SARATOGA REPORT

Stewart’s eyes expansion of Stewart’s Express shop on South Broadway at Lincoln Avenue – house at 28 Broadway would be demolished to make room

 

By Saratoga Report Publisher Dan De Federicis

Stewart’s Shops Corp. has a plan pending at the Saratoga Springs Design Review Board to essentially double the size of the Stewart’s Express Mobil gas station/convenience store located at 177 S. Broadway in Saratoga Springs.

This information was reported this week by the Albany Business Review.  The site, at the corner of Lincoln Avenue, was a “Red-Kap” gas station and convenience store until purchased by Stewart’s in 2020.

Renderings of  an expanded  Stewart’s  as  seen  from  South  Broadway  (above)  and  Lincoln  Avenue  (below).

A neighbor of that location residing at 26 Lincoln Avenue wrote a letter of support  to the planning board for  the  project  as it was presented, which includes the demolition of the multi-unit residential building at 28 Lincoln Avenue.  He indicated his support was conditioned on the current plan’s configuration of having the gas pumps closer to South Broadway and the new Stewart’s store building being along Lincoln Avenue, further back from the pumps. Such a configuration, the writer noted, would have the building serve as a buffer between the pumps and the homes along Lincoln Ave.

This building above at 28 Lincoln Ave would be demolished to make room for an expansion of Stewart’s at 177 South Broadway.

 

Stewart’s Senior Vice President of facilities Chad Kiesow told Saratoga Report that the smaller “Express” locations, such as the South Broadway location, were not a concept that Stewart’s preferred.  “We certainly first and foremost want full service stores,” Kiesow told Saratoga Report. “We want stores with grab and go items, ice cream, groceries plus fuel and/or charging stations.”

Saratoga Report asked whether a full service store at South Broadway and Lincoln Avenue would cause closure of the nearby Stewart’s at South Broadway and Circular Street, which is a short walk away.  Kiesow, noting the significant foot and cross traffic that feeds the Circular St. location, stated “We are confident they can coexist.”

The project was first submitted via a “sketch plan” in early 2022.  “We are waiting to get to the Zoning Board of Appeals stage of the process,”  He indicated. “We are hopeful to find an efficient path from this point forward.”

Saratoga Report will continue monitoring this development and report on any changes or progress.