Planning board declares lead agency for 309 College Ave; developers outline 77‑unit, 8‑story plan

The Planning and Development Board voted to declare itself lead agency for environmental review of a proposed eight‑story, by‑right MU‑2 apartment building at 309 College Avenue during its Jan. 27 meeting.

Project overview: the design team presented an eight-story, roughly 55,000‑square‑foot building with 77 dwelling units and 112 beds, a mix of unit types that included four‑bedroom clustered rooms, studios and one‑bedrooms. Ground-floor programming described a potential game-room tenant and three retail spaces; the team said they were talking with a potential operator and may slightly increase retail square footage depending on the operator’s needs.

Design elements: presenters highlighted an illuminated tenant portal, varied façade materials, dimensional asymmetric massing intended to break down building scale and a scheme for light wells and setbacks to preserve daylight for adjacent properties. Designers said they are minimizing basement excavation due to neighboring shallow foundations and plan to screen roof-mounted condensing units.

Lead‑agency vote: the board formally moved to declare the board lead agency. Motion: Jenny Sutcliffe; second: Max Pfeffer. Roll-call vote: Andy Roman—Yes; Max Pfeffer—Yes; Jenny Sutcliffe—Yes; Peggy Tully—Yes; Emily Petrina (Chair)—Yes. Chair Petrina said: "So we are your lead agency." The vote will allow the board and staff to proceed with SEQR coordination and the environmental review process.

Board requests: members asked for clarified grading and sidewalk cross-sections, more detailed landscape plans and nighttime renderings that show lighting at the entry and retail zones. Several members flagged the need for three‑dimensional material studies for the light wells and how the height will read from Linden Avenue.

Next steps: the developer team will return with further design details including material samples, a grading plan and an indication of how light wells and retail entries will operate in the streetscape context. The board’s lead‑agency determination begins the formal environmental-review coordination process for the project.

Ending: The board’s action does not approve the project; it establishes the board’s role in coordinating environmental review while the design team develops requested technical materials.