Patten's Union Street project wins site plan approval

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Housing developer Chris Patten’s plan to build a 20-unit, luxury apartment building on a half-acre parcel between Union Street and Goodwin Avenue in Glens Falls won site plan approval Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 7, from the Glens Falls Planning Board. The project heads next to an architectural review. Patten said he hopes it will move smoothly through that review since the building is not in a historic district.

“It’s much nicer working with the city than against them,” he said after the meeting yesterday.

He is referring to the months-long fight he had with the city over a half-acre of undeveloped land at the corner of Glen and Bay streets downtown. The owners, 333 Glen Street Associates, were willing to subdivide that sliver of land from the rest of their property, which includes a parking garage and an office tower, and sell it to Patten who believed he could construct an apartment there. [Read more about it here.] 

Since the parcel sits directly across Bay Street from City Park, and since the city has used that space for years as part of its larger outdoor programming such as the LARAC Arts Fest, Glens Falls leaders fought Patten on his plans.

Although the Planning Board was open to seeing Patten's ideas for the land, the city leadership won out. The city plans to purchase the sliver of land from 333 Glen Street Associates and incorporate it in the city park system, Mayor Dan Hall said in a past interview.

As an olive branch, Patten was directed toward the location he presented to the Planning Board yesterday afternoon, a parcel of land, currently a parking lot, sandwiched between Goodwin Avenue and Union Street, behind the former Glens Falls Middle School at 425 Glen St.

“I made amends with them [the city], and this is where I ended up,” Patten told the Planning Board when he introduced the project.

Although detailed plans of the interiors were not included, Patten said the three-storey building will have 10, one-bedroom apartments on the first floor. The second and third floors will contain 10, two-bedroom apartments. The second floor will have the living, kitchen, and dining areas and a half-bathroom of each apartment. A staircase to the third floor will lead to the two bedrooms and a full bath.

A few people from the neighborhood said they had concerns, mainly about traffic along Goodwin Avenue. The board and Patten believe the traffic will flow mainly along Bay, Union and Harlem streets.

Patten said he was glad the project is moving forward, especially given the housing shortage in the area. 

He said, “The only answer is to provide more units to the city.”

[Read more about the region's housing crunch here and here.]

Patten owns Patten Property Management and Patten Property Development.