Developers Ed Green and Scott Shannon returned to the Cazenovia village board last week with a revised plan for a Riverside Drive development. The revision includes about 40 additional parking spaces, for a total of about 140, and a design more in keeping with the historic business district. The additional parking spaces would be possible based on new plans to acquire property adjacent to the original development site. Shannon and Green hope to purchase portions of some Albany Street properties. The developers also hope to allow access to the property from Albany Street, which would require the acquisition and demolition of a building. The new design offers improved navigation in the parking lot and would minimize the impact on Riverside Drive; most traffic would come directly from Albany Street. The design also breaks up the appearance of the structure, breaking up one 60-foot fa ade into two 30-foot ones. Neighbors expressed some concerns about the development.
Darlene Pulkinen, of Riverside Drive, was worried about the thought of three-to-four-story residences looking into her backyard. “When we bought the property, we knew that there was going to be something going in there,” she said. “We just didn’t anticipate this size.” Pulkenin said despite her concerns, she appreciated the limited Mill Street access in the new plan. The developers will now begin talking to the neighbors to try and purchase property. They said that, realistically, construction could begin next spring, in about 14 months.