U.W. Marx targets fall 2009 for first tenants in Rensselaer riverfront project
The Business Review (Albany) - by Michael DeMasi
Friday, May 23, 2008
Do hundreds of people want to live, work, shop and play in a fancy riverfront community with views of the Albany skyline?
U.W. Marx of Troy will find out as it begins marketing de Laet's Landing on a piece of land in Rensselaer, an industrial city that doesn't conjure visions of yachts, tony stores or pricey condominiums.
The $250 million to $300 million development would rise over the next eight to 10 years on a 24-acre parcel under plans that Marx Properties Inc. and Realty USA unveiled May 19.
When fully built, de Laet's Landing would consist of a horseshoe-shaped harbor, marina, promenade and 1.28 million square feet of condominiums, townhouses, stores, offices and hotel space. The marketing materials show a large hotel with a rooftop garden; a curving, multi-story office building and tree-lined boulevards fronting boutique stores, offices and upper-floor residences.
"It's going to be astounding," said Jeff West, vice president of U.W. Marx and of Marx Properties, in Troy.
Marx Properties bought the land off Broadway near the Amtrak train station as part of a complex deal with the city school district. A new K-12 school campus was built elsewhere in the city, freeing up the riverfront property where the junior and senior high schools have been located since 1969. Demolition of the old school buildings should be finished by September.
City and school officials said the old buildings held many memories, but they are looking forward to the new waterfront development.
"This riverfront property has been a diamond in the rough for a long time," said John Mooney, school board president.
West said the credit crunch in the commercial lending market could hinder the project somewhat, but said the company owns the land debt-free and will focus initially on just 200 residential units, 90,000 square feet of retail and 360 parking spaces. The target date for initial occupancy is fall 2009.
Al Picchi, general manager of Realty USA, the exclusive commercial and residential broker for the project, said the housing would appeal to workers who commute to downtown Albany, first-time buyers and empty-nesters who want maintenance-free living. Prices for the housing have not been set.
With 630,000 square feet of residential space, 250,000 square feet of Class A office space, 165,000 square feet of retail and 236,000 square feet for a hotel, it's the largest single project Realty USA has brokered in upstate New York, and perhaps the biggest it has ever done, Picchi said.
Although the national housing market is struggling and the local market has slowed, Picchi said demand is still relatively good.
The city of Rensselaer plans to beautify the street that will be the main route to the property from Interstate 787. A $7.2 million upgrade of Broadway should begin next year followed by a $2 million rehabilitation of the Broadway Viaduct bridge, said Marybeth Pettit, city planning director.
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