The village of Saranac Lake is taking the first public steps toward building affordable housing on a 10-acre former sand quarry, and residents got their first look at what could go there. Four early concepts were displayed at an open house at Harrietstown Town Hall, the Adirondack Explorer reported.
Planners were clear that these are rough ideas. "These are very preliminary ideas that haven't been fleshed out," said Leslie Karasin, Adirondack program director for the Northern Forest Center, which is advising the village.
The site
The property, known locally as "the sandpit," is available because it's running out of sand, said Village Trustee Jeremy Evans, who also sits on the village's Housing Advisory Board. He told the Explorer the land looks suitable for housing because it's flat, well located on Will Rogers Drive and close to public utilities. He added that further engineering study will be needed to confirm that, and that whatever is built has to be affordable.
The four concepts
According to the Adirondack Explorer:
- Concept One: Single-family homes under existing zoning and minimum lot sizes, with up to 17 lots.
- Concept Two: Duplexes and townhomes, 14 buildings with 28 units, with the western part of the flat area set aside for open space and recreation.
- Concept Three: A planned unit development mixing building types: two apartment buildings with 40 apartments total, five duplexes with 10 units and three single-family home sites, plus recreation space on the east and west sides.
- Concept Four: One apartment building with 22 apartments and a community room on the first floor.
Evans said planners purposely came up with a variety of designs to give people a sense of what was possible. "One concept is all single family homes, and one concept is a single, multi-unit apartment building. And then a couple options are in between," he said. Residents were asked to write likes and dislikes on sticky notes.
What residents said
Marge Murphy told the Explorer she liked the mix of duplexes and apartments and also the plan with free-standing homes. "I know that people here are tired of renting, and it's nice if they can build a little bit of equity," she said.
Kate Glenn, who has rented in the Adirondacks for 20 years, said the starter home market is tough. "When we look around, we see houses that are dilapidated and affordable, but need a lot of work," she said. "Or you're looking at $350,000 if you can find one."
Evans said the pandemic-era jump in home prices hasn't come back down and higher interest rates are now another barrier. "The demand is not going to go away," he said.
Why it matters for contractors
This project is at the very start, so there's no bid coming soon. But the four concepts tell North Country builders what kind of work could eventually come out of it, and the range is wide. A 17-lot single-family plan means road, utility and lot work plus a series of individual home builds, which suits local residential builders. A 22- or 40-unit apartment building is a bigger commercial-style job that may draw regional general contractors.
The mixed planned unit development in Concept Three would produce the most units, 53, and the most variety of work: apartments, duplexes and single-family homes on one site.
Engineering study comes next, and that matters. Because the site is a former quarry, soils, grading and drainage will shape cost and design. Contractors who do site work, foundations and utilities in the Adirondacks should follow the village's next steps. Small towns across upstate New York are looking at similar village-owned parcels for housing, so how Saranac Lake handles this one could become a model for others.