AURELIUS - Plans for Fingerlakes Crossing passed another step in the approval process Monday night, but developers are waiting to break ground until prospective tenants commit to the 440,000 square feet of commercial space available.
"It will be more of a phased process," said Carol Zenzel, general counsel for The Cameron Group LLC. "It won't be that all of a sudden you'll have 440,000 square feet up there."
The Aurelius Town Board approved a planned development district for the project Monday night, a step required in changing the zoning in part of the 46 acres of land across from the Fingerlakes Mall to commercial. The town's planning board already recommended the board approve the project.
The Cameron Group LLC, which is the leasing agent for the Fingerlakes Mall, approached the town in October with a commercial project to potentially include retail, service and restaurants.
Site work could begin as early as fall, with construction starting next spring in preparation for openings next summer or fall, according to The Cameron Group's planned development district application. The first phase will not exceed 325,000 square feet.
The plan presented before the town board Monday night could change based on the tenants' needs. But it's difficult to get tenants to sign leases if the project hasn't yet been approved, Zenzel said.
To accommodate the plan's current size, there will be 4 1/2 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of commercial space, similar to the parking requirement for the Fingerlakes Mall.
In addition to commercial space, plans for Fingerlakes Crossing call for buffers of trees and greenery where the project abuts Routes 5 and 20, "so it's not going to look like a sea of pavement," Zenzel said.
"We've been trying to make this a project that is nice to the world as it goes by," she said.
It's also taken a lot of coordination with the state Department of Transportation to minimize the effect Fingerlakes Crossing would have on existing traffic from the mall. There are planned entrances to Fingerlakes Crossing across from the mall's eastern and central entryways on Routes 5 and 20.
Aurelius Supervisor Ed Ide said he wanted to make sure long-term concerns like traffic were properly addressed in the planning process to minimize potential harm in the future.
"We could get to enjoy those mistakes for years on end," he said. "You have to be careful about too much growth."
Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267
or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net
The Aurelius Town Board approved a planned development district for the project Monday night, a step required in changing the zoning in part of the 46 acres of land across from the Fingerlakes Mall to commercial. The town's planning board already recommended the board approve the project.
The Cameron Group LLC, which is the leasing agent for the Fingerlakes Mall, approached the town in October with a commercial project to potentially include retail, service and restaurants.
Site work could begin as early as fall, with construction starting next spring in preparation for openings next summer or fall, according to The Cameron Group's planned development district application. The first phase will not exceed 325,000 square feet.
The plan presented before the town board Monday night could change based on the tenants' needs. But it's difficult to get tenants to sign leases if the project hasn't yet been approved, Zenzel said.
To accommodate the plan's current size, there will be 4 1/2 parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of commercial space, similar to the parking requirement for the Fingerlakes Mall.
In addition to commercial space, plans for Fingerlakes Crossing call for buffers of trees and greenery where the project abuts Routes 5 and 20, "so it's not going to look like a sea of pavement," Zenzel said.
"We've been trying to make this a project that is nice to the world as it goes by," she said.
It's also taken a lot of coordination with the state Department of Transportation to minimize the effect Fingerlakes Crossing would have on existing traffic from the mall. There are planned entrances to Fingerlakes Crossing across from the mall's eastern and central entryways on Routes 5 and 20.
Aurelius Supervisor Ed Ide said he wanted to make sure long-term concerns like traffic were properly addressed in the planning process to minimize potential harm in the future.
"We could get to enjoy those mistakes for years on end," he said. "You have to be careful about too much growth."
Staff writer Liz Hacken can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 267
or elizabeth.hacken@lee.net
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