Downstate developer Ben Aronson of PropUp Group wants to construct a five- to six-story complex that would wrap around the Algonquin Building on Broadway in Saratoga Springs, bringing up to 112 apartments and ground floor commercial tenants to the center of downtown.
Less than a year after Aronson purchased the half-acre parking lot on Broadway from the city for $1.2 million, the Rockland County developer has filed preliminary plans to re-imagine the property.
Aronson is working on the project with The LA Group Landscape Architecture and Engineering as well as Frost Hurff Architects, both of Saratoga Springs.
The property is located between Aronson’s 29-unit Algonquin apartment building and the three-story Collamer Building, home to several office and retail tenants. Plans for the new development include 4,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and the building would include frontage on Broadway, Maple Avenue and Ellsworth Jones Place.
“The applicant would like to gain input from the planning board prior to commencing with a formal application to the board this fall,” wrote Matthew Brobston, an associate principal for The LA Group in documents filed with city planners.
Aronson was not immediately available for comment. The estimated cost of the project and proposed apartment sizes likely will not be available until a formal application is filed.
The developer and property manager’s family has a long history of doing business in Saratoga Springs and neighboring communities, developing a large commercial area near Exit 15 of the Interstate 87 Northway and constructing a private religious school between Route 50 and Excelsior Avenue in the city. The Aronson family also operated Standard Furniture on the ground floor of the Algonquin Building for many years.
Now, Ben Aronson is in the early stages of an urban-infill project seeking to transform a parking lot that was home to the First Presbyterian Church until the late 1970s.
A sketch plan filed with the city calls for the construction of a private plaza and patios, plus a civic space along Broadway for art shows and live performances. Plans also include below grade parking for residents with enough space to accommodate 90 to 149 vehicles.
In addition to his proposed investment in downtown Saratoga Springs, Aronson is on the verge of expanding his industrial real estate portfolio in the region. He plans to purchase DCG Development’s Tech Valley Flex Park near the intersection of Route 9 and Wood Road in Clifton Park.
The developer is requesting tax incentives through the Clifton Park Industrial Development Agency to offset part of the $14.06 million cost of acquiring the land and constructing two more warehouses. That expansion would add 71,000 square feet of warehouse, manufacturing and office space. The project at 25-27 Wood Road would double the total square footage in the park.
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