[bpg88]

:cheers:

http://www.hedleyparkplace.com/index.html

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/384110314_db38a9febc.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/384110316_c049039598.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/384110315_427371063a.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/384110320_c1cfcf0654.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/384110324_abfc85ffa1.jpg?v=0

[F11Roch]

This is long overdue. Troy is such a gem. In most other states it would have been completely revitalized by now. But, better late than never.

[Ex-Ithacan]

Whoa, that is a big project. Looks good, and very doable. Please keep us informed on the progress bpg, thanks.

[ColDayMan]

Wow!

[James Bond Agent 007]

Wow, that's pretty impressive!

[kznyc2k]

Well that is might impressive, and lord knows the area needs it, but that parking garage smack dab in the middle of the whole thing is more than a bit irritating.

[bpg88]

Well that is might impressive, and lord knows the area needs it, but that parking garage smack dab in the middle of the whole thing is more than a bit irritating.

Unfortunately that is one of the developer's requirments. Really no where else to put all those cars, and it certainly isn't going on the waterfront. The average American doesn't seem to be content parking more than a couple blocks from their destination. Not going to beat my head against the wall, because I was really expecting a lot worse. Have to try and push for some retail on the ground floor of the garage and a decent facade. Regardless, it seems a vast improvment over any development a certain neighboring city has undertaken recently.

[Terminus]

Well that is might impressive, and lord knows the area needs it, but that parking garage smack dab in the middle of the whole thing is more than a bit irritating.

Let's at least hope it has ground floor retail.

I would move to Troy in a second if only there were better transit access to the Rensellaer station - or better yet, a spur that went via Troy.

I'm on a seach up and down the east coast for an beautiful urban neighborhood where I can have a townhouse, be within a short bike ride of the country, and a short walk of a rail station to major metros (oh, and where I can get a job). This is not easy. Albany and/or Troy are both almost there, but the darn station doesn't serve either well.

[bpg88]

Let's at least hope it has ground floor retail.

I would move to Troy in a second if only there were better transit access to the Rensellaer station - or better yet, a spur that went via Troy.

I'm on a seach up and down the east coast for an beautiful urban neighborhood where I can have a townhouse, be within a short bike ride of the country, and a short walk of a rail station to major metros (oh, and where I can get a job). This is not easy. Albany and/or Troy are both almost there, but the darn station doesn't serve either well.

It seems like a lot of people I know want this, but it really gets scant attention.

The access to Rensselaer rail station isn't that bad - about a 20 minute bus ride from Troy, and probably 5 minutes from Albany. It's getting around within this damn region that can be a challenge.

Not sure why they put the rail station in Rensselaer. Must have seemed convenient, or maybe it was simply politics. There is a rail spur that comes to Troy, wish they would activate it.

[Visiteur]

What is the status of this project bpg88? I'd love to see this become a reality.

[bpg88]

What is the status of this project bpg88? I'd love to see this become a reality.

That's a good question.

The drawings were just unveiled publicly this week, but I think this has been in development for some time now. So far as I know, the developer has aquired all the land on the waterfront and most of the major existing buildings. Right now they are negotiating with the city over the financing of the parking garage and once that is out of the way they are supposed to break ground. So we could see things happening fairly soon.

I am very optimistic about the project. Most of the players involved are local, which makes me a little more comftorable.

[kznyc2k]

didn't feel like starting a new thread for this, but Schenectady is (cross your fingers) getting some much needed developer's TLC:

Vision for ALCO site: 'a small city in a city'

Pennsylvania-based firm chosen to redevelop Schenectady land
By MIKE GOODWIN, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, February 27, 2007

SCHENECTADY -- Michael O'Neill had to climb over mounds of dirt and piles of debris at the former American Locomotive Co. factory to find what he wanted.

But hidden behind the decaying manufacturing complex where thousands of Schenectady men built locomotives a century ago, he found his ideal spot to build a $50 million complex for office buildings, restaurants, condominiums and a marina.


"Your waterfront, it's beautiful," O'Neill, the chief executive officer of Pennsylvania-based Preferred Real Estate Investments Inc., said Monday as he explained to reporters and local politicians why he wants to redevelop the former factory.

"Think of it as creating a small city in a city."

After months of negotiating with several firms, Schenectady County officials and the Metroplex Development Authority announced that O'Neill's firm was chosen to redevelop the 60-acre plant on the Mohawk River -- the largest project Metroplex has overseen since it was created eight years ago to spur economic development in Schenectady and surrounding towns.

