“Duanesburg Four Corners has seen better days.
Once a hub of activity in the town, the small hamlet at the bustling intersection of Western Turnpike and Duanesburg Road is now characterized by shabby buildings and vacant store fronts. But over the next few years, a collaborative effort between business owners, local leaders and county officials could transform the area into a place that will foster growth in an area of Duanesburg that hasn’t flourished for decades.
“That intersection will be drastically transformed in the up and coming year or two,” said Randy Passonno, president of the resurgent Duanesburg Business Association.
Changes in the works for the intersection include major facade improvement projects for two Western Turnpike businesses and the demolition of the dilapidated former Check Marks Realty building. Longer term projects include using federal stimulus funding to create an independent sewer district in the hamlet, which has experienced persistent septic problems over the years.
“That’s another piece of the puzzle,” Supervisor Rene Merrihew said.
The improvements could coincide with the demolition of the nearby Countryside Mart, which owner Dave Vincent has been planning since last fall. Vincent is in the process of determining the degree of ground contamination he must clear from the lot before razing the vacant building and redeveloping the property for commercial use.
The most immediate project to reach the hamlet will be the improvement of the Century 21 building and adjacent offices of Dr. Ze’Ev Weitz. Both buildings stand within a recently established corridor designation with the county Metroplex Development Authority.
The designation allows business owners to seek up to $30,000 of matching grants for facade improvements. Passonno said the owners of both buildings receiving Metroplex funding plan to drastically transform their storefronts.
“It’s an outstanding opportunity for a business to revitalize the entire appearance of their building for 50 cents on the dollar,” he said.
Even greater changes are slated for the western edge of the crossroads, where the town is hoping to construct a veteran’s memorial. County officials are in the process of foreclosing on the former Check Marks Realty building so that the derelict building can be demolished and the property can be cleared of environmental contamination.
The property was owned by the estate of Glen Marks, who hadn’t paid taxes on the property since 1995 before his death in 2006. County records show the property has accrued more than $56,000 of unpaid taxes.
Merrihew said the county intends to foreclose on the property sometime this summer and transfer it to the town, which would then seek grant funding through the state Department of Environmental Conservation to remove soil contaminated by five buried fuel tanks. Once the property is cleared, the town and local civic associations would work to build a small pocket park, including a gazebo and garden to honor Duanesburg’s veterans.
“It would certainly go a long way to promoting the hamlet to new businesses,” she said.
The changes can’t come soon enough for lifelong resident Bart MacDougall, who has watched Duanesburg Four Corners deteriorate into what it is today. He was pleased to hear of plans to revive the intersection.
“It sounds like a winner,” he said.”
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Mason, Justin. Schenectady Daily Gazette 17 April 2009.