Albany Development Thread

[Ex-Ithacan]

Wasn't sure where to put this, hope you Albany folks don't mind. Here's a site for the EMPAC (Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center) building on the Rensseler Polythechnic Institute campus. Quite the project. The site has a time lapse vid of the construction and all kinds of info about the building.

http://empac.rpi.edu/building/

I believe it was just completed.

[kznyc2k]

Yes, yes, yes -- the EMPAC. It definitely deserves a post or ten worth of coverage.. it's about as big of a deal architecturally as it gets in the Capital District.

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Developers still on track with large commercial projects, but stalled economy and credit-crunch fears loom large

The Business Review (Albany) - by Michael DeMasi
Friday, October 3, 2008

The financial crisis on Wall Street hasn’t jeopardized several large commercial real estate projects in the Capital Region, but it could spell trouble down the road.

If prospective tenants have difficulty getting credit, that will make it harder to fill the 1.28 million square feet of office, retail, hotel and residential space planned for a $250 million to $300 million riverfront project in Rensselaer called de Laet’s Landing.

“If commercial credit does dry up, it will be a big impact,” said Jeff West, vice president of U.W. Marx, the Troy-based company behind the development. “Will it last two years, three years, five years? Your guess is as good as mine.”

The sluggish economy is making it more challenging to get commitments from national and regional retailers to lease space at another big project proposed for Rensselaer County, The Village at Tempel Farm in East Greenbush.

Thus far, the Nigro Cos. has commitments from Lowe’s and the Hampton Inn for the 370,000-square-foot retail/office and residential development.

Town officials have given the project conditional approval and site work could begin this fall. A permit is also needed from the state Department of Transportation to reconfigure the intersection of Routes 4 and 151.

“We hope that when we’re ready to get started we have the majority of our tenants lined up,” said Steven Powers, vice president of Nigro Cos.
‘No conduit deals anymore’

Even with the uncertainty, West, Powers and several others in the commercial real estate development industry said they had not pulled the plug on proposed projects.

They also stressed they can still access the credit they need to finance construction.

The reason? The oft-cited stability of the Capital Region economy due to the large number of jobs in state government, health care and higher education. The high-tech sector is relatively small but growing.

That stability gives banks and other financial institutions greater confidence that builders and developers have solid assets that will generate revenue to repay debts.

“There’s always money out there for good, viable projects,” Powers said. “Lenders look at the credit worthiness of the buyer and tenant.”

Just like home buyers with good credit and salaries who can still get a mortgage at competitive rates, companies with good track records and healthy finances can still get loans.

“Now is the time where a good reputation and strong balance sheet get you through those types of credit issues,” said Kevin Bette, president of First Columbia LLC in Latham.

Lenders have tightened underwriting standards but First Columbia was able to close on two loans within the past couple of weeks.

What has changed is the ability to refinance loans with big institutional investors who sell mortgage-backed securities. Last year, for instance, First Columbia refinanced the debt on some of its office buildings at Century Hill Plaza in Latham to get better interest rates.
Now, Bette said, “There are no conduit deals anymore.”

The same is true for one of First Columbia’s competitors, Columbia Development Cos. in Albany.

A few years ago Columbia Development refinanced most of its real estate portfolio through big lenders who relied on mortgage-backed securities to sell debt. The terms were very favorable.

“Wall Street money was so cheap, you had to take advantage of it at the time,” said Joseph Nicolla, president of Columbia Development.

That option isn’t available now.

“That market is gone,” Nicolla said.

But Columbia Development can still get the financing it needs for big projects, such as the $65 million reconstruction of the former Hotel Wellington and four adjacent buildings on State Street in downtown Albany.

The properties are being converted into 405,000 square feet of office and residential space, including a 14-story tower.

“We really have not been impacted,” Nicolla said. “We’ve been doing business for a long time with the local banking community. They’re still in business. They’re still lending money and we still have access to their funds.”

Nicolla didn’t want to speculate on whether Columbia will have trouble securing tenants for all of that new space in downtown Albany, given what’s happening in the economy.

“That’s the esoteric conversation,” Nicolla said. “I have no idea. It’s difficult for me to comment.”

The Picotte Cos. is still able to get short-term construction loans, but the lending requirements for mortgage refinancings have tightened, said Nancy Carey Cassidy, executive vice president and chief operating officer.

“It’s more of a challenge, but we’ve been able to work through it,” Cassidy said.

A smaller developer in the area, The Rosenblum Development Corp., has found it harder over the past nine months to get non-recourse financing to buy a commercial office building that has a high vacancy rate.

Under non-recourse loans, borrowers put up the asset being purchased as collateral, not their own income or personal property. That type of loan is generally available today only for buildings that are fully leased because lenders want more assurance the debt will be repaid, said Seth Rosenblum, vice president.

Overall, though, the credit crunch hasn’t affected the company.

“The sky isn’t falling,” Rosenblum said. “Around here, assets are pretty stable.”

The economic slowdown did convince the company to delay plans for renovating a four-story warehouse in downtown Albany into condominiums. Rosenblum Development paid $951,000 for the property at 17 Chapel St. over the summer.
Moving ahead, but slowly

Three out-of-town developers that have been pursuing large residential projects in the region say they haven’t been affected by the credit problems on Wall Street. Nevertheless, each project is moving slowly, and one was just put up for sale.

Queri Development of Syracuse is asking $6.5 million for the 1.8-acre site and development rights where it had planned to build upscale apartments, a hotel and commercial office building on Broadway in downtown Albany.

Mark Congel of Queri Development said the project was put on the market after the developers received an unsolicited offer from a prospective buyer, not because of difficulty accessing credit.

Meanwhile, just a block away, more than half of the 125 luxury condominiums planned for the new Capital Grand have been sold, said Mitch Markowitz, director of sales and marketing for Norstar Development USA in Buffalo.

“We are working with one of the largest banks in America to provide the construction financing package,” Markowitz said in an e-mail. “The negotiations are going well.”

In Cohoes, plans to add 141 apartments to the Harmony Mills Riverview Lofts are still moving forward. It has been almost a year since Jersen Construction of Waterford was awarded a $21 million contract to renovate the northern end of the former cotton mill.

The developer, Uri Kaufman, needs federal mortgage insurance on a construction loan worth about $24 million.

Kaufman expects to submit paperwork “as thick as a phone book” this week to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for the loan guarantee.

“Hopefully they approve it and we’re building in November,” he said in an e-mail.

Link

[kznyc2k]

AMD Deal Marks a 'New Dawn'

Financing, manufacturing shift expected to take chip maker off "death watch"


By LARRY RULISON, Business writer
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

MALTA — Advanced Micro Devices Inc. said Tuesday it will move forward with plans for a multibillion-dollar computer-chip factory in Saratoga County after securing a $6 billion investment from the government of Abu Dhabi.

The deal assures much-needed capital for financially struggling AMD, which appeared too hobbled by its knock-down battle with rival Intel Corp. to build the high-tech facility first proposed two years ago.

Instead, AMD has decided to spin off its two German factories, or "chip fabs," into a new entity: a foundry solely for manufacturing.

With fresh financing and $1.2 billion in debt lifted off its books, AMD will focus on chip design, a much less costly — and less risky — business. Manufacturing will carried out under a separate business temporarily called The Foundry Co.

"They had to do this to survive," said Silicon Valley technology analyst Rob Enderle. "They were pretty much on death watch. This takes them off death watch, It's absolutely huge for New York."

In addition to expanding in Germany, The Foundry Co. plans to build a $4.6 billion chip fab at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta.

Previous estimates had put the cost of the plant at $3.2 billion, but AMD has decided to make the factory bigger. The plant would employ 1,465 people.

If state officials agree to transfer a $1.2 billion incentive package from AMD to the new company, the deal could help transform the Capital Region, which has been working over the past decade to become a hub for the computer-chip industry like places such as Austin, Texas, and San Francisco.