Mayor Brian U. Stratton called it the "single most significant" economic development project since he took office in 2004.

"It's going to have the greatest potential to singularly revive Schenectady," he said.

O'Neill, whose firm has carved out a niche redeveloping aging industrial sites, including an IBM plant in Fishkill and the former Bell Labs in Holmdel, is also one of four groups vying to rebuild the W.A. Harriman State Office Campus in Albany as a university research and technology park.

On the Schenectady ALCO site, the firm plans to build a mix of office space for technology companies and condominiums for residents on the property, which features more than a mile of waterfront property. He also expects to build docks along the river where residents could moor boats.

The company also hopes to try to spare some of the old factory buildings from demolition and convert them into office space.

ALCO operated in the city from 1849 to 1969, and for nearly a century formed a manufacturing axis on Erie Boulevard that employed tens of thousands of people at the locomotive maker on the north end and General Electric on the south.

But since the plant closed, the complex has turned into an eyesore and efforts to convert it into an industrial park have met with mixed results. Occupancy has been low, though steel fabricator STS Steel has maintained a presence and thrived on the site for several years.

Metroplex and the state Department of Environmental Conservation have already examined the site, though the authority voted on Monday to shepherd an environmental review of the land that could take up to a year to complete. Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen said it is suspected that the majority of the contamination of the soil comes from oil and other petroleum products that were dumped during the decades of locomotive manufacturing. "It's a viable, buildable site," Gillen said.

Once the environmental review is finished, Metroplex expects to buy the property from its current owner, the Schenectady Industrial Corporation, for $1.2 million and then sell it for the same amount to O'Neill's firm.

So far, that is the only local taxpayer money dedicated to the project.

The county plans to help steer the project into the state's brownfield redevelopment program, which would make the project eligible for tax credits that could cover up to 22 percent of the cost to clean up and build on the land.

Redevelopment of the site is also eligible for tax credits through Renewal Community, a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development program that offers tax breaks for companies that build in Schenectady and other economically depressed cities.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer promised to help the developer obtain those credits and open government doors for other potential benefits. "This is really going to happen," he said.

The senator was one of several elected officials who attended Monday's announcement, though only one Republican, County Legislator James Buhrmaster, was at the event. Buhrmaster's brother, Lou, is one of the principal owners of the firm that owns the land.

The plan to redevelop the site, detailed in Monday's Times Union, already is drawing criticism from Schenectady County Republican legislators, who said they were kept in the dark on the project.

"This is highly offensive that we learn of this announcement from the newspaper and are invited to attend it an hour and a half before it is scheduled to take place," Minority Leader Robert Farley, R-Glenville, wrote in an e-mail to Legislature Clerk Geoff Hall.

"There are very serious questions with respect to this project. And the secrecy and stealth with which it has been pursued only highlights the fact that what could be a good opportunity for our community, could well be blown in pursuit of a biased political agenda," Farley wrote. "Partisanship and economic development don't mix, and the misuse of the Metroplex as a political wing of the Democratic Party is indeed discouraging."

But Legislature Chairwoman Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, said county leaders stayed tight-lipped about the project because of fear O'Neill's firm would think the county unprofessional if information about the negotiations leaked to the media before they were completed.

"We don't revolve our economic development announcement around politics," Savage said. "We don't announce deals before they're signed."

Goodwin can be reached at 454-5465 or by e-mail at mgoodwin@timesunion.com.

[kznyc2k]

Oh, and this was in the paper too.. the first Friehofers mill in Lansingburgh is being torn down

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=566938&category=REGION&newsdate=2/27/2007

[kznyc2k]

Blah there's a lot of development related stuff in today's paper------------

RPI will be redoing their athletic fields on East Campus (DEIS is on troyny.gov): http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=566919&category=REGION&newsdate=2/27/2007

and the TU has euphemistically given the title "A Whole New Route" to describe 6 projects underway or in development on good ol' Wolf Road (lots of pictures):
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=566946&category=BUSINESS&newsdate=2/27/2007

[kznyc2k]

Major development envisioned for Troy


Mayor says city stands behind developer's plans to transform waterfront
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published: Tuesday, March 13, 2007

TROY -- A Latham developer intends to dramatically remake a section of the city's waterfront, with plans for new office and condominium buildings, a seven-story hotel and a riverside promenade.

