This was one of the slides the Albany Planning Commission saw Monday before endorsing the annexation of 37 acres for the proposed “East Albany Town Center.”
A proposal to add around a thousand housing units on Albany’s east side is sailing through the city’s approval process without anybody asking questions related to growth.
On Monday the city’s planning commission voted to recommend approval of the annexation and zoning of 11 parcels totaling nearly 37 acres near Timber Steet and Spicer Drive to allow the construction of what developers call the “East Albany Town Center.”
The vote was unanimous after a public hearing at which no one voiced opposition. The commission had no questions either, nor any discussion before the vote.
The final decision is up to the city council, which will hold a hearing on Feb. 25. But the council has already endorsed the project. Last year it authorized the city staff to initiate the annexation.
The development calls for various types of housing, from single family homes to seven-story apartment buildings, plus 50,000 square feet of commercial place. It is being promoted as a walkable community.
The presentation to the planning commission acknowledged various challenges including how to keep the dwellings affordable. Another was how to deal with transportation.
Whether any of this housing is built may depend on the future availability of state and federal subsidies. So it may be a while before peak-hour drivers on Santiam Highway in that area near I-5 have to be ready for another thousand cars from the walkable “town center.” (hh)
In 2023, I snapped this shot of the open fields south of this end of Timber Street, where lots of housing units are being proposed.
“Whether any of this housing is built may depend on the future availability of state and federal subsidies. So it may be a while before peak-hour drivers on Santiam Highway in that area near I-5 have to be ready for another thousand cars from the walkable “town center.”
While that may be true, it will also depend on the willingness of a developer to put their money on the line for the lion’s share of the costs – before a dime comes in from potential renters and/or buyers.
Why would anyone bother asking or questioning…they are gonna ram it down the taxpayers’ throats anyways…infrastructure be damned!!
Why isn’t Albany building a new hospital? Our old hospital in the historic district makes no sense. Horrible location.
Hospitals are closing in various areas across the U.S. There is no money to build new hospitals. Corvallis Clinic almost went under and had to sell to Optum. Samaritan went in partnership with an outfit up in Western Washington in order to be able to pay Samaritan’s bills and to stay open.
Best way to develop that land is to allow a manufactured home community to go in for 55+ or families. That would be much lower traffic impact, would allow for home ownership and equity, and with two home building factories just a few miles away, they could be built more affordably per unit than anything else. That’s not what the city wants, they want high dollar, high density infrastructure that pays taxes.
No one really wants another trailer park, Ben.
I wish the decision makers would let us know, just what their long term vision actually is.
How many people and cars do they think are desirable , in 10,20,50 100yrs.
Do they think that the trajectory they are leading us down will be beneficial to their grandchildren and great grandkids?
I wish it was actually possible to get society to think beyond its short term greed and focus on how we can actually maintain our quality of life , our environment and preserve it for our great great great grandkids.
Unfortunately it ain’t gonna happen,,
So, “Drill Baby Drill” we might as well use it all up since we don’t give a hoot about future generations. What the hell We Deserve It!!!!
Thank you Hasso, you are doing the community a great service, given the demise of the DH, we all owe you.
You are welcome to a free bundle of asparagus per week from our stand when it is in season.
DH? What’s a DH? LOL! (Just kidding).
“I wish the decision makers would let us know, just what their long term vision actually is.”
Take a look at the South Albany Plan and now the East Albany Plan. Considering all the constraints due to LCDC, etc., they are very well thought out IMO. Even the SA plan is just now being “developed.”
Will they totally match the idealized vision from years ago? That will be up to the developer(s) over time depending on the rules at the time they make their plans.
Regardless, people are moving to Albany and the population will continue to grow. Having these long-range plans available to show prospective developers is a good thing…
“Idealized Vision”… Interesting comment. I remember observing the development of the “Albany 2000 Plan” (sp?) including a cool miniature model when I was in high school. My dad was on the downtown committee that led that plan. It was a fun process. Was that vision totally realized, in the form of a revitalized and “walkable” downtown? Not completely. Broadalbin did not become a pedestrian only mall. More old buildings were torn down than updated. But some of it happened, including the gentrification / rebuilding of housing in the downtown core and the Riverwalk. The Flinn Mall was built, though did not survive as conceived without the entire plan being realized. This long-term planning is more visionary than a blueprint for the future. But it is useful in providing a roadmap, no matter which turns are taken.
Correct! And you can guarantee those plans will change and evolve over time…
With the birth rate dropping nationwide where are the new residents going to come from?
Nationwide demographics show slowing birthrate. Who are going to fill these?
This is not Albany poor planning, this is what Salem wants for Oregon, high density living. If you want to see what high density living does to an area look at Hong Kong island, thousands of people living in abject squaller. If this is built, which is probably a foregone conclusion, it will quickly become a low rent slum in just a few years. I wouldn’t be surprised if ALL of the nearby current residents start fleeing very soon because something like this will devastate housing prices. Way to go Albany. This is how communities are destroyed.
Hong Kong?
Good grief.
Low rent slum?
Oh please.
Thanks for the humor.
The 37 acres in question for this large development is wetland.
It will take a huge amount of fill to bring that land up to a level where the water dosen’t settle.
I would think it necessary to consider that another I 5 on off ramp will be necessary as it’s 4 miles between albany and the 34. You’re going to start having southern California traffic considering the 20 and the bridge, plus this upcoming mess.
The aerial photo does appear to indicate that it would be “infill” development, since there are already parcels with existing developments surrounding the area that is being “considered” for annexation. But the availability of tax credit financing, combined with construction costs that just continue to increase, will impact how quickly the development actually starts, if/when the annexation is approved. But the true “walkability” will be determined by what retail/office/commercial tenants the spaces are leased to, once the development is actually done. Unless the spaces are leased to tenants that the residents are willing to walk to, there is no incentive to give up driving to Costco or other similar businesses.
The council needs to concentrate on fixing the problems and infrastructure we currently have before adding all of this additional strain.
Rubber stamp City Council, slave to development. Livability and traffic be damned.
Do you even know how city government works?! This was passed by the Planning Commission.
In this process, the VFW building is being traded out for the promise of a “new building” … What about the old Eagles building downtown? Why are we trying to update with subpar building materials for massive amounts of money, when high quality buildings exist already that would take much less to bring into gem-like quality? Why do we want a new area in town to house businesses that you will have to drive to? Does the mall look awesome to anyone? These are the areas where commercial business needs to remain. Stop using up arable land like they are minting more of it, what we have is it. Refresh our community. Improve our current systems. If we need more apartments, then use the least amount of land that you can, and try to add them into the existing city areas. These new places are never going to be affordable for people, and if you build it, they will come here. Do you want them here? Have we not all had enough of outside influences yet? Our local children have no hope of home ownership and financial success if you keep building and selling to make people from outside communities happy… Keep our grass ours. Build smart, use resources smart, quit wasting so that it benefits the few.