"It's an important day for the region. It's a new dawn, really," said F. Michael Tucker, president of the Center for Economic Growth, an Albany-based group that promotes regional business development.

Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., AMD is the world's No. 2 maker of microprocessors that power personal computers and servers.

But in an all-out price war with No. 1 rival Intel Corp., AMD has been bleeding cash, losing nearly $5 billion since the beginning of 2007.

Many in the local business community wondered privately if the company's plans for Saratoga County, first announced by Gov. George Pataki in the summer of 2006, were a pipe dream.

But AMD got creative, coming up with a strategy to shed its costly manufacturing operations, something the Abu Dhabi government was more than willing to pump full of cash from oil revenue.

The strategy, first called "asset light" and now "asset smart" by AMD, not only includes spinning off manufacturing but also trying to tap into the ever-increasing use of so-called "foundries" by chip companies.

These foundries, most of which are in Asia, essentially do contract manufacturing for companies like Texas Instruments and Sony. Even AMD is a customer for certain products, such as graphics chips.

The new company will try to tap this growing market for chip outsourcing, and AMD will be its first customer.

But the plan is to sell its services to other companies as well — a huge potential market expected to grow to $32 billion a year by 2012, from the current $25 billion.

And while AMD's needs will be handled for now by the company's two existing fabs in Dresden, Germany, it's expected that the Luther Forest fab would start off taking orders from other companies,

"It's very likely that the first products could be non-AMD products," said Terry Caudell, AMD's director of wafer manufacturing strategies. "It's very possible. We think that The Foundry Co., by building more capacity, is going to help fill that demand."

Under the terms of the deal, a fund backed by the government of Abu Dhabi, Advanced Technology Investment Co., or ATIC, will invest $2.1 billion in The Foundry Co., of which $700 million will go to AMD for its own investment in the new company.

The Foundry Co. will take on $1.2 billion of AMD's debt. ATIC will also commit to pump an additional $3.6 billion to $6 billion into The Foundry Co. over the next five years, money that will go to support expansion in Dresden and construction of the Luther Forest fab.

Another government-funded Abu Dhabi investment company, Mubadala Development Co. will invest $314 million in AMD, raising its current equity stake to 19.3 percent from 8.1 percent.

The deal hinges on state officials approving the transfer of the $1.2 billion in incentives previously promised to AMD to The Foundry Co., which will be 55.6 percent owned by ATIC and 44.4 percent owned by AMD.

If that transfer is approved by the board of Empire State Development Corp., the state's economic development arm, then the deal would close by the beginning of next year, AMD officials said.

Caudell, who is also project manager for the New York fab, said The Foundry Co. would acquire the land it needs at Luther Forest — roughly 200 acres — sometime during the first quarter next year. Initial site clearing would begin later in the spring, with full-scale groundbreaking and construction starting in the summer.

The factory would be completed and would start generating revenue in late 2011 or early 2012, Caudell said.

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Fast facts about the AMD deal

• The Foundry Co., plans to spend $4.6 billion on the new factory in Saratoga County.

• The fab will employ 1,465 people; its annual payroll will be $88 million.

• AMD estimates 4,300 construction jobs will be created during the two-year building window, with an annual payroll of $210 million

• Also, it's estimated another 5,050 jobs will be created in the local economy to support and serve the fab. The collective payrolls would top $200 million.

• The Foundry Co. will be based in Silicon Valley with an initial 3,000 employees worldwide, most of them working in Germany. Its CEO will be Doug Grose; its chairman will be Hector Ruiz, former AMD chairman.

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TECH VALLEY

Ready For Growth, But With Limits
Relief, cheers greet AMD decision, tempered by caution

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
Wednesday, October 8, 2008

After weeks of turmoil on Wall Street and predictions of a coming national recession, the decision by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. to go forward with a chip-fabrication plant in Malta was greeted by many Tuesday with relief and cheer.

Observers said the $4.6 billion project could bring increased development and population growth. But some also cautioned that economic benefits from the plant could fall short of sky-high expectations.

That's partly because the Capital Region's traditional distaste for fast growth is likely to cap how much development occurs.

In short: This area is unlikely to become another Austin, Texas, where high-tech development helped the population there spike by 48 percent in the 1990s.

"The public attitude that exists right now wouldn't accept that kind of growth," said Rocco Ferraro, executive director of the Capital District Regional Planning Commission, which collects statistical and demographic data on Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties. "It would be a shock to our quality of life."

But without new high-technology jobs, the Capital Region would likely lose population in coming decades, Ferraro said.

Even with developments such as the plant in Malta, the Planning Commission is forecasting only modest population growth here, relative to other parts of the country.

Still, the Tuesday announcement was widely viewed as an economic shot in the arm. After all, the upstate economy has generally been in a decade-long decline. And in some quarters, faith had wavered that AMD would move forward in Malta.

Some in the construction industry now foresee better times, with the chip-fab investment bringing waves of new commercial and residential building.

"I think it's like getting an anchor tenant in a mall," said Michael Rourke, owner of Rourke Custom Builders Inc. in East Greenbush. "The impact on construction overall will be enormous."

At least one real estate agent expects the announcement alone to end the slumping housing market.

"The biggest problem we have is that people's confidence is very low, because people are scared," said Miguel Berger, president of TechValley Homes Real Estate LLC in Colonie. "This will change that."

Homebuilders have long complained it takes several years for Capital Region housing proposals to get regulatory approvals.

Ferraro agreed — and added that while such regulatory hurdles might be appropriate and in the best interest of the region, they led the Planning Commission to assume the area will not grow rapidly.

The combined population of the region's four core counties was 794,293 in 2000. The commission projects an increase to 826,094 by 2020.

Waves of high-tech employers won't move operations to the region if the area doesn't have a steady supply of affordable housing, Ferraro said.

But Gene Bunnell, associate professor of planning at the University at Albany, said the Capital Region could handle growth. That's particularly true if it is channeled away from fast-growing Saratoga County and toward Schenectady, Albany and Troy.

"There is space," Bunnell said. "Our cities have been depopulating for years."

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FROM THE BUSINESS REVIEW

AMD Commits: Timeline to Building Chip Plant
The Business Review (Albany)
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 - 12:26 PM EDT

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. announced Tuesday plans to spinoff its manufacturing operation and create a separate chip-making company, called The Foundry Co. for now.

The new company is a partnership with Advanced Technology Investment Co., which is based in Abu Dhabi. AMD officials announced today that The Foundry Co. would take over AMD’s plans to build a $3.2 billion chip plant in Luther Forest Technology Campus, and AMD would be its first customer.

Here’s a timeline on how the plant got to this point:

• 1998 - State begins process to pre-permit chip manufacturing plants, known as fabs

• 1999 - When the North Greenbush community turned down plans to have a plant built there, Saratoga Economic Development Corp. starts process to have one built in Saratoga County

• 2002 - Saratoga Economic Development Corp. files zoning application

• 2004 - Towns of Malta and Stillwater approve application

• 2006 - AMD announces plan to build $3.2 billion chip plant on Luther Forest Technology Campus

• December 2007 - Army Corps of Engineers issues permit for the site, meaning Luther Forest Technology Campus Economic Development Corp. can build sewer lines and roads for the entire campus

• February 2008 - AMD formally approaches town of Malta and submits its application to build

• April 2008 - Construction bids expected to be awarded for interior roads

• May 2008 - Luther Forest EDC expects final approval from Stillwater sewer lines

• August 2008 - AMD Chairman Hector Ruiz visits the AMD site at Luther Forest for the first time

• Oct. 7, 2008 - AMD spins off manufacturing while committing to Luther Forest project

Richard A. D'Errico can be reached at 518-640-6807 or rderrico@bizjournals.com

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[kznyc2k]

Location of the development and bypass road:

[LMJCobalt]

So thats where that new road they are building is going to go. I was wondering about that.