First Columbia has even taken the unusual step of commissioning a master plan for roughly 25 city blocks in an area bordered by Federal Street to the south and Jay Street to the north. The plan, which dubs the area "The Hedley District," calls for the eventual construction of dozens of buildings in the area just north of downtown and the Green Island Bridge.

But Mark Bette, vice president of First Columbia, said his company will concentrate its efforts along the water, and hopes other developers will follow the rest of the master plan.

In coming months, Bette said, First Columbia will redevelop Hedley Park Place and Flanigan Square, office buildings on the waterfront. The company wants to build a second office building on the Flanigan Square site.

In late 2007 or 2008, Bette said, First Columbia will turn attention to constructing a hotel on the site of the former Hedley Cadillac dealership on River Street, as well as an office and residential building on the parking lot just south of Hedley Park Place that is now home to the Troy Farmers Market. A parking garage would be built on a parking lot across River Street from Hedley Park Place.

"We're very bullish on the city of Troy," Bette said. "The city of Albany has been revitalized in a lot of areas. It's our feeling that Troy is poised to do the same."

Bette said negotiations with city officials are under way, and left open the possibility the company will request financial assistance from the city. He said he had no estimate of the project's overall development costs.

Troy Mayor Harry Tutunjian said no request for assistance has been made, but said the city is committed to the development "and will search many different avenues of funding to make the city's part of the project happen."

Tutunjian, calling this a special time in Troy's history, said the developer "plans to transform the entire neighborhood." He also said city officials are committed to maintaining and increasing public access to the waterfront.

The area is a mix of apartments, parking lots, office buildings and businesses like Brown's Brewing Co. Some of its buildings have been recently renovated, while others stand empty and boarded up.

Last year, First Columbia bought several properties -- including Flanigan Square and Hedley Park Place -- along the waterfront from car dealer and developer John Hedley.

On Monday, Hedley said First Columbia told him of its plans for the area, and the magnitude of the project helped persuade him to sell. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The site, Hedley said, "needed somebody else who had the wherewithal and the equipment to do a project of that size. I couldn't have done anything that big."

First Columbia has created a Web site for the project -- http://www.hedley parkplace.com -- though on Monday, Bette said the company was not yet ready to take its plans public.

The Web site describes the plan as "a vision for a vibrant waterfront district in downtown Troy" and calls the area "Troy's riverfront of tomorrow."

It includes detailed renderings, prepared by Saratoga Associates of Saratoga Springs, that show new buildings, the waterfront promenade, dramatically remade streetscapes and even a pedestrian skyway over River Street.

Some of the renderings indicate the hotel would be a Marriott. Bette, however, said that hotel chain is just one of several with which First Columbia is talking.

Tutunjian said he has been in discussion with the developers for several months. On Monday, he and other city officials said they are bullish on the development plans.

"First Columbia is a very well-financed and successful organization," the mayor said. "From everything they've expressed to us, they're ready to go forward with the plan."

First Columbia built Century Hill Plaza off Route 9 in Latham, a 22-acre office park that is home to Blue Shield of Northeastern New York and the New York State School Boards Association; Riverhill Center, the former CHP/Kaiser Permanente medical complex on Troy-Schenectady Road in Latham, which it is redeveloping as a tech-company campus; and New York International Plaza, 260 acres adjacent to Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, which is being developed into commercial office and industrial space.

The company also has built residential, retail and medical office projects. Last month, First Columbia put its portfolio of nine medical buildings in and around the Capital Region on the market, a sale that observers say could bring in more than $84 million.

City Council member Mark McGrath, a Republican whose district includes part of the development zone, said he first viewed the project plans in the mayor's office. He said the building formerly occupied by Mooradian's Furniture, just north of Flanigan Square, also is set for redevelopment, as are several other sites across the city.

"There's one thing after another right now," he said.

Bette, noting the master plan shows construction on sites occupied by homes and buildings, stressed the plan is only a blueprint.

But he said it's a plan that would stitch together parts of the city, create pedestrian corridors and call for the creation of a lively residential, retail and office district.

"We as a company feel very confident with our investment in Troy, and very confident in the city itself," Bette said.

Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com.

[Ex-Ithacan]

I agree that Troy is poised for a big project. I just hope it doesn't completely alter the feel of downtown/waterfront. Thanks for the info.

