Albany Development Thread

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Center now a $300M project

Albany convention facility will cost $100 million more than originally predicted, which mayor and authority director say is an unsurprising development

By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer
First published: Monday, June 25, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=6/25/2007

ALBANY -- An Albany convention center will cost $100 million more than originally expected, said George Leveille, director of the Albany Convention Center Authority.

Costs have risen at least 45 percent since the original $200 million estimate, he said.

"In my opinion, this is a $300 million project," he said. "There has been an unusually high increase in construction costs since 2002. There is nothing we can do about that. That's the reality."

Plans for the center, to be built on Hudson Avenue between Liberty and South Pearl streets, call for two hotels. One would be a full-service hotel with 250 to 300 rooms, the other a limited-service hotel with 100 to 150 rooms.

The center would include a ballroom of 10,000 square feet next to a 25,000-square-foot room that could be reconfigured for gatherings of different sizes. One proposal calls for a pedestrian bridge to connect to the county-owned Times Union Center, enabling some exhibitors to use that additional space.

Albany leaders are counting on the center to draw 182,000 visitors a year.

Mayor Jerry Jennings said the cost increases should not be a surprise. He pointed to an estimated doubling of the cost of expanding New York City's Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, to $4 billion.

"You have to have a first-class facility. I'll have to have discussions with the governor. He understands the importance of the center," he said. "We're on course for it to happen, and I don't think anyone should be alarmed by the price."

Assemblyman Jack McEneny, D-Albany, said either more money will have to be obtained or the plans will have to be scaled back.

"It's a problem, and we have to wrestle with it," said McEneny, who also sits on the authority board. "Primarily because of the Iraqi war, construction costs on projects all over the state of New York have skyrocketed."

The project has $75 million in hand from the state, and another $150 million is anticipated through a percentage of the hotel tax. The convention authority also will be able to secure bonds using some $270 million in state aid the city of Albany is to receive in lieu of property tax payments.

The convention authority meets at 8:30 a.m. Friday in the first floor of the Albany County office building.

The original $200 million estimate for the project predates the forming of the convention authority, Leveille said. Duluth, Ga.-based Strategic Advisory Group conducted the original study in 2001 when Jennings was building support for the project.

"Whatever was done before we were created is not our responsibility," Leveille said.

The authority is about to seek requests for proposals for a design team and a construction manager for the project, with those contracts likely to be awarded next month. Once that is done, he said, specific plans, cost estimates and a financing plan will be developed.

He expects a detailed cost breakdown will be put together this September. The aim is for construction to begin next year, with completion of the center in 2010.

Next week, the authority's board will vote on which alternative they believe would draw the most visitors.

After a community workshop in April, the authority said the most popular option was one that would connect the convention center to the Times Union Center. That would require a pedestrian bridge not in the original cost estimate, and the earlier plan did not include removing a parking garage.

"You have to build the right product for the market," Leveille said. "If you build the wrong product, it's probably not going to work."

Tim O'Brien can be reached at 454-5092 or by e-mail at tobrien@timesunion.com.

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Projected cost for convention center complex soars

The Business Review (Albany) - June 21, 2007
by Michael DeMasi
The Business Review
http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany...l?surround=lfn

Long before a shovel goes into the ground, the preliminary estimate to build a new convention center, hotels and garage in downtown Albany, N.Y., has ballooned 45 percent, to a potential $270 million to $280 million, an official said Thursday.

Albany Convention Center Authority Chairman George Leveille told a gathering of downtown landlords, business owners and real estate executives that construction costs alone have soared 45 percent since estimates were first made five years ago for the convention center project.

Leveille cited other factors driving up the price tag, including the need to build a higher-quality hotel to meet the expectations of today's travellers and a pedestrian bridge crossing South Pearl Street that would connect one of the hotels with the Times Union Center sports arena.

"We're going to have to develop a plan to finance it," Leveille said of the additional costs.

The pedestrian bridge wasn't envisioned by the consulting firm, Strategic Advisory Group, that analyzed the market for a convention center in Albany in 2001 and updated the report three years later. Those studies were done before the members of the convention center authority were appointed by state and local government leaders and $75 million in state funding was committed to the project.

