BY BRETT SAMUELS, The Daily Gazette

C2 DESIGN GROUP This is a rendering for The Nott, a proposed 30-unit apartment building in the currently empty Annie Schaffer Senior Center at Eastern Avenue and Nott Terrace.

A long-vacant senior center is set to be converted into apartments in downtown Schenectady next year, pending approval of a state grant.

Plans are in place to turn the Annie Schaffer Senior Center, at 101 Nott Terrace, into 30 apartments. The project is “shovel ready,” after it received site plan approval Wednesday night from the Schenectady Planning Commission.

The Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority is awaiting state approval of a grant application before moving forward.

The 22,000-square-foot senior center, located at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Nott Terrace, has been vacant for several years. The new proposal would turn the facility into an apartment building, called “The Nott,” which would house 30 residential units.

The architect and developer for the site spoke to the city’s Planning Commission during their Wednesday night meeting. Albany-based Rosenblum Cos. is listed as the developer of the project. The site plan was unanimously approved by the commission.

Most of the work would be done on the inside of the building, representatives said. However, the project would include the addition of a third floor. In addition, there would be some landscaping done on the outside.

Otherwise, the plan is to clean up the building’s facade and blend the old architecture with the new elements.

The apartments will be marketed toward “young professionals,” developers said, with the potential to serve Union College students just down the street.

The exact layout of the apartments had not been determined, but the architect said they will likely be between 800 and 950 square feet. The rent has also not been established.

Scott Cietek, vice president of Metroplex, spoke briefly during the Planning Commission’s Wednesday meeting. He said there have been some challenges in finding the right use for the old senior center over the years. Given the building’s proximity to Union College and the Clarkson University regional campus, he said he thinks the apartments are a good fi t.

Metroplex submitted a Restore New York grant application for the project last month, and a decision is expected within the next few months.

If approved, work on the building would start in 2017.

Reach Gazette reporter Brett Samuels 395-3113, bsamuels@dailygazette.net or @Brett_Samuels27.