There are signs posted on nearly every street that runs into Alden that read: “Alden: Alive and Growing”, and recently this sign has been proven true, as the Village of Alden Planning Board prepares for an entirely new development waiting to be built right in the heart of our town.

I heard about this by word of mouth through some family members, and wanted to take a closer look at what was really going on, since everyone that I had talked to about it seemed to have a different opinion.

After a bit of research, I discovered that the village of Alden Planning Board posts all of their meeting minutes on the Internet so that everyone related to the village of Alden can stay updated on what is happening. They can be accessed here.

According to the Village of Alden Planning Board meeting on July 15^th, 2015, the Board reviewed the site plan for what is being called Birch Creek Run, the development in question. After reading through this meeting, my first question was “why all the controversy?”

I decided to get an opinion from someone who this development would be affecting fairly closely. I interviewed Laurie Bielawa, a resident of the Village of Alden who lives a stone’s throw away from the center of town, and only a couple hundred feet away from where this new development is going to be built.

“I have no problem with it. I live on Main Street, so not too far from where the homes are going to be put in, and it’s not something that I’ll be able to see from my front window, it’s not going to obstruct a view, and I think it’s kind of good. It gives people the opportunity to live in this neighborhood. I love our community and I love our street. Everything is within walking distance from here. I can walk to the farmer’s market, the bank, the library, and this gives other families the opportunity to do that. I like it, it’s not a bad idea to me.”

After getting an opinion from a resident of the village, I decided to talk to someone who oversees many things that happen in the village, the Mayor of Alden, Mike Manicki; who had many positive things to say about the development, and was very informative.

Severyn Development is building twenty-one patio homes on West Main Street, in the village of Alden, and these homes will be maintained in some ways by a Homeowners Association, that will deal with issues like snow removal, lawns and shrubs; so these homes give the people of Alden a home to live in, but without a lot of the work that goes with one.

Mayor Manicki said that “currently, people who want this type of home must leave Alden and move to places like Elma or Lancaster. I feel this project will help the village because it will help keep current residents and draw in new ones.  It also will boost the assessment value of the village which helps stabilize property taxes.  We welcome new residents.”

Alden truly is a place that is still “alive and growing”, and many people will be happy to see new faces and new opportunities happening here where they live.