The consulting firm hired by the authority this year to do another study, Hospitality Valuation Services International of Chicago, suggested using the Times Union Center to supplement space in the convention center and building a full-service, 250 to 300-room hotel on the site of the Green Street/Hudson Avenue parking garage.

The pedestrian bridge would give visitors a direct connection between the hotel and the Times Union Center for the half-dozen or so events annually that are expected to need 135,000-square-feet of space.

"The notion of a physical connection to the Times Union Center sounds great, but it's not going to be cheap," Leveille said.

The bottom line cost to build the convention center has been somewhat of a moving target over the years as the scope of the project has changed and time has passed, resulting in higher construction costs. Strategic Advisory Group put the estimate at $185 million in 2001.

In January 2006, when former Gov. George E. Pataki announced $75 million in state borrowing for the project plus a big boost in municipal aid for the city of Albany, the estimate was listed as $200 million. Late last year, Leveille said the cost could be as high as $225 million but wouldn't be known until the market study and other planning was finished.

As envisioned now, the first phase of the convention center will have 107,000-square-feet of exhibit, ballroom and meeting space, plus about 138,000-square-feet of service and support space. It will be built in an area between Broadway, South Pearl Street and Hudson Avenue. Environmental studies and other planning are underway, with construction slated to begin in fall 2008 and be finished by fall 2010.

Another option outlined by HVS would have preserved the Green Street/Hudson Avenue garage and built a larger convention center during the first phase of the project. But Leveille said the convention center authority will vote June 29 on a preferred plan that would require demolishing the 900-space garage to make way for one of the hotels. Siting the hotel there is expected to drive pedestrian traffic down Hudson Avenue and Green Street toward bars and restaurants on State Street and N. Pearl Street, Leveille said.

Leveille spoke during the annual meeting of the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District at the Crowne Plaza Hotel. He said the convention center would be a big boost for downtown, bringing more visitors into the city, creating 800 direct and indirect jobs by the year 2020 and resulting in millions of dollars in additional spending and state and local tax revenues. The convention center is expected to generate about 71,000 nights of hotel room visits annually, only half of which can be filled by the existing hotels in the market, he said.

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UAlbany athletic director says new stadium would help recruiting

The Business Review (Albany) - June 18, 2007
http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany...l?surround=lfn

University at Albany's annual sports budget could more than double to $25 million over the next five years if a $50 million stadium is built to attract more top notch recruits and competition, the college's athletic director said Monday.

"Facilities are critical in our business," athletics director Lee McElroy told a crowd of some 200 business leaders who attended The Business Review's annual Book of Lists Breakfast at the Desmond in Colonie.

Construction of a new 15,000 seat multi-sport complex could begin sometime in 2008, luring more competition from schools like Syracuse University and the University of Delaware, McElroy said. The school is in the midst of a fund raising campaign for the project.

"Delaware is not going to come to Albany and play in what we have now," he said.

McElroy, who came to Albany in 2000, said he also hopes the school will be able to offer more scholarships in the future.

The school, which offered $700,000 in scholarships when he stepped in, now offers about $3.5 million in scholarships per year, he said.

Scholarships and facilities will go a long way toward helping the college compete, recruit and retain talented athletes and coaches, McElroy said.

That success can be seen by looking at schools such as the University of Texas which has a $90 million annual sports budget, he said.

McElroy said University of Albany also points to the restaurants, schools, the arts and Saratoga Springs as recruiting tools.

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Albany Pine Bush Preserve set to open $3.1M visitors center

The Business Review (Albany) - June 12, 2007
http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany...l?surround=lfn

A $3.1 million visitors center for the Albany Pine Bush Preserve will open to the public June 16, capping a 10-year effort to create a front door of sorts to the large inland pine barrens in and around Albany, N.Y.

Called the Discovery Center, the facility at 195 New Karner Road in Colonie will explain the history and importance of the pine barrens, which stretch over 3,010 acres in several municipalities. The barrens are home to a diversity of animals and plants, including 20 rare species and two rare natural communities.

