The land, most of which the town owns, is now in a Planned Development District, which would allow for waterfront shops, office buildings, apartments and a mix of multi- and single-family housing to be constructed.
View full sizeTown of Clay supervisor Mark Rupprecht (left) and Naomi Bray point out sites on the opposite shore of the Oswego River as they stand for a photo in 2003 at the Three Rivers junction in Clay. The two have been involved in the effort to convert the area into an improved, multi-use spot.Clay, NY -- Clay town officials’ vision to transform Three Rivers Point into a hamlet along the state’s busiest lock in the 524-mile canal system is slowly moving forward.
Town board members Monday night voted to rezone the 75-acre site on Route 57, north of Route 31, near where the Oneida, Seneca and Oswego rivers meet.
The land, most of which the town owns, is now in a Planned Development District, which would allow for waterfront shops, office buildings, apartments and a mix of multi- and single-family housing to be constructed.
The zone change also allows the town to apply for state grants to finish cleaning up the “brownfield” site, which is partly contaminated, so it eventually can be redeveloped. There is a fuel spill on about one acre of the former Cibro asphalt plant that once occupied a 66-acre lot on Maider Road. The rest of the site is not contaminated, said Town Attorney Robert Germain.
The town started acquiring land at Three Rivers Point about 10 years ago, Clay Supervisor Damian Ulatowski said.
Three Rivers was once home to a hotel that attracted entertainers, including The Pointer Sisters and Frank Sinatra in the 1950s and 60s, Ulatowski said.
“I’ve heard stories that it was the place to go,” he said. The building on the west side of Route 57, once called Three Rivers Inn, was demolished in 2003.
Rusted and long-idled asphalt storage tanks on the east side of Route 57, on Maider Road, were once owned by Cibro. The tanks were removed from the site in 2005. The town has a contract to demolish three remaining buildings on the former Cibro site.
The rezoning also includes a Northern Ready Mix concrete plant, which sits on two acres on the south side of Maider Road, and a former Sunoco asphalt station, on nine acres on the north side of Maider Road.
Because different areas of Three Rivers Point had different zoning designations, the state requested that the town rezone the land so that the town has more control over how the project is redeveloped, Germain said. Planning Development District gives the town the most flexibility and control over the development, he said.
The town has invested more than $1 million — all state grants and matching funds — in the Three Rivers project. No firm development decisions have been made, but ideas include a mix of residential, commercial, public park and marina areas.
Ulatowski said he hopes to have the site “shovel ready” — cleaned up and ready for development — within the next few years.
Catie O’Toole can be reached at cotoole@syracuse.com or 470-2134.