[kznyc2k]

Fab feeling: 'Guess what, guys; it happened'

Chip factory advocates gloat a bit over AMD decision

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer
Thursday, October 9, 2008

MALTA — Supporters of Advanced Micro Devices' $4.6 billion computer-chip factory project celebrated — and gloated — Wednesday at the plant's future location here.

Political and business leaders gathered at Luther Forest Technology Campus for a rally just a day after AMD said it was spinning off manufacturing operations and would build the Malta plant. The plan is part of a $7.2 billion deal with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to create a global "foundry" to make chips for AMD and others.

One of those leaders was Bob Hayes, chairman of the board of Luther Forest Technology Campus Development Corp., where the state-of-the-art factory will be built.

"To the naysayers," Hayes said, "guess what, guys; it happened."

The elation was understandable.

After first announcing more than two years ago that it planned to build the factory, known as a chip fab, at Luther Forest, AMD entered a bloody price war with rival Intel Corp. The result has been $5.5 billion in losses for AMD since the fourth quarter of 2006, and growing doubt locally that the Saratoga County project would survive.

Also at the event Wednesday — and as outspoken as ever — was former Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, now a lobbyist and chief executive of a Latham consulting firm. Bruno, who retired from the Legislature in the summer, helped to craft the $1.2 billion state incentive package that helped persuade AMD and its partners to build the factory.

"Just a few weeks ago, I was getting calls: 'It's never going to happen; it's never going to happen; AMD's in trouble,' " Bruno said. "Now we're here. Tough decisions, if they're made properly, they lead to benefits like they do here."

Under the terms of AMD's spinoff, an investment fund financed by the government of Abu Dhabi is pumping $2.1 billion into the new foundry company, which will take over ownership of the company's two chip fabs in Dresden, Germany. The new firm, temporarily dubbed The Foundry Co., will also assume $1.2 billion in AMD debt, helping to improve its balance sheet.

The Foundry Co. has also promised to spend between $3.6 billion and $6 billion to upgrade the Dresden factories and build the new factory in Luther Forest, a 1,350-acre technology park currently in the early stages of development in the towns of Malta and Stillwater.

AMD still faces a few regulatory hurdles before construction at Luther Forest can proceed, including the transfer of AMD's state incentive package to The Foundry Co.

But AMD officials here Wednesday also made their most effusive statements ever about the fab.

Even dating back to the project's announcement in June 2006 under then-Gov. George Pataki, company officials have been guarded in their comments about the likelihood the plant would ultimately get the green light from AMD's board to move forward.

At the time, there were rumors that political leaders, fresh off budget negotiations, had forced AMD to make the announcement before it was ready.

Not much of that restraint appears to remain. AMD is now better poised to battle with Intel, and its Persian Gulf investors have billions of dollars in oil wealth backing them.

"This is going to happen, guys," Terry Caudell, AMD's director of wafer manufacturing strategies and project director for Luther Forest, told Wednesday's crowd, which numbered about 125. "I guess it's been said 'Be careful what you ask for because that's what you're going to get.' You're going to get a chip factory."

AMD is taking the first steps right away.

It is leasing 9,000 square feet of office space at Saratoga Technology & Energy Park, a state-owned office park within the borders of Luther Forest.

The office is slated to open Dec. 1 and will be used by The Foundry Co. to plan the chip fab and oversee construction, which is scheduled to begin next summer and take about two years.

AMD spokesman Travis Bullard said about a dozen people would work there initially, with up to 40 by next year. Once completed, the fab will employ 1,465.

AMD also said Wednesday it will give $5 million to the towns of Malta and Stillwater over four years, including $1 million that will be used to create a public ballpark complex on 32 acres in Luther Forest.

Link

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AMD commits: Scope of chip plant project grows

The Business Review (Albany) - by Richard A. D'Errico
Wednesday, October 8, 2008 - 4:19 PM EDT

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. announced yesterday it will spin off its chip manufacturing operation and partner with two Abu Dhabi companies to create a new company called The Foundry Co. to build chips.

Besides AMD’s (NYSE: AMD) new manufacturing strategy and its partnerships with Abu Dhabi-based Advanced Technology Investment Co. and Mubadala, a number of other things have changed about the deal reached between New York and AMD in 2006.

Most recently, the chip plant to be built in Luther Forest Technology Campus has gone from being a $3.2 billion plant to $4.6 billion.

“The reason it is bigger is because we’re planning to build a bigger fab than was originally envisioned back in 2006,” said Travis Bullard, AMD’s spokesman.

In fact, the plant size has grown from 800,000 square feet to 890,000 square feet. The cleanroom has also grown from 150,000 square feet to 180,000 square feet.

“More cleanroom space means we can get more tools and more production capacity out of the fab,” Bullard said.

The number of people needed to run the plant also has increased by 260 to 1,465.

One thing that hasn’t grown is New York’s investment in the plant. New York committed $1.2 billion to the project in 2006. Gov. David Paterson said the state had no interest in renegotiating the terms of the deal.

“I don’t think we’d want to change the terms,” Paterson said during a press conference Tuesday. “We like the terms.”

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[kznyc2k]

Despite fog of hype, AMD chip fab is no Erie Canal

FRED LEBRUN
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Equating the impact on upstate New York of a $4.6 billion chip fab plant in Saratoga County with what the Erie Canal did for us is certainly attention-getting but plainly absurd.

Even under the rosiest scenario, the Advanced Micro Devices spinoff facility in Malta is expected to create about 1,500 jobs, along with support industries that may develop. For how long, who knows? That factory, if it is built, will no doubt produce the very latest microchip and make Malta a household name wherever microchip is spoken.

But in a few years, a competitor in all likelihood will introduce a new, improved chip somewhere else on the global checkerboard and the game will change again.

This type of applied science is today's wild frontier. Needed improvements for various commercial applications are bound to produce continued development, innovation, and consequently a new Malta somewhere else.

By contrast, the low-tech Erie Canal and its expanded versions were instrumental in America's western expansion and created New York as the Empire State. The canal was a huge deal, affecting millions and millions of lives, through most of the 19th century. There simply is no comparison, as much as the AMD boosters would like to claim.

One of the problems many of us are having grasping the true importance of the chip plant probably coming to our region is the boosterism and hype the project seems to generate from our business community and government leaders.

It's hard to know what to believe; whether it's even going to materialize, for example. Although people I trust on the subject, like Assemblyman Roy McDonald, tell me that it will happen. Or if it doesn't, something just like it will.

"We did our homework and made the investments in infrastructure. This site is approved and ready for chip fab plants. There aren't that many of those around, so believe me, if we don't land AMD, we'll get another one. Of that I am absolutely convinced," says Roy.

I guess that's reassuring, although I still hear that touch of uncertainty concerning AMD.

What Roy and a number of others I've spoken with seem to be saying with assurance, however, is that change is on its way. Malta will have its day in the sun, and what we do with that burst of growth and international attention is a blank slate to be filled in, or not. Whether the region is ready to take advantage, or even adequately cope with change, is a matter of wide speculation.

Personally, I think for the most part the answer is no.

The town of Malta may be ready, with strong zoning and a smart development plan that anticipates what's coming. But just a few miles away, the beautiful farmland of Washington County is virtually without protection. No zoning, no vision. The attitude there seems to be what happens, happens. Under those circumstances, the worst kinds of sprawl and awkward growth are far more likely to happen than not.

I found it utterly charming but strikingly naive for Malta Supervisor Paul Sausville to tell Times Union reporter Jimmy Vielkind that "We don't want to lose our small town character. We like Malta the way it is."

Oh my gosh, that horse left the barn when a six-lane highway called the Northway went through the town. Sleepy little upstate town it will be no more. You can't have it both ways. But at least Malta is anticipating. Those who like Washington County the way it is had best brace themselves.