Volunteers will explain features of the pine barrens to those interested in walking the trails. There will also exhibits, classroom space and a small gift shop, said Chris Hawver, executive director of the Albany Pine Bush Commission. Instructional materials are being developed that conform with state curriculum requirements, which should increase the number of school children who visit the barrens each year, he said.

The Discovery Center is located inside a former SEFCU branch.

A ribbon cutting featuring various elected officials will be held June 14 at 11 a.m. The year-round facility opens to the public at 10 a.m. on June 16. It will be open every day except Monday. There is no admission charge, but there will be fees for special programs.

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Ex-MVP building to be converted to luxury apartments

The Business Review (Albany) - June 21, 2007
http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany...l?surround=lfn

The former MVP building in downtown Schenectady will be converted into 32 luxury apartments thanks to a $2.5 million private investment.

The deal was announced Thursday by Metroplex, along with city and county officials. Metroplex will provide a $100,000 loan at 4 percent interest and a $60,000 facade grant to support the project.

The 43,000-square-foot building has been vacant since 2001 when MVP relocated to a new corporate headquarters in Schenectady. The building is located adjacent to the Stockade Historic District.

"This project allows us to protect and preserve a key building near the Stockade while creating upscale residential units in the heart of the City -- a key next step in redeveloping downtown," said Gary Hughes, chair of the county Legislature's Committee on Economic Development said.

The building is owned by Reza Mahoutchian, president of Maxim Engineering, who has renovated 37 properties in the region. Mahoutchian paid Metroplex $75,000 to purchase the small parking lot next to the building off of lower State Street.

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WAMC sets sights on creating arts district

Plan includes theaters, galleries and cafes near Central Avenue facility

By DANIELLE FURFARO, Staff writer
First published: Friday, June 22, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=6/22/2007

ALBANY -- Radio station WAMC launched a five-year plan Thursday to create an arts and entertainment district in the two-block radius around its Linda Norris Auditorium.

Officials hope the project will entice visitors to the area with a mix of theaters, galleries and outdoor cafes.

"We want an arts and entertainment district with area branding," said WAMC grants director Marian Wise. "People would be able to hear music, see films, go to theatrical events, go to different kinds of restaurants and go to music stores. Anything related to the arts."

The station is working with the Central Avenue Business Improvement District, which has contributed $10,000 toward the approximately $40,000 needed to form a plan.

WAMC has also partnered with the Capital District Transportation Authority and the Albany Parking Authority. They have begun turning space next to the auditorium into a parking lot which would be used as a park and ride during the day and for facility visitors in the evening.

WAMC has asked government officials, businesses and neighborhood groups to weigh in on the plan, which will be hashed out over the next several months. From there, it hopes to spend the next five years creating what they hope will be a local entertainment mecca.

When the Linda Norris performing arts studio opened in 2002, the facility was listed in the Central Avenue BID's AveNew 2000 revitalization plan as a catalyst project aimed at "generating initial activity and attraction, reducing investment risks and encouraging spin-off businesses."

Since then, WAMC has poured $5 million into the auditorium and its offices across the street, as well as purchasing a handful of other properties in the area, said project manager Marian Wise.

"We could have spent $5 million in Saratoga but we chose to stay here," said Wise. "We want to see this area succeed."

In 2006, more than 10,000 visitors came to the auditorium for performances or workshops and brought $250,000 in sales to Central Avenue, said Wise. WAMC officials are hoping to raise that number to 30,000 to 40,000 per year. That increase in visitors would bring $1 million in sales to the area, she said.

"We only used the theater 123 days in 2006," said Wise.

A variety of community groups heard details of the plan and aired concerns that upscale development could push minorities out of the area.

"I wonder what will be the impact on our housing," said Paul Stewart of the Community Loan Fund. "I want to make sure that everyone is included and no one is getting pushed out."

West Hill Neighborhood Association member Leane Paeglow said she welcomed the plan, but hoped residents would get a large role in guiding the proceedings.

"I hope we can have it go further into the neighborhood and not just stay on Central Avenue," she said.

Danielle Furfaro can be reached at 454-5097 or by e-mail at dfurfaro@timesunion.com.

