Colonie, Asian food market, retail space proposed for former National Lead Industries site:
https://www.timesunion.com/news/arti...0colonie%20now
The federal government spent more than $190 million cleaning up uranium contamination on the site
"The former National Lead Industries site on the border of Colonie and Albany may become a 40,000-square-foot Asian supermarket and commercial hub.
The 11.29-acre parcel at 1130 Central Ave. was the site of one of the biggest environmental cleanups in Capital Region history.
The proposal from the Ren Garden Group calls for a town road to be built to connect several business areas around the site.
“The owner recognizes that this parcel is unique, being zoned industrial and having the opportunity to connect multiple business corridors,” wrote Thomas Fromberger, an engineer representing the owner, in an application to the town.
Asian Center Mall LLC of Amherst paid the General Services Administration $2.15 million for property in 2022. The owners behind both companies, Rockey Ren and Qing Li, own several large Asian food markets in upstate New York, including Syracuse and Amherst.
In addition to the supermarket, the owners’ plans call for 6,600 square feet of retail space attached to the market, a 14,500-square-foot warehouse and distribution building, and a 2,300-square-foot fast food restaurant with a drive-thru, according to documents filed with the town’s Planning Board. The project will be introduced at the May 21 board meeting.
The store would be less than a mile east of Asian Supermarket at 1245 Central Ave. and four miles east of Farmer’s India Market.
To make the project work, the developers want to connect Railroad Avenue, Central Avenue and Osborne Road with a new town road, an option the town has previously said it would consider. The road improvements would be phased in after the construction of the Asia Food Market building, according to the proposal.
National Lead Industries operated as a foundry from 1937 to 1984 and began producing items manufactured from uranium and thorium in 1958 under state and federal licenses. Surrounding grounds and buildings became contaminated with uranium, and the plant closed in 1984 under a state court order — with the federal government eventually spending more than $190 million on the cleanup.
A state Department of Health study of the impacts on workers and neighbors of the plant found 94 percent of workers and 8 percent of residents had detectable amounts of depleted uranium in their urine, with remaining individuals in both groups having traces of natural uranium, according to results released by the DOH. A 2004 CDC study found those who breathed in depleted uranium emissions in the past could have increased health risks, but contact with contaminated soil did not appear to be a public health hazard.
The site, which is industrially zoned, was fully remediated save for some environmental easements."
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