[kznyc2k]

Photos of the area as it currently exists. Excuse the quality of some of them, as they were taken through the windshield of a moving car I was driving

http://img441.imageshack.us/img441/6615/picture245dm4.jpg

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/9900/picture246ac6.jpg

http://img72.imageshack.us/img72/1024/picture247at9.jpg

http://img294.imageshack.us/img294/378/picture260jp1.jpg

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9850/picture261nh6.jpg

http://img292.imageshack.us/img292/9367/picture262ng7.jpg

Not sure why they put the rail station in Rensselaer. Must have seemed convenient, or maybe it was simply politics.

My understanding of it was that, in the mid-70s when the move happened, they felt they had an outmoded station serving an outmoded transportation form that was eating up valuable land that could be used for better purposes (aka a highway). Rensselaer already had all the necessary rail trackage and yards in place to handle any foreseeable pasenger capacity, and between Alb's and Rens' vast railyards, it made the most sense to ditch Albany's (where land values were obviously much higher) and just move the whole passenger rail operation across the river. An "f--- you" of sorts to that industry, something we still see today in certain constituents of a certain party in a certain federal government.

There were two other big things going on that most likely had a major influence on this decision, too: the planning and construction of highways (which was of course inevitable and necessary in the views of a planner's mind circa 1969), and the formation of America's first national passenger rail service -- Amtrak. Amtrak was in effect a consolidation and downsizing of sorts for the whole industry, so I guess it makes sense that they felt the need to downsize their physical infrastructure too.

Link to an old map showing the rail yards as they existed in 1950: http://docs.unh.edu/NY/troy50sw.jpg

[Ex-Ithacan]

Thanks for the pics kz, helps the visualization.

[Canasian]

Man I remeber that area well. I also used to go to the Troy Brewpub a lot, and I remember that turn on Route 4 SO WELL. If any part of Troy needs development, it would be north central Troy. That new devlopment looks awesome!!!

[phillyskyline]

Looks good, can't wait to see the final product!

[kznyc2k]

Parking Garage Planned for Troy

Proposed River Street project will open up a key section for development

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer
First published: Friday, April 6, 2007

TROY -- A 1,000-space, six-story parking garage is slated to be built later this year on River Street across from the Hedley Building, its developer said.

The garage will provide parking needed to construct a first-class hotel on the north side of The Hedley Building at 433 River St., said Kevin Bette of First Columbia of Latham.

Financing is being arranged to pay for construction of the parking structure, which would have entrances off River Street and from a road off Hutton Street. No cost estimate was given.

The hotel and garage are parts of the Hedley District, which envisions rejuvenation of a 25-block area in North Central Troy. Bette said 1,000 housing units, including space for housing aimed at graduate students, is included in the mixed-use development for the area.

Building the garage will open up land for development along the Hudson River, Bette said. Offices, the hotel and other development will replace 26 surface parking lots in the area.

Bette and Mayor Harry Tutunjian spoke to 100 members of the Commercial and Industrial Real Estate Brokers, Inc., a trade group, Thursday morning at the Hedley Building about development plans in the city.

"This is the type of development we want to attract to Troy," Tutunjian said.

Building owners are working with the city to develop apartments above storefronts downtown, something some other cities lack, the mayor said.

[Lance]

I know I'm a little late to the party about the train station being in Rensselaer, but another important factor, when they moved it from Albany, they added a station that no longer exists in Colonie. I'm not sure when it disappeared, but my parents have told me of getting the train there back in the early 80s.

[kznyc2k]

Interesting Lance, I never knew that. My dad's been with Amtrak for roughly the last 20 years, so I'll have to ask him if he knows anything about it.

[Lance]

God bless the internet! Of course I still don't know exactly where in Colonie this was...

http://www.hebners.net/amtrak/amtStationCF/ColonieNY.jpg

[ld38]

:cheers:

http://www.hedleyparkplace.com/index.html

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/154/384110314_db38a9febc.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/142/384110316_c049039598.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/172/384110315_427371063a.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/173/384110320_c1cfcf0654.jpg?v=0

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/124/384110324_abfc85ffa1.jpg?v=0

That are very amazing:tup:

[kznyc2k]

bump.

I'm tired of threads here getting deleted after a month.. so all I have to say is BUMP

[kznyc2k]

Developer submits hotel plans for Troy

Facility would include 1,000-space garage and conference center

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer
First published: Wednesday, June 6, 2007

TROY -- The city would see a $32 million hotel, conference center and parking garage built under site plans submitted by a Latham-based developer.