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Saratoga Springs merchants accept parking lot sale

Business group hopes Saratoga Springs will use proceeds to construct new public spaces

By DENNIS YUSKO and CHRISTEN DEMING, Staff writers
First published: Thursday, June 21, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=6/25/2007

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The city's influential Downtown Business Association has accepted the City Council's decision to sell Broadway's last public parking lot, but isn't happy about it.

Saratoga Springs will sell its 40-car lot next to Lillian's Restaurant to Bonacio Construction for $750,000 under certain conditions, including that it remain a public parking facility for the next two summers, the council voted in a 3-2 decision on Tuesday.

In its bid, Bonacio proposed a $12 million mixed retail-residential building for the strategically placed .38-acre site that would encompass four floors and 62,000 square feet and include a basement garage with at least 31 parking spots for the building's occupants.

But the lot's sale will eliminate a popular stopover for people coming into downtown for shopping or a bite to eat.

The Downtown Business Association would have preferred if city officials first planned for a garage off Woodlawn Avenue before selling "Lillian's lot," but hopes the $750,000 will be used to build new downtown parking, said Dawn Oesch, the association's president.

"We're sad to see it go. Thank god it's not for a few more years," said Oesch, the owner of The Candy Co. of Saratoga Springs at Washington Street and Broadway.

Finance Commissioner Matthew McCabe, who provided the swing vote for the sale, said Bonacio Construction, led by city developer Sonny Bonacio, has agreed to keep the lot available to the public until at least the fall of next year.

Bonacio could not be reached for comment.

McCabe joined Accounts Commissioner John Franck and Public Works Commissioner Thomas McTygue in approving the sale.

Mayor Valerie Keehn has said in the past that the city should try to fetch more money for the popular but deteriorating lot and voted against the sale. "Overwhelmingly, I was hearing from the public that they want to keep that lot for parking," Keehn said.

Broadway landowner Joseph Boff recently bid $850,000 for the lot, which he proposed renovating and maintaining as paid parking for at least three years. But that bid was never seriously considered by the Downtown Business Association or the City Council, Oesch and Keehn said.

To compensate for when the lot's parking is lost in 2008, Bonacio will open 31 spots to the public in the Price Chopper parking lot he owns on Railroad Place. Those spots are presently used by the construction company's employees.

Bonacio has a flurry of projects under way in the city, including the fourth phase of the Franklin Square condominiums. Also, construction continues on The Lofts at 18 Division St., another condominium project, while demolition began this week on the old YMCA on Broadway.

Dennis Yusko can be reached at 581-8438 or by e-mail at dyusko@timesunion.com.

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Condo plan draws criticism

Albany neighborhood association questions need for upscale project

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published: Wednesday, June 20, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=6/20/2007

ALBANY -- A Schenectady development group wants to build a large upscale condominium development in Albany, near where New Scotland Avenue and Whitehall Road meet.

The 52-unit development, The Reserve at Whitehall Point, is meeting resistance from the area neighborhood association, which says its section of the city is seeing a potentially unsustainable level of condominium development.

The project would include 13 buildings, each containing four condo units. Developer Christopher Myers, co-owner of Quantum Development Group, said Tuesday the units would be built on a 7.7-acre site behind the former Boopsie's Garage, near the Stewart's convenience store on New Scotland.

The Boopsie's land would be turned into a pocket park, Myers said.

The Albany Planning Board is expected to consider the Quantum proposal at a 9 a.m. meeting Thursday in City Hall.

The pocket park, at least, sounds good to the Buckingham Pond-Crestwood Neighborhood Association, which questions other parts of the plan.

The park idea is popular because the Boopsie's site has long been a concern. While it was a gas station, neighbors complained about lackluster upkeep. Then, when the gas station left, the state and county paid $220,000 to clean up petroleum contamination at the site.

The location is still a scruffy-looking eyesore. And Joseph Sullivan, president of the neighborhood association, said the group has long wanted a park on the site.

But the rest of the land, he said, is better suited for senior housing than upscale condos.

Sullivan said the association is fighting a condo development planned for a nearby site on Krumkill Road, and has concerns about the ongoing expansion of the Buckingham Mews complex on New Scotland. The fear among some neighbors is that developers are overestimating the strength of the condo market and will decide to rent the units when sales stall, he said.

