Guilderland Residences receives preliminary site-plan approval.

The Town of Guilderland Planning Board granted preliminary site-plan approval on August 26 for Guilderland Residences, a proposed 72-unit affordable and workforce housing development at 6 and 10 Mercy Care Lane. The Town has since issued notice of an October 6 hearing on the proposed change to planned unit development zoning.

A mix of affordable and workforce housing

The proposal covers 10.71 acres and includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. According to the September 10 memorandum and attached approval, 80 percent of the units would be reserved for affordable housing serving households at 30 to 60 percent of area median income. The remaining 20 percent would be workforce housing serving households at 80 percent of area median income.

These are the income targets described in the project materials. They are not an announcement that apartments are available, and the documents do not establish an application period, rents, or a construction-completion date.

What the Planning Board approved

The September 10 memorandum reports that the Planning Board voted 6-0, with one member recused, to grant preliminary site-plan approval. The attached approval is signed and dated August 26. It identifies the project as an Unlisted action with a negative declaration under the State Environmental Quality Review Act.

The Town Clerk-certified environmental resolution, now included in the October 6 packet, confirms that the Town Board adopted the negative declaration on August 18 by a 5-0 vote. The resolution classifies the proposal as Unlisted and determines that an environmental impact statement is not required. That environmental determination is separate from the zoning decision.

The approved document is expressly a preliminary site-plan approval. The Town's subsequent staff memorandum still identifies a change in zoning to a planned unit development, or PUD, as a pending step. The preliminary approval therefore should not be treated as completion of the rezoning process.

The approval carries conditions

The signed approval requires Town-designated engineer approval and revisions addressing engineering comments in an August 7 letter from CHA Consulting. It also calls for Highway Superintendent approval for proposed work in the Town's right-of-way.

Water and wastewater approval remains a condition. The document states that a sewer mitigation fee is to be determined by the Water and Wastewater Department with the sewer and water connection application.

The approval also lists park and recreation fund payments with the building-permit application: $1,200 per dwelling unit for multifamily units and $2,200 per dwelling unit for townhouses. The document does not provide a breakdown that would support calculating a total payment for the project.

A further hearing on the zoning change

The Town Clerk's notice dated September 24 confirms a public hearing on October 6, 2026, at 7 p.m. at Town Hall, 5209 Western Turnpike. The proposed local law would rezone the 10.71-acre site from R15 to PUD.

The notice states that project materials are available in the Planning Department Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The September 29 planner's memorandum continues to describe rezoning and final Planning Board review as remaining steps.

The hearing notice confirms the date, not approval of the zoning change. The next records to watch are the Town Board's decision on the proposed PUD and documents showing how the preliminary approval conditions are satisfied.