After hours on Wednesday evening, activity on the acreage on North Albany Road had stopped for the day.
As usual, seeing earth-moving equipment on a big piece of vacant land on North Albany Road has prompted questions on Facebook and elsewhere: What’s going to be built there?
The answer is nothing — yet.
Glorietta Bay LLC, one of the companies of Albany developer Scot Lepman, owns two lots totaling just under 8 acres on the north side of the driveway to North Albany Middle School.
In 2012 the City of Albany issued a permit to place fill on the vacant part of the land in order to raise it above the level of a 100-year flood.
The property is zoned for residential development and 10,000-square-foot lots. City records available online report a pre-application meeting with the planning staff in December 2022 about the possibility of rezoning the land to allow a planned development of about 60 dwellings in pods of three or four townhouses each.
No request for rezoning has been filed. So what about all that current activity there?
“The North Albany Road property is just being graded for future development,” said Candace Ribera of the Lepman organization. “We currently don’t have any development plans for the property and any development on the property would require us submitting an application.”
It’s clear that the property will be built up with some form of housing one of these days. But as I said above: Not yet. (hh)
Developing and Lepman… hmmm?
No doubt it’s multi residential, in the prime area of Northernites which high end apartments will be built that few under 40 years old can afford.
North Albany residents have fought to stop, but the city shrugs and issues permits to develop anyway….eventually
Ah, yes. Lepman, the Building Czar with pockets spilling over with money….
Scott & his team have built his business from ground up and has done a large number of good projects over many years. He & we have benefited from his expertise over the time he’s done so. Other communities should be so lucky!
LOL ok!
I figured I would get a shout-out from Ray….who is head cheerleader for anything associated with Lepman or CARA. As someone typed, Ok, Ray, LOL!
The kudos to him are very well earned & deserved…
Fantastic news!!! I honestly can’t think of a better location for 180 to 240 townhouses. I seriously cannot wait until they’re built and of course for morning and evening rush hour on N. Albany Road. Thank you City of Albany. You’ve always got our backs.
Has anyone thought to ask where the water will be diverted to when/if another flood like the one in 1963 occurs? Those with property to the north, the middle and grade school could be the ones receiving the re-routed river flow.
Just asking?
There are significant ground water quality and supply issues as well. The infrastructure doesn’t exist to facilitate so many new units. Anyone buying one will be very unhappy with the additional fees to upgrade the system. You’d be a fool to buy without waiting for the city to be forced to update the infrastructure first.
Stop the townhome madness in North Albany!!! Mere mortals can’t afford the rent on the ones on Water St, what do they think the North Albany units will do? We need to vote out the city housing kickback group, because they obviously don’t listen to us constituents, whom they work for.
Agree! Paying attention to make sure my vote goes toward exactly that!
What’s going on in Millersburg at Old Salem road and Conser? Strange configuration of the fencing.
Thank you for the update Hasso. I was just wondering about the activity there today. I thought to myself, hmmm houses or apartments will be going in….hopefully not apartments. I know Scott Lepman has oodles of multi-family properties in Albany, it would be great if he built some modest homes on large lots there. Scott, I hope you are reading this. Also looking forward to seeing the St. Francis when completed and the Old Post Office too. Just wish those projects were not funded by CARA $$, I mean our tax dollars.
Thanks Hasso !
I grew up in Albany for 40 years and reading your stories after being gone for 32 years now brings back fond memories of Albany 1952 to 1993. Good Times !
Excessive traffic generated by over-building of new subdivisions in North Albany is making it much more difficult to get to downtown Albany to shop. Now, it’s a lot easier to just turn right on Hwy 20 and head for Corvallis.
Also, for the love of money, please, tell me again, if/when there’s a natural disaster, North Albany evacuates how?
His attempt at a massive development with 80+ units off of Gibson Hill has only one point of egress for automobiles. Runs completely contrary to accepted planning best practices. Total death trap in a disaster situation. Emergency services could also be blocked getting to a 911 call. What is going on with planning?
OK. Thank you for the many miles you log on your bike to keep us informed.
Yes, thanks Hasso for all the reporting!