to the city Strategic Planning and Partnership Commission.

Ricca also said that the project will address a concerned outlined in the city’s recent poverty reduction study released in 2017.

“Housing is problematic for low-income residents as the cost of renting is very high and quality, affordable housing is scarce,” Ricca said. “The study also focused on a key concern that folks weren’t maintaining their properties and that there were delinquent properties. I’m aware of the fact that you have affordable housing developments in this city that you are aware of and are not very happy about. One thing I will say, however, is that this is not a situation where STEL will develop the property and then walk away. STEL will manage the property.”

The project still needs to undergo several hurdles, including a review by the city Planning Commission in September as well as securing funding for a total project cost of $34 million. The cost would be covered through a combination of state and federal tax credits that can be sold to investors, along with community investment funds and grants.

The project partners have already received a $970,000 state grant to develop the design.

The $34 million price tag is due to abatement issues that would need to be addressed in the current building, which is the former Chautauqua Hardware building built in the late 19^th century and which currently houses several nonprofit service operations including St. Susan Center, Community Helping Hands, a Daycare facility, and the Mental Health Association – among others.  Developers say the presence of those agencies on-site is one of the key reasons why the location was selected for the proposed project.

No zoning waivers would be needed because the location is already in an area of the city zoned for multi residential use.

Artist’s rendering of the Gateway Lofts project upon completion.

In all, the commission members spent an hour-and-a-half hearing details about the project and asking questions as well as raising concerns.

Commission Co-Chair Greg Rabb – who also chairs the city Planning Commission – explained why it was important for the group to appear before the Strategic Planning and Partnership Commission.

“If this project goes forward, it’s a big project, and it has more than just an effect on the immediate area. I think it has an effect on the entire community and that’s one of the reasons why this commission exists. We are part of the city of Jamestown and appointed by the mayor and approved by the council, so our goal here – with representatives from the public sector and the private sector and from inside the city and outside the city – to look at projects from a much bigger perspective than the narrow perspective which we’ll be taking from the planning commission. So we want to have this discussion because I knew this process was percolating and had a couple of questions and concerns,” Rabb said.

One of Rabb’s questions and concerns focused on the project being located in a food desert area of the city where fresh food wasn’t readily available.  Another concern was that the city currently has a significant amount of housing stock that could be used to help provide homes for the individuals this project is aimed at, while also noting that this project would concentrate a large number of people into a single area instead of working to integrate them into the community. Rabb also noted that the developers need to reach out to members of the city council and the Chautauqua County legislator who represents that area so they can be aware of the details of the project and share with constituents who will likely have questions.

The officials with the project responded to Rabb’s concerns about access to healthy food by explaining transportation would be made available through CARTS to help residents get back and forth to nearby supermarkets and the Jamestown Public Market’s mobile food market program could also help with providing healthier food options on site. They also noted that the concentration vs. integration issue was open to debate, considering there currently isn’t a lot of options for affordable and quality apartment housing in the city.

According to the developers, support for the project has been given by several local officials, including: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Catherine Young, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, County Executive George Borrello, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and IDA director Mark Geise, Sheriff Joseph Gerace, county Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler, and the Homeless Coalition.

The project will likely be looked at further during the Sept. 18 meeting of the city planning commission.