Rocky Ferraro, executive director of the Capital District Regional Planning Commission, says he doesn't think the epicenter of change will be Malta. If big change does come, the entire region will be shaken up. Success in dealing with it is likely to be uneven.

His main point is the same as Roy McDonald's. Where investment has been made by communities, there is a reasonable anticipation of controlled growth and increased prosperity. But where investment has not been made, no thought given, what is the likelihood that change can be positive?

By prime example, our cities desperately need investment to make them attractive for those lured by the microchip plant and its anticipated spinoffs and ancillary industry. There are no doubt many who would prefer to live in a city than in a suburb or the country. But what are we doing now to make that a realistic possibility? Where is the mass transit that will necessary?

None of this is new stuff, for sure. But change, sudden growth, for our region, if we are to believe the hypesters, is no longer a hypothetical. Are we going to sail over it, or drown under it?

Fred LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com.

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[kznyc2k]

Parking facility mulled

Publicly financed garage would benefit Albany Med, private developer
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Tuesday, October 21, 2008

ALBANY — The city is considering the construction of a publicly financed parking garage that would benefit Albany Medical Center and a private developer's new office buildings.

The garage, with a $40 million estimated cost, would be built on New Scotland Avenue in the rapidly redeveloping Park South neighborhood. The site is next to an Albany Med garage and just north of two buildings that BBL Construction Services LLC is developing.

BBL and its property development arm, Columbia Development Cos., are building a five-story office building at 22 New Scotland Ave.

And BBL is set to break ground on 16 New Scotland Ave., a three-story building that will include a pharmacy, bank branch and offices.

Both buildings will have minimal parking, though the surrounding neighborhood is densely populated.

Meanwhile, Albany Med is planning a $360 million expansion that will add 500 employees. New parking is not part of the plan.

Michael Yevoli, the city's director of planning and economic development, briefly discussed the garage at an Albany Industrial Development Agency meeting last week. The agency is charged with sparking city development.

"It's proposed," Yevoli said of the garage. "But it's well under way."

After the IDA meeting, Yevoli said the city has discussed the garage with officials from Albany Med and Columbia Development. He said the project could have ground-level retail stores and could be financed by the IDA and Albany Local Development Corp., a city economic development agency.

"We're looking at different options there," he said. "There's a lot of discussion over whether that structure could service the greater community."

BBL is the dominant construction company in Albany and a major contributor to the political campaigns of local officials. Since 1999, BBL and its primary owner, Donald Led Duke, have given at least $1.1 million in political contributions, according to the state Board of Elections.

The proposed garage would not be the first built by the city near a BBL building. A city agency owns and operates a garage adjacent to the company's high-rise at 677 Broadway.

On Monday, Led Duke denied the garage near 677 Broadway was built to benefit BBL, saying it was planned several years before his company considered construction of the tower.

"If 677 wasn't in front of that garage, there'd be an empty garage," Led Duke said.

He said the New Scotland Avenue garage would be built on land now owned by the Veterans Administration and the federal government.

And it would benefit the entire neighborhood, not just the tenants of BBL's buildings, Led Duke said. Users would pay to park at the structure, just as they do at the garage near 677 Broadway. "Nobody gets anything for free," he said.

The city has targeted Park South, south of Washington Park, for intensive redevelopment, with plans for new office buildings and at least 400 new housing units.

The redevelopment is a complicated private-public partnership, with the city working closely with BBL and Winn Development, a Boston company.

The Albany Med expansion is not part of the plan, although city officials see the growing hospital as key to its success.

Nicole Pitaniello, an Albany Med spokeswoman, said the hospital is exploring new parking options, including a garage on New Scotland Avenue. "Nothing is on the board, as of yet," she said.

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[kznyc2k]

Housing complex proposal unveiled

Condominiums, town houses planned for 27-acre site
By ERIC ANDERSON, Deputy Business Editor
Saturday, November 1, 2008

RENSSELAER � A Clifton Park-based developer plans a 180-unit condominium and town house complex on the eastern edge of the city of Rensselaer.

Forum Industries is proposing to build 30 town homes and an eight-story building with 150 condominiums on a 27-acre site at Cottage Hill and Partition streets in the city.

The development, known as Cottage Hill Landings, would cost $45 million to $50 million when it's fully built, said Andy Sciocchetti, owner of Forum.

A draft environmental impact statement has been completed and is available for public viewing at the City of Rensselaer Library and at the city's planning department, on the second floor of the Community Center building at 62 Washington St.

A public hearing on the draft statement will be held Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. at the Community Center's first-floor meeting room.

The project has been in the planning stage for about two years, Sciocchetti said Friday afternoon.

Financing for infrastructure improvements at the site is in place, he said, but money still needs to be lined up for construction of the buildings, which will be done in phases. Prices for the condominium and town-home units haven't been determined.

Forum also is developing a 70-unit senior housing complex off Route 146 in Clifton Park. Sciocchetti said he hopes to get approval for the Rensselaer site plans by March.

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[kznyc2k]

Cohoes hopes for change of luck

City's easy commuting time helps attract apartment, condominium projects
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Tuesday, November 11, 2008

COHOES — A piece of Wilton is planned for the Spindle City, in the form of a high-end apartment complex.

The developers behind The Paddocks of Saratoga, on Old Gick Road in Wilton, are hoping to build a replica of the massive project in Cohoes, the industrial city where the Hudson and Mohawk rivers meet.

Capital District Properties LLC of Latham plans to build the project along St. Agnes Highway, near Colonie and the relatively new subdivisions that line Boght Road.

The Paddocks of Lexington Hills is just the latest in a string of apartment and condominium developments proposed for the city at the northeastern tip of Albany County.

Some of those projects, such as The Seasons at Mohawk Pointe, are complete. Others, like the Waters View apartments planned for Delaware Avenue, have been slow to develop.

All have the potential to boost a city that had been seen as down on its luck, but is touted for its fairly easy commute to employment centers, including Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta.

"The reason we like the site is its proximity to downtown Albany, Saratoga County and the highway system," said Toby Milde, a managing director at Capital District Properties. "It's a great little spot there, and one of the last undeveloped spots in Cohoes."

Milde said the 312-unit, $40 million project would look nearly identical to the Paddocks of Saratoga, designed by Guilderland architect Dominick Ranieri. Monthly rents also will be the same, he said, and will range from $1,200 to $1,800.

An additional phase of the development could add 96 condo units to the site, and likely would follow completion of the apartment construction, Milde said.

The Cohoes Common Council will weigh approval of a planned development district for the project at a meeting tonight. The project also needs approval from the city's planning board.

Already approved are three waterside projects for Delaware Avenue on Van Schaick Island, which sits between mainland Cohoes and Troy.

One of the projects, Admiral's Walk, is under way, with VLG Development of East Greenbush selling units as construction proceeds.

Two others, though, have faced delays: Construction at both Captain's Walk, also by VLG, and Waters View, by Prime Cos. of Latham, was supposed to begin in the spring, but has not started.

Victor Gush, owner of VLG, attributed the delay at Captain's Walk to a decision to change the look and layout of the development. He said construction is set to begin next spring — assuming he can pre-sell many of its condo units.

"In this market, that's the prudent thing to do," Gush said. "I'm not a big gambler."

Dean DeVito, a co-owner of Prime Cos., said his company decided to delay construction of Waters View until the real estate market shakes off its sluggishness. He said he is hopeful construction can begin by mid-2009.

Waters View and many of the other Cohoes projects are planned for the fringes of the city, either along the Hudson or Mohawk rivers or the Colonie border.

Still, officials in the city of about 15,000 people hope the housing will bring an influx of residents who can reverse a long population decline and revitalize downtown's Remsen Street, even during an economic slowdown.

"The good news is that none of the projects has been cancelled," said Edward Tremblay, the city's director of community and economic development. "They're still moving."

