So what are your thoughts?
Chris Pratt and Alessio Depoli, friends of mine and owners of The Pearl St. Pub, The Barrel Saloon and soon to be Capital C Lounge, are looking to open a live music venue in North Albany. You can read more about it on Steve Barnes’ blog.
It’s weird, I’m in a little bit of a tricky situation with this one because I like those guys very much, and don’t doubt for one second that they will run a good business, but on the other hand, I live RIGHT NEXT DOOR to the proposed space.
I like the idea of a live music venue coming into North Albany, I am just concerned that they will have live music nights where kids (and by kids I mean 16-20 year olds) who are parking around the bars and hanging out in the streets/alleys before and after the shows. I know this happens because I used to do it.
Also, Chris and Alessio are estimating that on any given night, there could be as many as 700-800 people coming down to the venue. That’s a lot of people. Which would be GREAT for my other businesses (Biergarten, Sciortino’s, Olde English Pub, etc.)… but not so great if the 800 people are 17 years old.
But no matter what age, 700-800 people parking in front of our house (which is now home to a newborn baby, Eli, born to my neighbors/friends who live downstairs) can cause quite a problem for us re: noise and parking in general.
I used to hate when people showed up at Zoning Board Hearing where I was proposing a new restaurant/bar and they whined, “What about the parking!??! Waaahhhh” And apparently I’m becoming that guy. But 700-800 cars would cause a slight problem for me personally and professionally. It’s not the worst problem to have, but it is a problem.
So what do you think? It’s exciting that people are still looking to invest in the Warehouse District, but I overall have some concerns about how it will affect our living situation.
The Public Hearing for this proposal is tomorrow night at City Hall.
DB
Mar 11, 2013 at 2:23 pm
Parking for 800 is tough but figure in car pool and drop off say 500. That’s still a lot. There are plenty of empty lots in the area (south end of Learned st) but you have to buy that lot also and try to maximize parking. Maybe a valet system, lol (joking).
Rock and a hard place on this one Matt.
Is there a certain type of music they would cater to or all types?
Kate
Mar 11, 2013 at 3:13 pm
I wouldn’t mind another music venue downtown but maybe not very large (and for the love of god, invest money in good acoustics. Shows at Northern Lights make my ears hurt). We’ve all seen what happens when large concerts are aimed at kids 16-20. The constant shuttering after the “baby raves” at the Washington Armory are proof that we can’t have nice things.
A new approach needs to be made, and I wish the investors best of luck in figuring it out. City planning is not easy, because everyone is so diverse with their needs and utilization of the space.
Jillian
Mar 11, 2013 at 4:13 pm
I would be very surprised if the variance was granted for the music hall that’s being proposed, espeically in light of the fact that it wasn’t approved for Sneaky Pete’s a couple of years ago. Obviously Sneaky Pete’s would be more of a nightclub and a concert venue is not a nightclub, but we are still talking about 800 or so people when it’s open, and many would be teens/young adults.
kurt
Mar 11, 2013 at 8:16 pm
with friends like you who needs enemies …
Carlene
Mar 12, 2013 at 12:35 am
I wish we had more usable and thoughtfully placed parking garages throughout Albany. Lark, Pearl, and now Broadway could really benefit from a concentrated parking area that are walking distance to the businesses already there. I assume they’re terrible to build or run or make money from, because I can’t see a downside to having easy, inexpensive parking available every time I want to go downtown or midtown. It certainly makes Saratoga bearable now that there’s parking everywhere.
Julia
Mar 12, 2013 at 7:27 am
I have no idea what to think!! I’m just glad it doesn’t affect me b/c I live in the ‘burbs..Albany is soo erratic & bipolar!!! LoL..Good Luck everyone involved!!!!!
Randy
Mar 12, 2013 at 7:49 am
I think another live music venue that could foster Albany’s music scene would be great but I doubt it would get approval for the noise and parking disaster it would create.
Beeswax, Not Yours INC.
Mar 12, 2013 at 9:06 am
While your reservations about a music venue in the Warehouse District are sound (pun!), as a fan of live music and the establishments in that area (thanks, Matt), I would fully endorse a music venue this size coming into Albany.
A few points/counterpoints:
1. The region is missing a music venue of this size. Since the demise of Saratoga Winners and Revolution Hall, there has been a void of quality club-sized venues. Upstate Concert Hall pulls in some decent touring acts, but their location (suburban strip mall, neat!) and sound/acoustics issues make it a disappointing concert experience.
2. Your concerns on age of audience are valid, especially as a resident of the area. I guess the question you would have to ask your friends looking to open the space is, would these be 21+ shows? Seeing that they own a bar right across the street from the venue, they’d be benefitting from drawing an older/drinking legal crowd themselves.
3. Parking: Stating 700-800 people early in the post somehow then became 700-800 cars. I think that’s an exaggeration on the expected traffic into the area. If this club’s maximum capacity is, say, 900 people, I would think that a more realistic number of cars would be in the 300 range. That, of course, is assuming the place is at absolute max capacity for a concert (a guaranteed sell-out? Is it too late to invest?). If it’s a smaller, local or B-list touring act, what’s the expected crowd – 100? 200? Would that have a significant impact on the quality of life of residents in the area?
