SARANAC LAKE - A retail developer met with village officials last year to discuss the possibility of acquiring the village sand pit property, but the deal never materialized, village Mayor Tom Michael told the Enterprise Monday.
Michael wouldn't name the company that expressed an interest in the property, which was sought by Walmart four years ago, but he described it as a "national" retail corporation. The company looked at several sites in the community, and the 10-acre sand pit was the one "that made the most sense to them," Michael explained.
"The village manager and community development director met with their representative, talked to them and gave them information to see if the site was viable for them," Michael said. "In the end it wasn't."
Difficulty getting road access to the site off of Lake Flower Avenue was the main reason the proposal never moved forward, Michael said.
The company wanted to build a retail store on the site, but not necessarily a large box store, he explained.
"It certainly wasn't a 100,000-square-foot store or even an 80,000-square-foot store," Michael said. "It would have met any regulations in the community."
Michael said the structure the company was planning would have fit within the village's temporary retail size cap, which was enacted in August 2008 and prohibits single retail stores larger than 60,000 square feet and shopping centers bigger than 90,000 square feet.
One of the largest undeveloped parcels in the village, the sand pit property was sought by Walmart, along with several adjacent properties, as part of a plan to build a 121,000-square-foot supercenter in 2006. But the mega-retailer dropped its plans after a narrow majority of the village Board of Trustees, with Michael casting the deciding vote, halted the process of rezoning the property for commercial use.
Since that time, Michael said there has been other interest in the site.
"We've talked to many different companies, and we're just trying to get the right fit," he said.
Community Development Director Jeremy Evans said he's talked to more than one developer who wanted information about the property, but nothing has been proposed.
"We meet with developers on occasion," he said. "That's our job. Obviously we can't negotiate with them; that has to be done by the village board. But we start the conversations and try to answer their questions. Nothing has come of it yet."
The village has been working to make the property ready for development, Michael said. In June, the board agreed to rezone the northern portion of the parcel, behind Crossfield Avenue, to allow for residential use while also rezoning the southern portion, behind Aldi, for commercial use. The village has also been working to modify its mining permit and is trying to create a better access point to the property, possibly by crossing the back of the Aldi parcel, Michael said.
"The village owns the sand pit, and we're not going to need to own it in the somewhat near future," he said. "We are working to ready it for development. It is a valuable site. Unfortunately we haven't found anybody that's willing to go to contract yet for the property."
Michael, who's seeking another term in office in the March village election, said the interest in the site is a sign that Saranac Lake is attractive to businesses.
"The good news is the Saranac Lake market and the Tri-Lakes market is viable for these retailers," he said. "The deal will come together eventually. It's just a matter of time."
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Contact Chris Knight at 891-2600 ext. 24 or cknight@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.