On the drawing board

The Paddocks - Capital District Properties. St. Agnes Hwy. 312 units. Needs city approval
Admiral's Walk - VLG Development Delaware Ave. 105 units. Under construction
Captain's Lookout - VLG Development. Delaware Ave. 140 units. Construction to begin in spring
Waters View - Prime Cos. Delaware Ave. 222 units. Delayed by real estate market
Seasons at Mohawk Pointe - Gordon Cos. North Reservoir St. 37 units. Done; units for sale
Lofts at Harmony Mills - Uri Kaufman. North Mohawk St. 141 units. 2009 construction

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...egory=BUSINESS

[kznyc2k]

Madison Avenue lot making comeback

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published in print: Sunday, November 16, 2008

ALBANY- Nearly a year after the spectacular blaze that seriously injured one man and left a yawning hole in one of the city's historic streetscapes, Joe Galu is rebuilding.

Galu is the owner of the now-vacant lot at 598 Madison Ave., where until December of last year stood a circa-1870s brick apartment building directly across from Washington Park.

The Dec. 11 fire so ravaged the building that the city ordered it razed, despite early hopes by Galu and preservationists at the Historic Albany Foundation that it could be saved.

Now, with the help of Albany architects Harris A. Sanders, Galu is navigating his way through the Board of Zoning Appeals to build a new eight-unit, brick and wood building designed, he said, to match the historic character of the block.

The project went before the zoning board last week but there was no action because the panel lacked a quorum, Galu said. The old building had nine apartments.

The plans would require height, parking, set-back, and use variances, but Galu noted the building will be about the same height as the one it is replacing � a basement plus three stories.

Parts of the building not made of brick, Galu said, will be constructed of fire-resistant wood. Plans also call for a sprinkler system throughout.

He said "it is gratifying, certainly, to be able to proceed with a restoration of the look of the city," and the plans have also earned cheers from Historic Albany.

Andrew Harvey, president of the neighboring Park South Neighborhood Association, pointed to another plus.

"From what I can see," Harvey said, "Mr. Galu is going to fill that gaping hole with the quality new housing stock that downtown Albany very much needs."

Because it is located within the Washington Park Historic District, the project also needs the consent of the city's Historic Resources Commission. Galu said he's optimistic work could start in the spring.

Link

[Ex-Ithacan]

^^ Glad to see Cohoes is getting some love from the developers. It's a nice little slice of urban life. Thanks for the updates.

[kznyc2k]

Convention center plan has leaner look

Hotel and parking garage separated from the proposal to save $177M


By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Friday, December 5, 2008

ALBANY — The Albany Convention Center Authority today will unveil a revised plan for a new downtown convention hall, cutting an estimated $177 million from the project's $400 million cost.

The plan would divorce the hotel and parking garage portion of the project from the convention center, and would turn the construction and operation of those structures over to outside developers.

Moreover, the hotel and parking garage would no longer be part of the convention center's core complex near the downtown Greyhound bus station. Instead, those structures mostly would be built across Liberty Street from the center and its meeting halls, though there would be direct pedestrian passageways.

The revised plan is a move by authority officials to save a convention center that many had given up for dead — killed by ballooning costs and a state budget deficit estimated to be at least $1.5 billion.

But authority officials, in a meeting Thursday with the Times Union editorial board, stressed their belief in the plan's viability, and revealed that Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday agreed to release $10 million for the continuation of pre-construction planning.

Gavin Donohue, chairman of the Albany Convention Center Authority board, and Duncan Stewart, executive director of the authority, said the revised plan does not reduce the center's ambitions, goals or size. It only reduces the cost, they said, while simplifying its design.

"We haven't tried to do less," Stewart said. "We're just putting the pieces together differently."

The long-discussed center, first proposed about a decade ago, is seen as a way to boost downtown vitality by attracting conventions and meetings that now bypass a city and region lacking a hall that can accommodate large gatherings.

Prospects seemed bright in 2006, when then-Gov. George Pataki announced $75 million in state support for a project with an estimated total cost of $200 million.

But those prospects dimmed as the price tag climbed with construction costs, leading officials to revisit the proposal and produce the revision to be unveiled and discussed during this morning's monthly meeting of the authority's board.

The new plan would expand the overall footprint of new construction by moving the parking garage and hotel to sites that had not been part of prior plans. Both would be built behind existing facades at 320 to 344 Broadway, along Liberty Street and near the intersection with Pruyn Street.

The authority will ask private developers to submit proposals for the hotel. The 1,100-space parking garage still might require public support, perhaps from the Albany Parking Authority, the officials said.

The convention center, with entrances on Hudson Avenue and Liberty Street, would be built to accommodate future expansions, if needed.

Stewart and Donohue said they couldn't estimate the size of the hotel, because the building's specifics would be determined by the private developer selected to erect it.

"We don't have all the answers today," Donohue said. "But we are committed to doing this as a full-service hotel, because that's the only way this works."

Turning the hotel over to private developers would save $136 million, and officials estimate savings of $11 million on the parking garage. Simplifying the center's construction and changing some design elements would save an additional $30 million, they said.

Donohue pegged the new cost of the center at between $225 million and $240 million.

"It's a significant reduction," he said. "That's why I think the (Paterson) administration was willing to go forward with this."

Donohue and Stewart on Thursday acknowledged that the recession and the state's potentially devastating budget deficit present significant hurdles for the center, but promoted the project as a public-works initiative that could provide a broad economic boost.

The $10 million promised this week by Paterson will be taken from the $75 million previously appropriated by Pataki. If the center is to be built, officials said, more state money will be needed.

"We are not at a point where we can state the amount of additional subsidy that will be required," Stewart said. "But we do believe additional help will be necessary."

Stewart and Donohue said they have shown the revised plan to a select number of state government and Albany officials, including Mayor Jerry Jennings.

Jennings on Thursday cheered the plan — along with the money from Paterson, which he described as a strong show of support — and said he's confident that adding private developers to the convention center mix is wise strategy.

"If we keep moving the convention center forward, there will be interest from the private sector," Jennings said.

Link

[kznyc2k]

Harriman campus plans again put on hold

Proposals in hand, but selection process by agency remains stalled
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Friday, December 5, 2008

ALBANY — The much-anticipated but oft-delayed redevelopment of the Harriman State Office Campus has stalled again.

State officials have two development proposals in hand, but have not publicly moved forward with the selection process since the Oct. 1 deadline for submitting plans.

Proposals by The Howard Group of Colonie and Columbia Development Cos. of Albany were originally scheduled to be unveiled during a November meeting of the Harriman Research and Development Corp.'s board of directors.

That meeting, though, was canceled. A December meeting has not been scheduled.

The Harriman Research and Development Corp. is overseeing redevelopment at the state agency campus, along with Empire State Development Corp., the state's economic development arm.

Redevelopment plans for the 330-acre site were first proposed by then-Gov. George Pataki in 2003.

Officials envision transforming the campus, where about 7,500 state employees now work, into a hub for high-tech employment, with residential and retail uses.

Boosters see the plan as a way for Albany to capture the growth now taking place in suburbs.

But interest from developers initially was tepid, and state officials last year withdrew a request for proposals after it attracted only three viable responses.

The proposal process was relaunched earlier this year, with state officials saying they intended to have a plan approved and ready to go by mid-October. That process brought the proposals by The Howard Group and Columbia Development.

On Thursday, a spokesman for Empire State Development said Marisa Lago, the agency's president and CEO, is "taking a hard look at the responses and market realities," adding that she "has not ruled anything out."

"Everything seems to be suspended right now," said Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, adding he has grown impatient with the process.

"We don't need any more delays," he said. "We need to develop."

Link

[kznyc2k]

Victory for future of downtown

By FRED LEBRUN
First published in print: Sunday, December 7, 2008

Albany still needs a convention center, a large-scale meeting place appropriate for a state capital.

The need hasn't changed, regardless of the state's financial condition. Indeed, I would argue that the worse the state's financial picture becomes, the more attractive a large-scale public works project should be for us.

