Updated with a new set of renderings.

The latest chapter in 1 Monument Square saga arrived at an important plot point Wednesday evening when the proposed movie theater project for the site went before the Troy planning commission.

A lot of people turned out for the presentation, and they had a lot to say. That's not a surprise -- this is one of the most high-profile real estate projects in the whole Capital District, and it's the fourth major attempt to get something built at the site.

Here's a quick scan of what people had to say, and a few thoughts about where things are at...

Quick background



The site last summer, looking up toward River Street and the square.

The proposed project involves an 11-screen luxury movie theater -- seating a total about 1200 people -- at the 1 Monument Square site in Troy. Bow Tie Cinemas is the theater operator, and Bonacio Construction is serving as the developer.

The movie theater would be at the River Street level, and parking for about 105 cars (and 100 bikes) would be below on the riverside level. A wide stair on the north end of the site would connect River Street to the riverfront.

The project was selected by the city of Troy -- it was one of two bids for the site -- in a process earlier this year.

Renderings

An updated set of rendering is at the top in large format -- click or scroll all the way up.

Movie theater = yes

Let's start with a point where there seems to be consensus: People are on board with the idea of a movie theater for downtown Troy. And further, there seems to be generally wide support for a movie theater at this site (though there were a few exceptions among the public commenters about using the site that way).

The reason for the support seems pretty straightforward. The theater is seen as a new way to draw people to downtown. That has the support of other business owners, among them Vic Christopher, who called the project "a home run." And it seems to appeal to members of the general public, some of whom are old enough to remember going to see movies downtown in the past.

How much does architecture matter?



Monument Square

That consensus only goes so far, though, and split at this question: How much has architecture contributed to the success of downtown Troy?

One group of people pushed the idea in their comments that, essentially, the architecture of the theater would be incidental compared to its function and role in the city. As Tim Taney, the owner of Slidin' Dirty, said: "The taxpaying residents and small businesses of Troy are what defines its character, not its architecture and building materials."

But others commented that the city's architecture has been a core component of what's made Troy distinctive. And in multiple comments, people said it was the look and feel of Troy that had drawn them to live and work there.

As one 2nd Street resident said in his comment, "I came here because it felt good."

The street and the river

So, let's take up some of the issues people have about the design. The complaints generally seem to break out into two categories: aesthetics and how the building interfaces with the street.

The look

One of the sticking points in previous rounds of the 1 Monument Square saga have been opposition to the insertion of a modern building into the Victorian-era streetscape. That doesn't necessarily seem to be the case this time around -- people actually seem OK with the idea that whatever gets built isn't going to look like. the historic buildings around the square.

Rather, what seems to concern the skeptics in this regard is that the proposed building is, stylistically, flat along a large portion of the River Street side and and almost all the river-facing back. New renderings showing huge blank walls along the Hudson side prompted multiple comments from people in this vein.

Tracy Kennedy, a 2nd Street resident, said the design evoked a Clifton Park strip mall, and the large blank walls reminded her of Central Warehouse in Albany. Others mentioned the Atrium, a Troy design epithet if ever there was one.

Said Michael Lopez in his comment: "I see a lot of blankness, that's sad to me."

During the initial presentation, that architect for the project mentioned they were looking at possibilities for adding some sort of visual texture to the river-facing side, and that prompted a few encouraging comments.

The interface with the street

The other major design concern mentioned by commenters was the way the current design interacts with River Street -- or, for most of its length, doesn't interact with River Street.

Barb Nelson -- who was the planning commission chair during the last attempt at this site -- argued this case during her comment. She pointed to Tai Xi's 3D rendering of an elevated theater space that allows for public space along River Street. And then -- in the spirit of offering constructive feedback -- offered up her own roughed-together concept: lifting the theaters up one level to allow some street level retail on the long face of the building, along with more parking behind:



Nelson's elevation as suggestion. (Click for a larger version.)

"Our mantra in Troy has become walkability, vibrancy, vitality. And it is the street life of a city that exhibits that and promotes that," she said in introducing her idea.

The concept got support from other people in comments that followed. And, perhaps most notably, two members of the commission -- Deborah Spence and Chuck Thomas -- both said they liked the idea of street level retail in their summary remarks at the end of the discussion.

Will the next version include that element? Sonny Bonacio, the developer behind the project, said afterward that they would take all the input into consideration and see what they can do, though he was noncommittal on the street level retail.

Bow Tie Cinemas chief operating officer Joe Masher was skeptical of the idea, noting Bow Tie required the building space for the movie theaters themselves. He said the planned luxury format of the theaters meant there were fewer overall seats per theater, so the company needed all the planned theater space. And he also questioned whether more retail space was needed in downtown Troy and pointed to the fact that there's already empty space there.

Troy turns out

It was a packed room for Wednesday evening's meeting. And, by our count, 21 people stood up to make public comments. And without exception, each of those comments was respectful and constructive, even if they were critical.

Sure, this is a high-profile project. But to get that many people to turn out on a lovely summer evening to contribute feedback -- or just witness what's going on -- is admirable.

Is this going to happen?

Making any sort of prediction about what's ultimately going to happen at 1 Monument Square is probably a foolish. The storyline here is full of false starts and weird ends.

But, hey, this time around no one threatened during a public meeting to bring legal action (previously). There don't seem to be many complaints about the planned use for the site. And the potential tenant seems committed.

We were also struck Wednesday evening by what's almost like a fatigue among people over this site. Multiple commenters -- both public and official -- mentioned a desire to get something done. As Joe Fama -- appearing in a personal capacity, not as director of operations for the Troy Community Land Bank -- said in his comment, he's tired of seeing the "grand hole at the end of the Broadway." He urged the planning commission to take a hard look at the project, "but let's get this thing built."