Watervliet

The 137-foot tall bell tower and facade of St. Patrick's Church would be saved from demolition under a plan that would incorporate it into a new Price Chopper Supermarket, the developer said Thursday.

The proposal would preserve a 124-year-old landmark and give the supermarket a unique look, transforming it into a visitors' destination, a preservationist working on the new plan says.

Nigro Companies, Citizens for St. Patrick's and Historic Albany Foundation have met over the last two weeks to devise a workable site plan for the 40,200-square-foot supermarket, said John Nigro, president of Nigro Companies.

"We've been working with our engineers on preserving the steeple and the facade," Nigro said. "We hope we will be able to come up with something that will be very sympathetic."

The planning grew from a discussion among Nigro and Christine Bulmer and Eileen Anderson of Citizens for St. Patrick's. The three met at the end of a March 7 Adaptive Reuse of Religious Properties Conference at the Carey Center for Global Good in Rensselaerville.

"It's the most visible part. It could be the most useful, visible part for Price Chopper. It's a front window for Price Chopper," Bulmer said.

The inclusion of the church tower; loggia, or external covered porch; and facade would give the 3.5-acre Price Chopper site on 19th Street a downtown European flavor instead of the suburban big box, said Susan Holland of Historic Albany.

"Historic Albany with the citizens group has been in there to talk about some compromise," Holland said.

While negotiations over a site plan change have taken place, the court action has continued. The citizens group has obtained a temporary restraining order to halt demolition of the church while an appeal is made to the state Appellate Division.

Even though the razing of the church was stopped temporarily, the demolition of the power plant and connecting brick walkway were permitted to continue. The church's front steps were previously removed. Plans call for the church, rectory, school, six rowhouses and the power plant to be knocked down to clear the site for development.

Discussions have been held about preserving the parts of the historic church, repositioning the supermarket and the two smaller commercial buildings that are part of the plan and even the fate of the rowhouses on the north end of the property at 23rd Street.

Nigro and Bulmer both mentioned the possibility of including a farmers market in the project. Golub Corp., Price Chopper's parent firm, will have a say on whether changes will be made, Nigro said. A Golub spokeswoman said the company has not participated in the meetings.

Nigro Companies has sunk $2.5 million into the project so far. That includes a $1 million purchase price and $1.5 million in other development costs.

Part of the difficulty in developing the site has been the underground culverts that limit use of portions of the acreage. The restrictions were discussed at length during last year's public hearings on the rezoning of the property to business from residential to permit construction of the supermarket.

Any changes to the site plans would have to go back to the City Council for review. Mayor Michael Manning said the council would be open to considering a new plan if both sides are working together.

"Compromise is always good," Manning said.

Even though Nigro and the Citizens for St. Patrick's have faced off at City Council meetings and in court, they've managed to communicate.

"We respect them. We're trying everything we can. We have to do what's economically sustainable," Nigro said.

Bulmer said it would have been better to hold the discussions earlier in the development process, which has now entered its second year.

"It's time to do something good for the neighborhood, good for Mr. Nigro and good for the Golub Corp.," Bulmer said.

The citizens group recently discovered that the church is not just of masonry construction but appears to have a metal framework on which the bricks are built. The group's attorney says this may be enough to successfully challenge the city's decision to let the project move ahead.

kcrowe@timesunion.com • 518-454-5084 • @KennethCrowe