Regional cancer center proposed next to Crossgates Mall
— Map from application packet
The property outlined in red is where the proposed cancer center would be built. Adjacent to it, the property marked in yellow is slated for a Costco retail center.
GUILDERLAND — New York Oncology Hematology is proposing a regional cancer center to be built on Crossgates Mall Road.
The $55 million center would be located on 8.36 acres in the Transit Oriented Development district at 4 Crossgates Mall Road, according to the application for a special-use permit filed with the town by Columbia Development Companies.
The 120,000-square foot, three-story building is to front Crossgates Mall Road with access from Gabriel Terrace and New Lehner Road.
The proposed use requires a minimum of 760 parking spaces and the applicant is proposing to install 600 parking spaces, which includes 25 parking spaces accessible for people with handicaps. The applicant filed an area variance, requesting a reduction in parking.
New York Oncology Hematology, the project narrative says, “is the region’s largest provider of cancer and blood disorder treatments with a team of 34 physicians and more than 350 cancer care specialists that treat more than 100,000 cancer visits a year.”
The new regional cancer center will include radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and “comprehensive cancer care.” The plan is to also have a prescription pharmacy with a drive-through lane, a “serenity garden,” and a picnic area.
The facility will take about 15 months to build, the narrative says.
Providers will see patients on a scheduled basis, the application says, and the center will operate from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The facility will have 275 employees and will receive deliveries for medical supplies, medications (both intravenous and oral), general supplies, radiopharmaceuticals, and medical supplies, the application says.
The Guilderland Planning Board is slated to review the site plan in January, according to the town’s website, before the zoning board decides on whether or not to approve the requested special-use permit.
In 2020, the planning board completed its review of three projects that Pyramid had proposed for land near its Crossgates Mall.
The planning board on Aug. 10, 2022 approved a site plan for the United Group of Troy, which had bought the site from Pyramid, for 192 apartments and 30 townhomes; United will not build 90 additional apartments that Pyramid had planned for the site at some point in the future.
Known as Apex Crossgates, the first phase of that project, located on a 19-acre parcel west of the mall, is to be completed in 2024.
A Costco with fueling stations is to be built on 16 acres, located between the mall and Route 20, Guilderland’s major thoroughfare. A fifth lawsuit challenging that project has yet to be decided.
The cancer center is proposed for the third site of about 11 acres next to the Costco site and similarly located between the mall and Route 20. To the east of the site is a hotel built by Pyramid, which it sold for $30 million in 2022 to a company based in Maine.
This is something the community actually needs. Luxury housing? No. Services? Yes. Now, how about if Guilderland gets some funding for affordable housing?