Developer presents Pelly Acres project

On Wednesday, a packed auditorium at 56 Main St. in Owego welcomed the developers of Pelly Acres, a 40-unit affordable housing project proposed by Two Plus Four Construction and Lakewood Development. 

The meeting, which lasted for two hours, saw a roomful of residents in attendance, some from the Halstead Development located above the proposed project site on Route 434, and near Montrose Turnpike.

Sue Kimmel, owner and developer, presented the details of the project, and addressed questions fielded by members in attendance. 

One concern by residents of the project was whether or not the housing would be subsidized. According to Kimmel, the units will be affordable, not subsidized. 

“Subsidized is when the tenant pays thirty percent of the rent, and the government picks of the rest,” said Kimmel, adding, “Not this program.”

The project, situated on seven of 19 acres, will have ten one-bedroom units, six three-bedroom units, and 24 two-bedroom units. Of the units, Kimmel further explained, ten will be for residents from Achieve that are able to live independently.

As for projected rent, Kimmel estimates the units will run from $650 to $1,000 a month.

Another concern, which was addressed during the meeting, was storm water management.

According to the company’s expert, Rudy Zona from RZ Engineering, PLLC, they will be using a wet swale that will have a controlled outlet for storm water runoff. Zona stated that he is working with New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation, and will be following their recommendations and mandates.

Another concern of residents was the company’s use of the PILOT program, or Payment-in-lieu-of-taxes. 

Kimmel addressed this at Wednesday’s meeting, stating that the assessment through the PILOT program is actually higher than what she would pay through assessment based taxes.

When asked why she would choose the higher payment, Kimmel explained that the PILOT provided more predictability for investors. 

As for increased traffic concerns, Kimmel stated that a study is not needed, as the additional traffic is considered low-impact.

“At most they will put in a stop sign versus a yield sign at the bottom of Montrose Turnpike,” said Kimmel.

As far as the selection of the proposed location, Kimmel explained that she worked with the Industrial Development Agency and the County to select a site that was large enough for the project, and outside of the flood plain.

In November of 2017, the company withdrew an application for a Special Use permit for a similar project proposed in the Turtletown area of Owego.

The selected location for Pelly Acres is land owned by Catherine Nobiletti, and will be purchased once a zoning change is approved, and when the developers move forward with the project. Nobiletti was in attendance at Wednesday’s meeting.

The zoning change involves a request by Two Plus Four Construction and Lakewood Development to have the site rezoned as an R3 versus an R2. According to Kimmel, as an R2 they would have to subdivide the units, which could potentially add $300,000 to the overall cost of the construction.

Thus far in the zoning request process, the Village Planning Board had no consensus, and the County Planning Board met and recommended approval.

On Oct. 1, a public hearing on the matter will take place at 6 p.m. at the Hubbard Auditorium, located at 56 Main St. in Owego. The Board will take public comment on the Two Plus Four project rezone, as well as the Applied Technology request for rezone.

Following the meeting, the regular Village Board meeting will take place.

According to LeAnn Tinney, director of Economic Development, in the case of a zone change it is the Village Board of Trustees that holds the power of the vote.

Note from the Editor: Following our print edition, we received word from Owego’s Mayor that Monday’s public hearing will take place beginning at 7 p.m. We will try to clarify this on Monday, as we are getting conflicting times from two different sources involved with Monday’s meeting.