Updated: 7 a.m.:
The City of Batavia Planning & Development Committee tonight approved the site plan of the Healthy Living campus, a $30 million joint venture of United Memorial Medical Center (Rochester Regional Health) and the GLOW YMCA on East Main Street.
The tally was 3-1 in favor of the layout, with Ed Flynn, Rebecca Cohen and John Ognibene casting “yes” votes and David Beatty voting “no.” The committee’s monthly meeting took place at the City Hall Council Board Room.
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Related story: Planning committee member sees Healthy Living campus site plan as 'missed opportunity'
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“We’re extremely satisfied. We listened to what the concerns were and we made adjustments. I think they were fair and we were fair,” said GLOW YMCA Chief Executive Officer Rob Walker.
Project Consultant David Ciurzynski and representatives of the Clark Patterson Lee architectural/engineering firm had appeared before the PDC two times prior to tonight’s meeting.
Over the course of lengthy deliberations, a few changes requested by the committee were made, most notably the removal of an entrance/exit on Summit Street and removal of parking spaces in the area just east of Genesee-Orleans Regional Arts Council, on a parcel where the YMCA currently sits.
Walker said developers surrendered about 30 parking spots to create more green space.
“When you’re in business, we want those spots, but out of respect for the process, we negotiated,” he said.
On the Summit Street issue, he said, “We met with the Summit Street (Neighborhood) Association and with a number of residents and we listened and we said, OK.”
“The traffic flow is going to work just fine as we have an exit on Washington (Avenue) and an exit on Bank (Street).”
Ciurzynski said the updated site plan shows the Summit Street exit removal and parking space adjustment, adding that there are no plans to build a wall or put up additional trees in the space between GO Art! and the new YMCA building.
PDC member Ed Flynn said the board received a letter from GO Art! stating its support of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative project as long as there was no wall.
Beatty then mentioned a site plan presented by Clark Patterson Lee and sent to Gregory Hallock, GO Art! executive director, was different from the final plan. He said he had hoped the PDC would have been able to see that document.
Ciurzynski said that was a previous drawing, calling it “much more elaborate than what we have and we’re not moving forward with that because of budget reasons.”
“The plan that you have (now) is the plan that we’re moving forward with,” he said, adding that the current plan has appropriate buffering on that back side (of GO Art!). “I understand that he (Hallock) may desire something more (but) technically it’s not his property. We have to be as good neighbors as possible, but we have to also manage our budget.”
The PDC reviewed the State Environmental Quality Review paperwork and determined no adverse impact. It did advise Ciurzynski, however, to make sure the GO Art! building is protected during construction as it is an historic structure. Ciurzynski said he would send the final site plan to the State Historic Preservation Office.
With the committee’s approval in hand, the timeline becomes much clearer.
Ciurzynski said construction documents should be complete by the late fall or early winter, and then bids will be solicited.
“Hopefully, by the end of the year, we’ll start seeing some (activity), with Cary Hall coming down. And start getting the site prepped and ready for construction in earnest starting in the spring,” he said, noting that the entire project will take about 20 months, including 14 to 16 months on the main two-story, 69,420-square-foot building.
“We’re trying to get everything done as quickly as possible so we can move in and take down the (existing) YMCA,” he said. “Start construction in the spring when the weather breaks, get the building up, get everything moved over into there from the existing Y to the new Y – get that operational – and then we can start looking at taking down the old Y and developing that site.”
He acknowledged the PDC’s opposition to the amount of parking on Main Street.
“They didn’t like the look of it (and) they wanted more of an urban park environment, so we sort of split the difference,” he said. “We gave up some very significant parking for our membership but we will find ways to work around that because it was important to the Planning & Development Committee.
“They’re looking out for the city; trying to make sure they can strike a balance. We’re a partner with the city, so we want to make sure that we can strike that balance that works for everybody.”
Even with the reduction of parking spots, the campus will accommodate about 200 cars. Walker said that hospital staff would be able to continue to park in the City Centre Mall parking lot.
As previously reported on The Batavian, the Healthy Living Campus will replace the current YMCA, and will feature YMCA amenities such as gymnasium, pool, locker rooms, multipurpose rooms, exercise rooms and a community living (common) area.
It also will have 10,000 square feet for the hospital’s Healthy Living (diabetes awareness and education) program as well as a medical clinic on the second floor as a teaching unit for medical residents, and space for RRH’s Baby Café, a breastfeeding program run by lactation specialists who offer education and support to any pregnant woman or breastfeeding mom in the community at no charge.
Graham to Build 'Infill' Addition
In other action, the PDC approved a site plan submitted by Graham Mfg. to construct a 2,500-square foot one-story infill addition on the south side of the industrial complex at 4-12 Howard St.
Chris Howell, facilities manager at Graham Mfg., said the company wishes to put in a metrology lab in the new space for non-destructive testing and a stockroom -- “and to do those things well we need a separate area, which is temperature controlled and where it is clean.”
Currently, the firm’s welding and grinding operations are integrated with this kind of testing, he said, and separating those processes will improve the metrology and non-destructive testing.
The plan also is subject to review by the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals due to the entire building’s coverage area on the lot being more than the permitted 40 percent.
Previously: City of Batavia Planning & Development Committee says 'no' to Summit Street access for Healthy Living Campus
