Great American Bought - Health and Resident PDA To Come

By Joshua Walther

SCHOHARIE - During the Schoharie Village Board last Tuesday, both trustees and the audience heard remarks from Dr. Elbialy’s engineering and architect team about their project proposal.

Last week, Dr. Hazem Elbialy acquired the old Great American lot across from Schoharie Dental and submitted a Proposed Development Area, or PDA, to the Village Board for a special mixed use zoning permit.

In attendance at the Tuesday meeting, Dr. Elbialy brought his attorney, engineer, and architect to publicly share their plans for remaking the decaying lot into a space for professional healthcare and residential buildings

Introducing the project as a two phase development, the team will first work to remove vegetation and demolish the old building that remains on the lot.

Once the property is cleared, work will begin on the two-story healthcare building and the four apartment complexes that will accompany it, totalling forty six apartments.

The healthcare building will be built in the northwest portion of the lot to line Main Street, while the complexes and stormwater drainage will be along the eastern portion. A parking lot, concrete sidewalks, a recreational sports area, and a playground plan to be tucked away behind vegetation screening along the lot’s perimeter.

The lot will have dual entrances, connecting to Main Street for commercial traffic and Furman Drive for residential use.

As the second phase begins, the healthcare building will receive an additional two-story wing connected by a green area and a glass bridge.

Once the project’s basis was laid, Architect Brian Messana explained a sketch of a rough visual render, saying that the team will strive to give each building a “neighborhood feel,” something that Mayor Colleen Henry praised them for.

“This does look really great,” Mayor Henry stated when the presentation came to a close. “I think this is really something to be excited about.”

However, while the Board was looking forward to seeing progress, Mayor Henry also warned the team that it might be a lengthy process to achieve the PDA that they’re looking for.

The Board stated that they will review the proposal application before holding a public hearing, where the Planning Board will then take over in an advisory role. Until then, the project will be in stasis for the time being.