So it is gratifying, if not elating, to see that those dogged folks at the Albany Convention Center Authority have come up with a plan that will save the convention center concept. A tip of the hat to them for getting creative, and not giving up. All the old justifications for a convention center, from serving as a badly needed pump primer for downtown development to finally offering Albany a stadium-size venue for conventions, are joined by some new, equally compelling reasons.

For one, this will mean jobs, lots of them, at a time when the building trades are looking at a stagnant market, or worse. Convention Authority chair Gavin Donohue estimates construction on the shovel-ready site will mean employment for 400 to 500. Further, he says the analysis of the completed project estimates about 800 permanent jobs will be created by the convention center and the accompanying parking garages and hotel.

But the best news concerning the rethought vision for building a convention center in tough economic times is that far fewer taxpayer dollars will be involved, and fewer dollars, period. While at the same time we are assured that the size and versatility of the original convention center itself has not been compromised.

Spinning off the hotel and parking to private enterprise, plus simplifying the design, will save nearly half the previously estimated $400 million cost. One could argue this is where the convention should have started, but there was no imperative to either belt-tighten or find nonpublic partners when the idea of a convention center first tried to take wing nearly a decade ago. The state was flush with money then. Well, better late than never. This is a rare of example of doing nothing for long time actually saving us money.

I can hear the grumbling and carping of those who are set against a convention center at any cost, or under any arrangement. They argue that convention centers across the country don't make money and have become albatrosses to their host cities. Not everywhere, but frequently enough.

Sure, an Albany convention center probably will lose money. In addition, the original scheme called for the authority to own and run the hotel. Presumably, the hotel would make money, and that would be an offset. So now the authority will have to find other ways to balance the books, and that will be a challenge. Certainly the $3 million a year the authority now gets as its share of the county's hotel tax receipts are vital, and need to continue.

But to the naysayers and grumblers I offer this: Consider what downtown Albany will look like a quarter-century from now with a convention center complex, and without it.

A planned complex of useful and appropriate buildings actually designed as a whole to enhance Albany's standing as the state capital to my mind far transcends the accountant's ledger. A convention center will become an integral and attractive part of the city's identity, another version of Empire State Plaza.

Without the convention center we're trusting to luck and whatever private developers come up with piecemeal. That's bound to be less, in my view. With a convention center, we still will benefit from the additional development with private money the complex is bound to attract and stimulate. So it's win-win with a revamped, lower-cost, public-private convention center, and a Hail Mary without.

Donohue and the convention center authority board and staff have gone the extra mile here for a keeping a good idea alive in troubled times, and deserve recognition. But so do the political leaders in Albany city and county, from Jennings to Breslin, Connors to Commisso. They've been uncommonly supportive.

And of course, the governor rose to the occasion. It would have been easy for him to scuttle the dream given how dire our state finances have become. Instead, he released $10 million of previously appropriated funds so that Donohue and his board could build on more than hope.

David Paterson already has proved himself a good friend to the city of Albany, not to mention a proxy architect of what the future capital city will look like.

Link

[kznyc2k]

Park South on the rise in Albany

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Sunday, December 14, 2008

ALBANY — The Park South you knew — and probably didn't love — is disappearing.

Along Knox Street, once a street the cautious avoided at night, there are 18 gleaming, newly renovated row houses. On New Scotland Avenue, the neighborhood's main drag, there's an office building rising and a second ready to rise.

And throughout the nine-block neighborhood between Washington Park and Albany Medical Center, there is new optimism and belief, although sometimes tempered, that the long-troubled area is on the upswing.

"There's simply not as many difficult tenants as there used to be," said Peter Rinne, a longtime resident. The improvement in Park South is hardly accidental, or the result of market-forces alone. Two years ago, city and neighborhood leaders adopted the Park South Urban Renewal Plan, which calls for radically remaking the neighborhood.

Though widespread demolitions were discussed early on, the plan ultimately became a slow-but-steady approach to renewal, novel for a city where officials once "improved" a vital neighborhood by bulldozing it for Empire State Plaza.

Moreover, though some residents justifiably fear gentrification, the plan commits to improving the neighborhood while keeping lower and middle-income residents in the mix. The Knox Street buildings, for example, were redeveloped as affordable housing.

"It's not throw everything out, and start over, and knock it down," said Michael Yevoli, city commissioner of planning and economic development. "We're trying to work on a property-by-property basis."

Much of the redevelopment is backed by public money.

The $12.5 million renovations on Knox Street, for example, were funded by the city Community Development Agency, and state and city tax credits.

The office building at 16 New Scotland Ave. received a $3.3 million state grant. It is being planned and built by the Albany Local Development Corp., a city agency.

And a $40 million parking garage under consideration for New Scotland would be publicly financed.

But increasing private investment is also flowing into Park South. To wit:

Maddalone & Associates, a Schenectady property management firm, has purchased 70 Morris St. and plans to spend $700,000 to $800,000 rehabbing the apartment building, vacant for at least 15 years.

Property owner Joe Galu had decided to rebuild apartments destroyed by fire at 598 Madison Ave., providing something rare in central Albany: newly constructed housing.

Latham lawyers Joe Zappone and Patrick Fiore purchased and are renovating Quintessence, a New Scotland diner closed since 2004. The restaurant is expected to reopen next month.

Zappone and Chris Maddalone, president of Maddalone & Associates, both cited improvements in the neighborhood as encouraging to their investments. Maddalone, speaking at a recent meeting of the Park South Neighborhood Association, said he wants to "get rid of an eyesore in a neighborhood that's really starting to flourish."

To be sure, Park South has its troubles. Residents complain of overt drug dealing and crimes both petty and severe. Walk along Dana or Myrtle avenues, or Morris and Robin streets, and its hard to ignore the abandoned and boarded-over buildings. Irresponsible landlords keep some buildings occupied, but with tenants who terrorize their neighbors.

The Park South story of recent decades is a familiar inner-city tale: Disinvestment and the departure of middle-class homeowners, predictably followed by rising crime and depressed property values.

Such trends are, of course, difficult to reverse. But Park South has terrific assets. It abuts both the thriving Lark Street strip and Washington Park, while two major employers — Albany Medical Center and Stratton VA Medical Center — crowd it to the south.

Albany Med is also an important Park South landowner. And though not directly part of the renewal plan, its proposal for a $360 million expansion along New Scotland is considered an enormous boost to the neighborhood's fortunes.

Maddalone envisions Albany Med workers living in his apartments and walking to work. Zappone hopes they'll walk to his restaurant.

"If there's a place that's going to come back strong, it's that little strip of New Scotland Avenue," Zappone said. "You're going to end up with something like Lark Street on that strip."

Perhaps, though there's concern that poor design decisions may strip New Scotland of vitality and character.

Sue Holland, president of the Historic Albany Foundation, notes that the drugstore and bank at the 16 New Scotland Ave. will have drive-through lanes, and worries suburban-style buildings will erode the neighborhood's urban feel.

Likewise, Andrew Harvey, head of the neighborhood group, cites that the renewal plan calls for apartments and condos along New Scotland — but neither of the street's new buildings includes housing. He worries the trend will continue as the city carries out plans for more large buildings along the corridor.

"It'll be a suburban canyon," Harvey said. "You'll have people working there during the day, and you'll have no eyes on the street at night."

Still, the criticisms are muted. Harvey and Holland are both quick to note the improvement in the neighborhood, especially along Knox Street.

Residents say there's still much work needed in Park South. And the renewal plan calls for selective demolition or renovations of "blighting influences," as well as the construction of townhomes and additional office buildings.

Such plans may be difficult to accomplish, especially in an economic downturn. But, said Joe Fama, head of Troy's non-profit TAP Inc. architecture firm, Park South renewal seems on the right track.

"They looked real hard at what they wanted to do," Fama said. "And they have a plan to do it."
.