The six-story Hedley Hotel at 515 River St. would have 138 beds and a three-story, 25,000-square-foot conference center on the Hudson River. The six-story garage at 466 River St. would have 1,100 parking spaces, according to the proposed development plans from First Columbia.

"It's more than just a hotel. It's designed to integrate into the community. We're building a conference center for the universities and businesses to host what's going on in town," First Columbia President Kevin Bette said Tuesday.

The $12 million hotel and conference center are planned for the north side of the Hedley Park Place office building. The $20 million parking garage would be across the street from the office building.

First Columbia had promised it would submit plans for the hotel project to the city. Officials see the project as a filling a gap in the city's economy.

"This is a first big step in bringing a major hotel to the city of Troy. It's something that we've been working on for several years now, trying to aggressively attract a developer to build a major hotel in the city," Mayor Harry Tutunjian said.

The city Planning Board will review the site plan for the project at its June 14 meeting.

Troy is an untapped market for hotels and meetings, Bette said.

"Negative perception is the biggest problem in Troy. That's built up over time because there's been a lot of false starts," Bette said.

"We want to give Troy a place to host the knowledge workers," Bette said about the high technology workers generated by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Sage Colleges and businesses in the city and surrounding area.

Tutunjian said he anticipates more development. He said several parties are interested in the city hall site at One Monument Square for development.

[kznyc2k]

Condos sign of a bright future

Developers to celebrate new high-end waterfront housing as Troy sheds industrial past

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published: Thursday, June 7, 2007

First Columbia wants to dramatically remake the area just north of downtown Troy, recently dubbed the Hedley Park District, with new office and condominium buildings, a hotel and parking garage, and a riverside promenade.

That's future construction.

At the Mooradian's building, where River and Jay streets meet, work is happening now. The grand, 108-year-old building is shedding its industrial past for a residential future. It's becoming condominiums, a fact that will be celebrated today with an invitation-only party.

Brooklyn-based NADC LLC is redeveloping the red-brick building at 599 River St., which it purchased in October for $950,000. Mooradian's Furniture was its most recent tenant.

NADC's principals see central Troy as an "emerging market" where the future is bright, despite decades of decline.

"The ingredients are here," Pietro Costa said of the city. "They just haven't mixed yet. They haven't leavened."

On Wednesday, Costa and Ad Hereijgers, a native of the Netherlands, offered tours of the riverside building and the condominium unit that is a model for the 47 others they have planned.

Now, the building reveals the old and the new. The bottom five floors look like the mill it once was, with brick walls and wide-open spaces interrupted only by rows of beams.

Yet in an apartment on the sixth floor, there is domesticity, an elegantly designed loft-style unit with high ceilings and views of Troy, the Hudson River, downtown Albany and the distant Catskill Mountains.

The grandeur won't come cheap: Costa and Hereijgers estimate they'll sell the units, which range from 1,002 to 1,595 square feet, for $250,000 to $500,000.

That's a lot of money for real estate in Rensselaer County, where the median price of a single-family home is $167,000.

And the developers admit to uncertainty about demand for such condos. They say they considered making units in The Mooradian Lofts more consistent with what's already available in the Capital Region, but decided to go with high-end, New York City-style.

"We made the choice to do something different," Costa said.

Added Hereijgers: "We're pioneers here."

These aren't developers with modest ambitions.

They say they're spending $10 million to redevelop the building. They say they may launch an architectural competition for a pedestrian bridge to city-owned Adams Island, which sits just offshore from the site.

And on the island, they'd love to see a sculpture park.

The pair is already working with Troy artists who have been invited to place work in the building. (Costa's own sculpture will be on display during today's party.)

To Kevin Bette, president and chief executive of First Columbia, the fresh ideas from NADC can only add to Troy's future.

"They're bringing something to the market that doesn't exist," he said. "And they're doing something that could change people's perceptions about Troy."

First Columbia has submitted plans for a six-story hotel to be built just south of the Mooradian Lofts. The company also has plans for a 1,100-car parking garage that could free up surface lots in the area for development.

And Bette said First Columbia has already begun renovations on the Hedley Park Place office building, also on River Street.

Hereijgers said action like that matters; it also signals the redevelopment of the Troy waterfront is moving beyond false starts.

"That's what happened in the past," he said. "Too many announcements without enough follow-up."

Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com.