"We're trying to protect the residential integrity and the quality of life in the neighborhood," Sullivan said.

Many real estate agents and developers in the Capital Region agree there's uncertainty about the depth of the area's potential condo market, because the market is untested. The region has seen far fewer condominiums built than in other parts of the country.

But many developers, including Myers at Quantum, believe demand is growing for condominium projects. They believe many homeowners -- especially older residents -- will be looking for smaller and easier-to-maintain dwellings.

Myers said the condos in his project would sell for about $250,000 each and would range in size from 1,200 to 1,600 square feet. He said the units will allow older homeowners to downsize, yet remain in the area.

"We think a lot of the buyers will be coming from the existing neighborhood to take part in the convenience of condominiums," Myers said. "No more snow removal. No more lawn maintenance."

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

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Builders hope to expand office site

Washington Avenue location seeing growth, unlike Harriman campus

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published: Wednesday, June 20, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=6/20/2007

ALBANY -- Redevelopment of the Harriman State Office Campus may have stalled, but office construction on the other side of Washington Avenue continues.

Columbia Development Cos., the Albany company that has helped build five office buildings just north of the Harriman campus, said Tuesday it is asking the city for permission to build two more.

One, at 555 Patroon Creek Blvd., would be a three-story, 60,000-square-foot medical office building. The other, at 455 Patroon Creek Blvd., is proposed as a two-story building of 38,000 square feet.

Joseph Nicolla, president of Columbia Development, said the company has not signed tenants for the buildings and won't begin construction until it does.

"Are we talking to people? Yes," Nicolla said. "Are we talking seriously to people? No."

But Nicolla is confident tenants can be found -- and for good reason.

Since development of the Washington Avenue site began in 1997, the so-called Patroon Creek Corporate Center has become a significant employment hub, home to credit union SEFCU, Capital District Physicians' Health Plan Inc. and others.

The location has advantages: It's relatively close to downtown Albany, has quick access to Interstate 90, and isn't along the sometimes-congested Northway.

Development at the Harriman campus hasn't kept pace.

The state since 2002 has planned to turn the 330-acre campus into a center of private enterprise, with offices, shops, research space, academic buildings and more. Yet in April, state officials were forced to withdraw a request for development proposals because of a lack of interest.

Michael Phillips, president of the Harriman Research and Technology Corp., the group charged with developing the campus, said Gov. Eliot Spitzer's office is now weighing how best to proceed.

"They want to take a look at where we are and where we're going," Phillips said.

Phillips rejected a suggestion that Columbia Development's buildings had helped thwart the redevelopment of the campus.

Nicolla, meanwhile, said plans for the Harriman campus encouraged his investment in the area and have helped make his buildings attractive to tenants.

"With what's planned there, you have to believe that property (in the area) has to continue to be more valuable," he said.

All told, Columbia Development has built about 600,000 square feet of office space along Washington Avenue, Nicolla said. (One of the buildings, at 500 Patroon Creek Blvd., was built in partnership with The Galesi Group, a Rotterdam company.)

Additionally, one of the nation's largest apartment builders, A.G. Spanos Cos., wants to build a massive residential development on a parking lot that sits amid the Columbia office buildings.

The Alexander at Washington Avenue would include 300 upscale apartments and a 600-car parking garage. The $45 million complex is now being considered by the city's Department of Planning and Economic Development.

Vic Pryles, a vice president at Spanos, said the company sees the Capital Region as a market that other large apartment dwellers have yet to tap.

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

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Apartment project planned

Former MVP site to hold 32 units, coffee shop, day spa in Schenectady

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published: Friday, June 22, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=6/22/2007

SCHENECTADY -- A Schenectady developer said Thursday that with some taxpayer help he'll turn a long-empty downtown site into 32 apartments with an attached day spa and coffee shop.

The complex consists of three connected buildings, including a historic former courthouse on Union Street and a 1991 structure built for MVP Health Care.

The complex has been vacant since MVP moved its headquarters in 2001.

Developer Reza Mahoutchian, a 49-year-old native of Iran, last year paid $730,000 for the buildings. The Ballston Lake resident and owner of a Schenectady engineering firm said he hopes to have the complex ready for occupancy by the end of next year.

