Press Releases

Contact: Edward Patanian – 674-8176

EJP, Inc. Developer of quality home communities since 1985
Edward Patanian, President
Press Release

SAND LAKE TOWN BOARD APPROVES  MIXED-USE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT ZONING CHANGE

Decision gives go-ahead to one of Region’s first Traditional Neighborhood Developments

SAND LAKE, N.Y. – The West Sand Lake Town Board, at its Thursday July 24 meeting, approved a local developer’s application to rezone a 92-acre parcel on NYS 43 from a residential classification to a Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND) marking one of the first such approved developments in the Capital District. 

With the approval, Edward Patanian, president of EJP, Inc., a Rensselaer County-based developer and realty firm, will move forward with plans to establish the TND - a mixed-use commercial and residential district he will call the Bon Acre Development.

“I’m pleased with the decision of the Board and its commitment to the future of the town,” Patanian said. “I’m confident this development will be a tremendous asset to the area; TNDs have been very successful in other areas of the country. Sand Lake is ahead of the curve in this Region by embracing this approach to smart growth.”

Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TND) have been proposed and are in various stages of the approval process in other Capital Region communities, including Saratoga County.

Patanian submitted the rezone application to the Sand Lake Town Board in November 2000, and a draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was submitted to the board in Jan. 2003. The town board accepted the EIS as complete in February. Work, including hard plan design, is slated to begin in early 2004; overall development construction is expected to run over a ten year period. Patanian estimates total project investment at $60 million over that period. 

In what Patanian calls a “community center” or “main street” model, the Bon Acre plan calls for the establishment of numerous businesses, single-family and senior residential units, and recreation areas linked together in a traditional pattern with sidewalks and pedestrian-level lighting. The project will also feature hiking trails, ponds, and open space surrounding the Bon Acre development. The project, in all, includes 92 acres, about 45 acres of which is slated for open space and recreation areas.

“The Bon Acre Development will compliment the existing hamlets of Sand Lake and Averill Park,” Patanian said. “As the Capital Region grows as a result of investments in Tech Valley, developments like Bon Acre will be in greater demand since they can effectively enhance the tax base and provide quality commercial and housing opportunities. Moreover, when developed with strict design standards, growth is executed in a planned fashion, which is not often the case with traditional zoning patterns.”