Courtesy Bass Pro Shops
By Christine Graf
More than a year after announcing plans to build a new Bass Pro Shops in Clifton Park, the sporting goods retailer has received final site plan approval from the Town of Clifton Park Planning Board. Construction is expected to begin this summer on the 77,000-square-foot store at 400 Clifton Park Center Road.
According to Clifton Park Town Supervisor Phil Barrett, Bass Pro Shops could not move forward with construction until the company received final approval from federal and state agencies.
“There was a lot of speculation about why the town was holding them up, but it had nothing to do with us,” he explained. “They had to complete a process over and above what was required by the town. As far as the town was concerned, they had satisfied all of our requirements some time ago.”
Bass Pro Shops’ decision to build a store in Clifton Park was the culmination of several years of discussions between the retailer and town officials.
“I’ve spoken with executives from Bass Pro and Cabela’s for a number of years,” said Barrett. “Both companies had interest in this marketplace, and now they are one company (Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela’s for $4 billion in 2017). They found the perfect location that they were looking for in Clifton Park, and the renderings that I have seen for the store are just incredible.”
Although Barrett does not have a timeline for construction, he expects it to begin in the near future.
“I know they want to be open next year,” he said.
Although some residents have expressed concerns that Bass Pro Shops will draw more traffic to the already busy exit 9 retail corridor, Barrett said there are details within the site plan that address traffic flow. Similar traffic-related concerns were expressed by residents when Chick-Fil-A opened a new restaurant in Clifton Park last year.
“We heard all about how Chick-Fil-A would bring the whole town to a stop,” he said. “The first few weeks were incredibly busy, but it has normalized. That’s typically what you see. I think it’s going to be the same thing with Bass Pro Shops. I’m sure it will be extremely busy in the beginning but that it will normalize over time.”
According to Barrett, the town was well prepared to deal with the onslaught of traffic during the first weeks that Chick-Fil-A was open.
“We did a lot of planning up front. We worked very closely with our partner policing agencies and we worked very closely with the management of Chick-Fil-A,” he said.
Barrett reports that commerce remains strong throughout Clifton Park.
“We’re glad exit 9 is busy,” he said. “It is incredibly important to the present and future financial standing for the town. If it gets to a day that it isn’t, the town will be in very big trouble. Exit 9 is busy because there’s an incredible amount of retail, health care, and hospitality services. Not only are these all important to a thriving functioning municipality from a service standpoint, they are incredibly important from a financial standpoint.”
As a result, Barrett said Clifton Park has some of the lowest taxes in the state.
“Per the controller’s office, I think we are number 911 out of 940 towns. And our schools are very well funded. These are two important results from a successful municipality. Couple that with tremendous services and recreational outlets in the town,” he said.
The town recently opened a new outdoor adventure course as well as new pickleball complex at Veterans Park. Other investments have included the construction of a new playground at the Clifton Commons and the addition of a new roof at the ice arena.
Low housing inventory continues to plague the town, houses selling within days at well above asking price.
“It’s all about value, and you get your best value here. People want to live here,” said Barrett.