The Transformation of Park South

The city's plan to radically remake the nine-block neighborhood between Washington Park and Albany Medical Center is underway, as indicated by the key projects described below.

1. Albany Medical Center expansion -- $360 million plan to add a 325,000-square-foot, six-story addition to the hospital. Plan awaits city approval.
2. 22 New Scotland -- A five-story office building by BBL Construction Services for Albany Med administrative offices. Nearing completion.
3. 16 New Scotland -- A three-story office building by Albany Local Development Corp. to include a drugstore, bank branch and office space. Groundbreaking in 2009.
4. Knox Street homes -- 18 row houses renovated by Winn Development, a Boston company that finished the $12.5 million project in August.
5. Parking garage -- $40 million parking structure, likely with retail on its lowest level, being planned by city officials. Plans are preliminary.

Link

[kznyc2k]

Clues to a fab future

Nearby communities offer a glimpse of what plant's impact could be
By LARRY RULISON, Business writer
First published in print: Sunday, December 21, 2008

EAST FISHKILL — It's in vogue to compare Albany to places like Austin, Texas, or Portland, Ore., when predicting what impact the multibillion-dollar computer chip factory planned for Saratoga County will have on the Capital Region.

But within a few hours' drive of Malta, where Advanced Micro Devices Inc. will build the $4.6 billion plant dubbed Fab 4X, are chip-production factories operated by IBM Corp. that provide at least a glimpse into what this area might expect in terms of economic growth from semiconductor manufacturing.

A state-of-the-art IBM chip fab similar to the one being planned by AMD is located in East Fishkill, in Dutchess County. A second one, older and less advanced, is in Essex Junction, Vt., a small community located outside Burlington.

Both communities have had controlled and measured economic growth.

By contrast, Austin experienced explosive growth in the 1980s and early 1990s as more than a dozen fabs were built. Greater Austin's population essentially tripled because of the tech boom.

Then there are communities like Hillsboro, Ore., outside Portland, and Chandler, Ariz., outside Phoenix, where Intel Corp. — AMD's main rival — has put multiple chip fabs. Both cities have seen substantial growth, although not of the caliber that occurred in Austin.

For now, though, it may be more realistic to look at East Fishkill and Burlington as models for the Capital Region to consider.

AMD, which is spinning off its existing manufacturing plants in Germany to a joint venture with the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, has committed to building just one fab at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta, although it has space at the site for up to three.

In fact, AMD has said that the joint venture, temporarily called The Foundry Co., would consider future fabs not only in New York but also in Abu Dhabi.

"We don't know yet," AMD spokesman Travis Bullard said of adding a second or third factory at Luther Forest. "Future fabs beyond Fab 4X will be determined by market conditions and business needs, so it's too early to predict."

With that in mind, the Times Union visited IBM's fab in East Fishkill and interviewed economic development and government officials who live near that plant and the one in Vermont to see what impact those facilities have had on their regions.

IBM's fab in East Fishkill, which opened in 2002 and includes 728,000 square feet of clean-room space and a 74,000-square-foot annex completed in 2006, sits on an 885-acre campus off Interstate 84.

A total of 6,000 people are employed at the campus, which has 46 buildings and opened in 1963. In addition to a chip fab, the site also has a computer chip packaging center.

The manufacturing tools at the East Fishkill fab are designed to imprint chips on 300-millimeter silicon wafers, which is the leading edge in chip manufacturing.

Anne Conroy, president of Dutchess County Economic Development Corp. in Poughkeepsie, said IBM has attracted to the site seven semiconductor companies with which it partners on development and manufacturing — including companies like AMD and Sony — that have about 350 employees. And a number of suppliers for the sophisticated equipment that keeps the fab running 24 hours a day are also frequently on site.

Conroy said other firms have located there or grown because of the fab.

"This facility is, no question, the anchor of a very significant technology cluster in the area," she said. "There are over 35 firms with some connection to the microelectronics industry in Dutchess County and several others in Orange and adjacent counties."

The area surrounding the East Fishkill fab is also a hotbed of construction, including a massive condominium development being built by Toll Brothers Inc., the luxury home builder based in suburban Philadelphia.

Thomas Phillips Sr., an IBM retiree and executive director of the Hudson Valley Technology Development Center in nearby Fishkill, said the development going on in that community now has more to do with other demographic trends than just the chip fab, which is getting $65 million from the state to save 1,400 jobs.

But Phillips said the fab has a major benefit to the region that is undeniable and irreplaceable.

"It adds a stability and almost a sophistication to the area," he said. "That's good for any area. I don't care where they land."

In Burlington, IBM's 200-millimeter chip fab is the largest private employer in the state.

"For a state like Vermont, having a chip manufacturer like IBM is very significant," said Lisa Ventriss, president of the Vermont Business Roundtable, a nonprofit group based in South Burlington comprised of 120 Vermont chief executives. "It is enormous."

It's also one of the reasons why the motto for Essex Junction, where the IBM fab is located, is "The Economic Engine of Vermont."

"They are a major contributor to our economy," said Essex Junction Village Manager Dave Crawford. "They work hard at trying to be good corporate citizens."

IBM has reduced its employment in the picturesque community from a high of about 8,000 to the current 5,300. And along the way, for other reasons based on the appraisal of the facility, IBM's contribution to the village's tax base has been reduced from 60 percent to about 20 percent.

"That's just the nature of it," Crawford said. "They're an important ingredient in making the economy of Vermont grow, but the industry is going through a lot of changes now."

Luckily for the Capital Region, AMD is planning a state-of-the-art, 300-millimeter fab at Luther Forest that will use next-generation chip technology being developed now by AMD and IBM in East Fishkill and at the University at Albany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering on Fuller Road, where IBM also has a large research presence.

That is why the Capital Region can expect development here to be more in line with growth at Intel's operations in Oregon and Arizona, said LaMar Hill, president of the Albany-based nonprofit International Alliance of Nanotechnology Regions. Hill was involved in helping to bring AMD to New York and has visited semiconductor sites across the globe.

Hill said IBM's operations near Burlington started in the late 1950s and never got the 300-millimeter technology that is driving the industry. He said East Fishkill is an unlikely model for this region because of its proximity to New York City and the lack of available land for additional chip fab development.

Instead, he said Saratoga County should look to Hillsboro, Ore., which was largely rural before Intel put three fabs there. Intel now employs 15,000 people in the Portland suburb, spread over eight campuses.

"It's certainly closer to what probably will evolve here than Fishkill," Hill said.

The man responsible for developing the 1,380-acre Luther Forest Technology Campus, Michael Relyea, also believes the future will more resemble Hillsboro or Chandler.

Relyea, who heads Luther Forest Technology Campus Economic Development Corp., doesn't hesitate when asked whether AMD will build three fabs there, which would put the Capital Region on the map as a major semiconductor cluster on par with Oregon and Arizona.

"I'm hoping, and I expect that," he said.

Chip factory towns

IBM East Fishkill

Location: Dutchess County
Chip fab: 300-millimeter technology
Total on-site employees: 6,000*
County population: 295,146
Median household income: $56,971
Local manufacturing output: $4.8 billion

IBM Burlington

Location: Chittenden County, Vt.
Chip fab: 200-millimeter technology
Total on-site employees: 5,300*
County population: 150,069
Median household income: $52,846
Local manufacturing output: $4.8 billion

AMD Malta

Location: Saratoga County
Chip fab: 300-millimeter technology
Total on site employees: 2,000**
County population: 215,473
Median household income: $55,702
Local manufacturing output: $1.4 billion

*Includes fab support jobs and related operations
**Projected with initial project

Source: IBM Corp., U.S. Census Bureau

Link

[kznyc2k]

Albany Med rides a wave

Proposals for parking garage, hotel, office building await city and federal approvals
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
Friday, January 9, 2009

ALBANY Albany Medical Center wants to build an office building, a hotel and a 1,500-car parking garage across from the hospital, proposals that would bolster a development wave now transforming the long-troubled Park South neighborhood.