Mahoutchian expects the day spa to occupy the former courthouse. The apartments will occupy the newer, five-story building with an entrance on Liberty Street.

"This is kind of a unique location," Mahoutchian said. "It's downtown, but it's kind of off the beaten path."

The Metroplex Development Authority, a taxpayer-funded economic development agency, will assist the project with a $100,000 loan and a $60,000 grant to repair the courthouse facade. Metroplex approved the money last week.

Gary Hughes, chairman of the county legislature's Committee on Economic Development, said Thursday that officials considered the project worthy of taxpayer help because it furthers a long-standing goal of increasing the downtown residential population.

Moreover, Hughes said, the project could help link downtown with the Stockade district, one of the city's most vibrant neighborhoods.

"It's the perfect spot to do this type of project," he said.

The announcement Thursday was just the latest good news for downtown Schenectady, which is seeing a wave of both public and private investment. Both a Hampton Inn and a six-screen Movieland cinema, for example, have opened on State Street.

Mahoutchian, too, has been participating in the revival. He has renovated several Stockade properties and is now converting a building at 1613 Union St. into a wine bar and smoking lounge.

Central Schenectady, he said, "is a diamond in the rough."

"We have so many of these great buildings here," he said. "And they have been neglected for so long."

The retrofit of the MVP complex is expected to cost at least $2.5 million.

The City Planning Commission has approved the project. Chris Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at cchurchill@timesunion.com.

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Pizza King is ready to move

By JENNIFER PATTERSON, Staff writer
Last updated: 2:23 p.m., Monday, June 25, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=6/25/2007

SCHENECTADY -- The Pizza King is ready to deliver himself to a new location.

John Camaj is close to an agreement to move his pizza parlor to another spot on State Street.

Camaj said he was ready to go, but saddened to leave 469 State St., the only location his business has ever had.

``I guess that I won, but I lost my dream, because to own and preserve the property and my business here is what I dream about,'' Camaj said. ``Everybody's happy with the way things are working out, but for me, I will always be sad because I spent so much time here.''

The owner of Camaj's current location, the Metroplex Development Authority, wants to demolish 469 State St. and several other neighboring buildings. The taxpayer-funded authority has agreed to make up the difference between Camaj's current $1,400-a-month lease and any increased rent at the new location.

Camaj's attorney, Donald Zee, declined to say where on State Street the business will relocate to, though it is expected that the business will move into a storefront across the street from Proctor's Theatre and Movieland Cinema.

``We've worked out with Metroplex conceptual floor plans for a new location,'' Zee said. ``Hopefully in a few days, we'll be able to sign some documents and make it final.''

The owner of Camaj's current location, the Metroplex Development Authority, wants Camaj to move so they can renovate the building. Camaj had resisted a move, but continued to negotiation with Metroplex for the past month. Camaj and the authority reached a tentative agreement on Friday.

Metroplex bought 469 State St. and four other properties for $800,000 with plans to convert the properties into modern structures.

The authority is leading efforts to convert downtown into a dining and entertainment district. It's put money behind a movie theater, expansion of Proctor's Theatre and several eateries.

Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen said the authority has given Camaj a written offer, promising to cover any rent increase he might face if he moves to a new location.

Gillen insisted the renovation of the 469 State St. building where Camaj has his current operation will make it impossible for a restaurant to remain during construction.

Gillen declined to discuss the deal today.

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You Gotta Believe

http://www.metroland.net/looking_up.html

Last year when I was speaking with Judith Saidel about the report she wrote on Austin and what Albany could learn from it [Looking Up, Feb. 23, 2006], she made an observation that stuck with me: She said that a consultant she’d worked with who had worked in many Northeastern cities told her he just fell in love with Albany. But, he added, he had “never run into such negativism about problems that are persistent but can be handled.”

It’s true. Albany has a pessimism problem.

Albany is a wonderful city. It has a superb location, wonderful neighborhoods, awesome history, beautiful architecture and parks, rocking businesses, a rich cultural life, and dynamite people. But sometimes all of that gets lost.