4. What are the crowds like at Wolffs/Sciortino’s/Stout/Barrel on week days compared to weekends? I can’t say I frequent those establishments during the week, but on weekends there are routinely hundreds of people in Wolffs alone. Is this the case on a Tuesday night, as well? If not, then I’m assuming there would be much more parking avalible in the are during those days, as well as a desire to have something pushing people/traffic (again, hopefully 21+) into the area on off-peak days (I realize I don’t need to be telling you this, you get the advantages as a business owner).
What is the expected frequency of shows? 2 per week? 1 a week? If you’re looking to draw national acts, you can’t dictate that they play on weekends exclusively, and seeing that Albany is a natural tour stop between Boston and NYC, it often doesn’t get the weekend treatment.
5. I respect your NIMBY stance, but I just wanna rock.
PS thanks for reviving the blog, have enjoyed the new layout and posts.
Carly
Mar 12, 2013 at 10:49 am
I think Albany is definite need of a SERIOUS music space of this size (like Helsinki in Hudson, which I believe Chris Pratt cited in his proposal, or some article, or something…). The Egg is too “intimate” for certain bands and the TU and even the Palace are too large for MOST acts traveling past the Capital Region. Revolution Hall in Troy was, at one point, a great option for bands of this size – but for one reason or another, it’s no longer in operation.
Speaking of Helsinki… first class operation. If you haven’t visited yet, GO! Great spot to see a show. The sound is perfection, the layout is great, the bar is nicely stocked and the staff is mildly friendly (if they were too friendly, it just wouldn’t be hip enough – right?)
cKp
Mar 12, 2013 at 8:25 pm
If this is gonna happen, lets stay focused on two main plans this project should not even be considered without: 1. Investing in parking and 2. High Tech sound configurations that should be tailored to create a quality audio to any specific performance.
Albany loves music! Give the people what they deserve.
Lauren
Mar 13, 2013 at 1:36 pm
Matt, not everyone is going to drive there, or drive alone there.
Aren’t there business over there with huge surface parking lots? Maybe the music venue, your business and the other restaurants/bars can partner with the owners of these lots to offer parking after standard business hours. There is no reason to have an two large parking lots, one sitting empty at night and the other sitting empty during the day.,
Carl
Mar 13, 2013 at 9:02 pm
I don’t know how the area is zoned, but I’d presume it’s some form of commercial industrial.If you’re gonna live in a warehouse district, you can’t expect protections from nuisance that come with living in a residential zone. It defeats the very purpose of zoning when people colonize areas they think would be cool to live in, then find that the uncool parts of it need to be changed. I’ve seen this a lot with gentrified areas in other cities — hey, how cool, we live next to a chicken packing plant! Oh, hey, waitaminnit, chicken packing plants smell and make noise early in the morning! Somebody should close down that chicken packing plant! Not saying you’re doing that, but that’s the question you’ve posed.
I can’t remember anymore how many people the original J.B. Scott’s held, maybe a couple hundred, and there wasn’t a single parking space. In that case, I’m sure it sucked for people in the adjacent residential neighborhood.
Brian
Mar 14, 2013 at 10:25 am
I love The Egg (982 people) and The Palace (2844 people) as smaller venues for Downtown. The Palace has been getting some great entertainment in a gorgeous, historic building and The Egg acoustics are amazing. Even Stout right around the proposed corner is set up for decent sized bands. I wish Pratt well, but is another venue really needed?
Under normal circumstances, in a different part of the city, local residents affected by this should have their voice heard. If you live in the Warehouse district though, as Carl points out above, you really can’t complain about any nuisance.
Marshall
Mar 15, 2013 at 9:47 am
Do it!
Joe Davis
Apr 12, 2013 at 7:39 pm
I think your making a huge mistake bitching about this im 21 years old and i would totally go to most of the shows that would be at this new venue and i would’ve gone to biergarten one of my favorite places before and after but i guess not…
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Downtown Resident
Apr 24, 2013 at 4:26 pm
Matt,
This is difficult, because I like you and consider you an acquaintance. However, you decision to fight bars in an otherwise non-residential part of the city while you operate one in a VERY residential part of the city is, well, increasingly difficult to swallow.
How do you think the people of Center Square and Hudson Park feel about the hundreds of people who come to Bombers on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday night, park in front of their houses, travel loudly up and down the streets at all hours, vomit on their front porches and drive drunk from the bar?
How is it that the family with a small child living under you deserves to go without these inconveniences; however, the numerous people trying to raise children in Center Square do not deserve the same?
You made a decision several years ago to leave Center Square because of the rules imposed in the neighborhood. This led you to the warehouse district, which is free of such rules. Now the lack of these rules, and the fact that the inconveniences and disorderly conduct your business imposes on residents of Center Square and Hudson Park might be imposed on you is troubling.
I say deal with it.
Matt Baumgartner
Apr 24, 2013 at 10:54 pm
Oh Downtown Resident. Who are you listening to?
If you’d ever like to hear the truth about it all, invite me out for a beer and we can talk.
You have been fed a lot of bullshit and seemed to like it.