The buildings would be constructed on land owned by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and would follow agreement on a 75-year land-lease deal now being negotiated by Albany Med and the Stratton VA Medical Center.

As part of the agreement, Albany Med would demolish three small VA structures and would construct a four-story building primarily for Stratton administration offices on New Scotland Avenue, just north of narrow Veterans Way.

The hotel also would front New Scotland Avenue, on the south side of Veterans Way.

Gary Kochem, chief operating officer at Albany Med, stressed that the exact use of a six-story building in the plans is still being decided, but he said it is likely to be an extended-stay hotel � "a Hilton product" � with ground-level retail space and a Panera Bread-type restaurant.

The parking garage, meanwhile, would be behind that building, and would benefit from public-financing help by city economic development agencies.

None of the proposed buildings has received city approval. And the VA land-lease agreement still needs an OK from federal officials, according to Albany Med.

Peter Potter, a Stratton spokesman, confirmed the development plans, noting the VA has a long history of working with Albany Med. "We're pretty tightly intertwined," he said.

Park South, a neighborhood that city officials have aggressively targeted for redevelopment, is south of Washington Park, with New Scotland Avenue as its commercial spine and the hospitals as major employment anchors.

The neighborhood already has one office building under construction, at 22 New Scotland Ave.

And the construction of a second office building, at 16 New Scotland, is scheduled to begin this year. As planned, that building also will house a Rite Aid drugstore and a SEFCU credit union branch, Kochem said.

Albany Medical Center, meanwhile, has already seen the development of a new Hilton Garden Inn, which opened in 2007 across New Scotland Avenue. And the hospital itself is preparing for the construction of a 350,000-square-foot addition.

In total, that's seven new or proposed buildings � in a tightly packed neighborhood where parking and traffic problems are already a top concern.

Not surprisingly, then, traffic worries were frequently raised when Kochem this week presented the hospital's development plans to the Park South Neighborhood Association.

In response, Kochem said the hospital and city are working on a plan that would remove on-street parking from New Scotland and Holland avenues and turn each road into four-lane thoroughfares with turn lanes.

"If we can accomplish that, the flow of traffic is going to be a lot better," Kochem said.

BBL Construction Services the Albany company that built the hotel and is building the structures at 16 and 22 New Scotland, also would handle the VA property construction.

And renderings of the proposed buildings show they would look very much like both the Hilton Garden and 22 New Scotland � a mix of red brick and concrete, built close to the curb.

Kochem, conceding that the economic downturn makes this a worrisome time to begin large-scale construction projects, said he is nevertheless confident that work on the parking garage, at least, will begin later this year, with a 2010 opening date.

A construction timetable for the other buildings has not been determined, the hospital said Thursday.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...egory=BUSINESS

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Chance to call downtown home

Owner of Broadway Arcade would install apartments
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
Saturday, January 24, 2009

ALBANY — The owner of the historic Broadway Arcade is proposing to turn the upper floors of the building into 52 apartments, a potential boost for a downtown that offers few places to live.

The Arcade, at 488 Broadway, was once a shopping mall of sorts, with an interior hallway lined with shops. But as retail largely abandoned downtown Albany, it abandoned the Arcade, too.

So much so that on a recent day this week, the hallway was locked to the public. Only a few first-floor businesses remain, including the Antara Home store and a Pioneer Bank branch.

The upper floors of the building, meanwhile, are empty of office tenants.

But a proposal submitted to the city's Planning Department by 488 Arcade LLC, a Great Neck company, would turn the upper four floors into a mix of apartments — studios, one bedrooms and two bedrooms. That's music to the ears of city officials, who have long waited to see one of downtown's many large and aged office buildings converted to apartments.

Pamela Tobin, director of the downtown Albany Business Improvement District, said there have been small-scale residential conversions tucked in the city center, but nothing nearly so large as the Broadway Arcade.

"The top priority of the city and the BID this year is residential," Tobin said. "We need to be able to put a project online that will really start spurring other projects."

The BID has sponsored several reports studying the market potential for downtown housing. And those reports have identified the Arcade, which is a short distance north of Broadway's intersection with State Street, as perfect for residential conversion, Tobin said.

That's primarily due to its site, along charming Maiden Lane and across from a pedestrian bridge to the waterfront. It's also close to a public garage.

The application filed with the planning board, which is expected to review the plans at its meeting next Thursday, doesn't specify whether the apartments will be rentals or condominiums.

But any residential life there will please Rajesh Singh, owner of Antara.

Sitting in his home-furnishings store this week, he talked of the building's ample architectural charms. It has a striking Art Deco exterior, and huge windows to flood an apartment with sunlight.

"It's a beautiful building," said Singh, himself a downtown resident. "It's like a grand old ship."

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(this is the white industrial structure next to the Hampton Inn

Making a livable downtown

Second recent proposal for Albany would create 20 condos in City Arts building
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
Thursday, February 12, 2009

ALBANY — It's one of the age-old, oft-heard complaints about downtown Albany: Almost nobody lives there, rendering the place as quiet as rural Chestertown on a Sunday afternoon.

Rosenblum Development Corp. wants to silence the complaint. This week, it announced plans to add three stories to the old City Arts building at 17 Chapel St. to accommodate 20 condominium units.

That's the second plan for new downtown housing within months: A Long Island developer has submitted a proposal to the city for 52 apartments in the Arcade building at 488 Broadway.

Laughter at the news wouldn't be unexpected. Such proposals have come and gone in Albany like tides at the beach, but rarely does a shovel hit dirt.

In the last two years, for example, Queri Development of Syracuse proposed an apartment and office tower at Quackenbush Square, along Broadway just north of downtown.

That project is now for sale, with Queri citing credit difficulties.

Also along Broadway is the Capital Grande condo proposal, but Norstar Development has fallen behind the construction schedule laid out in 2007.

Phone calls to Buffalo-based Norstar were not returned.

But Seth Rosenblum, vice president of Rosenblum Development, which built Great Oaks Office Park in Guilderland, cites factors that make the Chapel Street project more viable than others.

First off, he said during a tour of the building Wednesday, the project is relatively modest. Its 20 units will cost $5 million to $10 million to build.

The Capital Grande project, by contrast, calls for 125 units at a cost of at least $30 million.

Rosenblum also cited the prime location of the building bordered by Chapel, Monroe and Orange streets. It's near the Palace Theater, the nightlife of Pearl Street, office buildings such as 677 Broadway and trendy restaurants like Yono's and Hollywood Brown Derby.

"There's really nothing around it that's not desirable," said Rosenblum, indicating the units would be high-end but not specifying prices.

Then there's parking. The Chapel Street building will have it on lower levels, indoors, so snow won't be a problem.

"You've got to have parking, either very near or right in the building," Rosenblum said, "because this is Albany, and you have to drive to even buy groceries."

Still, it's clear that Rosenblum Development has plenty of work ahead before buyers can carry in their furniture.

The building, which was owned by Capital Repertory Company until Rosenblum purchased it in June, is squat and ugly. And it's almost entirely concrete, built about 75 years ago as a car dealership.

On Wednesday, water surged through parts of the building, most likely caused by the melting of snow on the roof. It didn't seem like a particularly nice place to live.

But, considering the global credit crunch, the project has already cleared one major hurdle: "We have our financing secured," Rosenblum said. "We've got that squared away."

A study by the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District found demand for as many as 1,400 housing units in the city center. And city officials and other downtown boosters, eager to see a downtown housing project move forward, predict that Albany just needs one such development to get momentum building for others.

"The timing of the 17 Chapel St. project is excellent," said Tracy Metzger, owner of TL Metzger & Associates, a realty firm in Albany. "It provides another option for buyers who are looking for downtown options."

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