Genesee County planners tonight recommended approval of a site plan application from Genesee/Orleans Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse to tack on a two-story, 20-bed detoxification center to the agency’s Atwater House residential facility at 424 E. Main St.
The new 8,788-square-foot addition of the medically supervised detox center enhances GCASA’s ability to treat people afflicted with substance dependency who are seeking support and recovery.
“The great thing about this project is that it allows for the continuum of care,” said Raymond Murphy, representing the Orchard Park architectural firm of Fontanese Folts Aubrecht Ernst on behalf of GCASA.
The detox center will be constructed as a two-story, wood-framed building attached to the southern end of Atwater House. It will consist of 16 beds serving state regulations for medically supervised detoxification and four transitional residential beds (similar to those available at Atwater House).
Murphy pointed out that the architecture is “in kind to what is already on campus .. the proposed volume is two stories to match and fit in nicely with the existing volumes.” He added that clapboard siding and roofing materials similar to those already on Atwater House will be used.
Earlier today, GCASA Executive Director John Bennett said the new configuration will streamline the delivery of services to those in need.
“Operationally, the Atwater residence and the new 816.7 facility (denoting the Office of Addiction Services and Supports Part 816.7 regulation) will benefit from close proximity to one another,” Bennett said. “This will offer more flexibility, comfort and support to clients in transitioning to a residential program – a key component in the continuum of care.”
Bennett said overdose rates have increased significantly due to the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid epidemic.
“Addiction is a disease of isolation and the pandemic has certainly isolated people from being able to attend self-help meetings, group counseling and other forms of support,” he said. “When you couple people in early recovery with isolation, the odds of relapse become increased. We need short-term medical detox more than ever in our communities.”
A letter from the architect to the planning board indicated that the proposed location of the addition is fairly open and will require the removal of about 10 trees directly within the building and parking footprint.
It also noted that a new 13-space parking lot will be added, increasing the total number of spaces to 113 (including 18 of them leased from Cornell Cooperative Extension to the west).
Plans call for the first floor of the detox center to house the “communal” functions of the building such as dining, serving, group rooms, intake and employee offices, while the second story will be split into two wings, each of which will contain four shared bedrooms (two beds each) and a bathroom.
The center block – situated between the wings – contains a central lounge, client laundry and nursing/physician spaces.
The $3.6 million addition is being funded by OASAS capital projects and will create 20 or more new permanent jobs -- nurses, counselors and support staff -- as well as several temporary construction jobs, Bennett said.
Planning Board Member Tom Schubmehl called the detox center “a welcome addition to the community … relatives and friends who have had to go for any help have had to go a long ways to get there. So, it is nice that GCASA is doing this.”
Bennett said that the proposal and architectural renderings previously were reviewed by the City Planning & Development Committee.
“They loved the way we designed it in that we made sure that it flowed with the existing Atwater House,” Bennett said. “Overall, the response was very favorable.”
The City PDC is expected to make a final ruling on the site plan at its July 21 meeting.
In other action, planners recommended:
-- Approval of a special use permit site plan and downtown design review application from V.J. Gautieri Constructors Inc., to create 10 apartments on the second floor of the Save-A-Lot building at 45-47 Ellicott St.
A previous story of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative project, known as Ellicott Place, appeared on Wednesday.
Planners’ approval suggested that future development of ground floor commercial space address access and activation of the south elevation toward Ellicott Street, and that the applicant apply for 9-1-1 address verification with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Department to meet Enhanced 9-1-1 standards.
The DRI award was for $1.15 million; the balance of the $2.3 million venture will be funded through a loan with a financial institution, said Victor Gautieri, president of the Batavia company that owns the building.
In response to a question from Schubmehl about Save-A-Lot parking lot disruption during construction, Gautieri said crews will be operating for the most part within the east parking lot where most of the Save-A-Lot employees park their vehicles.
“We will be working in conjunction with those folks to make sure they still have access to the loading dock and make sure they have access to their side doors,” he said. “Save-A-Lot has been a tenant for quite some time and we have a good relationship with them.”
Gautieri said store management is “welcoming the redevelopment of the building and believe it’s going to enhance their sales.”
He said Save-A-Lot is planning a facelift of its own – “with new signage and reorientation within the store to freshen it up.”
Previously, Gautieri said the renovation will give the Ellicott Street neighborhood a long overdue modern look.
“When Ellicott Station (across the street) comes to be, it will complementary to ours and ours to theirs,” he said. “Hopefully, we will be able to attract some businesses that are not in Batavia now, which would be very good for the downtown area.”
-- Approval of a special use permit for Krista Lewis, on behalf of the Hesperus Lodge #837, to convert the first story of the historic building at 12 S. Lake Ave. (Route 19) in Bergen from a hair salon (Radiant Hair Designs) to a laundromat with micro-salon rentals.
In documents submitted to the planning board, Lewis indicated that she plans to install six washers and six dryers for the startup. The proposal calls for the laundromat to be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Additionally, three spaces are being set up for hair stylists to rent.
-- Approval of a site plan review submitted by Russ Walker to operate a candy shop in an existing commercial building at 21 Main St., Oakfield, location of the former Warner’s Flower Shop.
Approved as a gift shop in March, the operator is looking to add a 20-foot by 40-foot addition to the rear of the building. The addition would house a commercial kitchen, storage space and renovated bathroom.
According to plan documents, the new construction would be a pole barn design, with steel siding similar to the building on the other side of the municipal parking lot.
-- Approval of zoning text amendments to address solar energy systems and battery energy storage systems for the entire Town of Alabama.
Planning Director Felipe Oltramari said Alabama is the first local municipality to put battery energy storage systems into its zoning code, noting that he considers these primarily as standalone “accessories” to solar systems.
