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Updated
February 3, 2008
Court clears way for complex
Lawsuits rejected, building permit is issued for 254,000-square-foot plaza in Defreestville
By Alan Wechsler, business WriterFirst published: Saturday, January 19, 2008, Times Union
NORTH GREENBUSH -- A state court has rejected the last of four lawsuits filed over eight years that sought to block a big-box retail complex from being built at the intersection of routes 4 and 43.
Site work has already started at Van Rensselaer Square. But the decision by the Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Albany earlier this month paves the way for developers BET Investments Inc. of Horsham, Pa., to proceed with construction. A building permit was issued Friday.
The 254,000-square-foot plaza was introduced by Frank Nigro of Nigro Development LLC 10 years ago. Nigro and the site owners sold the 35-acre parcel to BET last year, which started clearing land last summer.
Residents of Defreestville, where it's located, are concerned about noise and traffic.
"It's poorly designed and never should have been designed the way it was," said Marc Gerstman, an Albany lawyer who has worked for the Defreestville Area Neighborhood Association since 2000.
He said neighbors wanted to see a project that included more office or residential space.
All four lawsuits went to the state Appellate Division and one went to the state Court of Appeals.
The first suit challenged the town's rezoning of the site. That suit was successful, but only to require additional review. Eventually the zoning was changed.Another lawsuit won the right to hold a referendum to create a village of Defreestville. But residents then voted to reject that plan.
The third lawsuit, filed in 2006, claimed some Planning Board members had a conflict of interest. It was rejected last year. Gerstman appealed, though the developer was allowed to begin clearing land.
The project is expected to include TJ Maxx and Famous Footwear, plus four other parcels.
"We hope it's the last in a long line of litigation," said lawyer Mary Beth Slevin of Stockli, Greene and Slevin LLP of Albany, who represented the developers.
Gerstman said he didn't know if his clients would seek an appeal.
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