GUILDERLAND — Developers who proposed to build a retirement community with an onsite medical office building on land that is currently a beautiful but financially faltering Guilderland golf course have dramatically changed their plans.

The initial proposal was to construct 256 senior apartments and a 30,000 square foot medical office building across the street from Farnsworth Middle School on what is currently the Hiawatha Trails Executive Golf Course.

In a June 14 letter to town supervisor Peter Barber, developer Hiawatha Land Development LLC withdrew its application "in its entirely."

"We still want to build the 256 apartments in buildings that are three stories tall; the medical office building is no longer part of the plan," said Hershberg & Hershberg managing partner Daniel Hersbhberg.

His engineering firm was hired by the developers to file for all the needed applications and permits.

Hershberg explained that the downsized plan will require a completely new application process.

"We'll submit a new application for a special use permit and an area variance from the Zoning Board of Appeals in order to build the apartments," Hershberg said.

The project's attorney is Terresa Bakner, a partner at Whiteman, Osterman & Hanna. She wrote a June 15 letter to Barber and other town officials. In it, she said that her client is still willing to give 20 acres of green space from Hiawatha Land to Guilderland.

"The project has undergone substantial public review and has been revised in response to Town and community feedback," Bakner wrote.

In public meetings, residents worried about preserving the 44 acres of emerald eye candy with rolling green hills, enormous shade trees and a dramatically plunging ravine. They were concerned that the medical office building might become a vacant white elephant. Hiawatha Land tried to ameliorate some of those concerns by offering to transfer more than 20 acres to the town to for recreation. Barber said the developers told him more than 75 percent of land would remain green.

But the proposal still remains controversial for Frank Casey's grass roots organization, Guilderland Citizens for Responsible Growth. There are about 130 people on its mailing list. When Hiawatha owners announced in January the course was not financially sustainable, the group rallied to protect the serene landscape.

"It seems inevitable that land will be developed," Casey said. "I had hoped the design would be less intrusive than the one submitted for this senior housing. "There are nice apartments next door to the golf course that are hidden by greenery. You can't even see them from most of the road. But the Hiawatha apartments are right in your face, impossible to ignore."

The artist's renderings shows four buildings each three stories tall (downsized from four stories in the initial proposal) that appear to be separated from the road by a sidewalk and slim grass strip.

Casey said that one lesson he's learned from the process is that perhaps it is time to review Guilderland's 20 year old master plan to see if it is still relevant to current needs.

Casey emailed GCRG members this weekend closing with a plea to get outdoors and enjoy the landscape champion.

"If you are a golfer, or better yet, a would-be golfer, Hiawatha Trails is still in business," he wrote. "Take your friends, your spouse, your kids and even your grand-kids out. Practice the short game and introduce some youngsters to the game. Maybe we can save future open space courses from this cruel fate."