Now, spiritedly fighting against the very real problems is one of the things that makes our citizenry great. I would never for an instant suggest that we sanitize, cover up, or let go of anything that needs exposing.

In fact, it’s not actually complaining I’m thinking of at all. I think the more troubling pessimism comes in a subtler guise: plans for revitalizing or promoting the city, proposed by supposed city boosters, that, upon closer examination, are uncreative, unambitious, short-term, or even slightly desperate-sounding.

There are a few examples of this in the ReCapitalize Albany report released last week. I wouldn’t say the whole report comes off that way. It has many good ideas and speaks highly of Albany’s many assets. But that just makes the cop-outs even more disappointing.

The issue of parking downtown is a good example. The development subcommittee’s second recommendation is “Develop a Downtown Parking Strategy and Incentive Program.” It is certainly true that parking must be considered. This is not Manhattan and everyone is not going to suddenly give up car ownership. It is also true that the report is careful to note the pernicious effects on a healthy downtown of surface lots and blank garage walls and otherwise poorly planned parking.

However, expounding about structured parking-garage design guidelines and incentives to offset the cost of parking and then devoting one titchy, vague paragraph to “Oh yeah, and we should, like, improve transit, too” is not only lame, it shows a failure of the kind of ambitious vision we need if we want a vibrant, urban, residential downtown.

Cities are not going to “compete” with the suburbs on the cost of parking any time soon, and it’s silly to think that we will. To think that we need to—and indeed, to formulate a vision that barely thinks about how we might not need to—is the height of pessimism about urban vitality. (Perhaps a symptom of not putting enough actual city residents on your committee?) Miserable parking situations don’t keep people out of Manhattan, or San Francisco, or Boston. (Or Burlington, Vt. or Chattanooga, Tenn., for that matter.) They either cough up, or they take the train, or they move downtown so they can walk. They want to be there because that’s where things are happening—culture, innovation, commerce. They want to be there because they can bump into colleagues and brainstorm projects in a WiFi-enabled plaza over lunch, pop into the next building over for a strategy meeting and drop off a job at the copy shop downstairs on the way, grab dinner at a delicious unique restaurant without having to get back on the highway, hear church bells and bustle outside their window. . . .

Yes, people need to be able to get in and out or all this will be somewhat less appealing. But the overarching vision we need is not one of making it suck a little less to park in downtown Albany, but rather one of making it 1) the place to be and 2) fun and easy to travel to and within Albany, with choices that match different needs and inclinations. I don’t mean to say the latter would be easy. This could include state-of-the-art stations, better Amtrak connections, bus rapid transit (as is proposed for the Route 5 corridor), more frequent bus service covering more of the day, bike lanes and bike parking, car-sharing programs, and probably much more I haven’t thought of.

A broader vision for Albany’s transportation is more in line with the pro-city living stance ReCapitalize Albany takes in the rest of its report. Remember those “empty nesters” that are always being referred to as one of the prime targets for a return to city living? Some of them are getting to the point where they don’t want to be driving at night, or even driving at all. Or, as noted in the education section of the report, access to job shadowing, internships and summer jobs can make a big difference to our high school students. But most of them don’t drive either. People who are moving back into cities are looking for urban. Some of them (gasp!) want to be able to not own a car. We can provide, if we decide to.

Yes, transit infrastructure is expensive, but so are parking garages. If we’re going to subsidize something, providing a jolt to break the transit-funding catch-22 of not getting increased ridership until you’ve already paid for increased service sounds like a better long-term investment to me than underwriting a company’s parking bill.

Similarly, the report suggests that the Nanotech companies getting tons of dough from the state to come here might be given “additional” incentives to put back office facilities downtown. After all this, they need more incentives? How about a community benefits agreement: a contract in which developers or businesses receiving substantial public money promises certain community goods in return: local hiring, job training, a new park, etc. The refusal to ask for any commitments in return for the subsidies implies that we don’t really think that they want to be here. It implies that we don’t think it’s the strength and lure of the awesome nanotech program at UAlbany that they’re coming for, but just the cold, hard cash, and if we look at them cross-eyed they might change their minds. This is not only unlikely, but it’s offensive to the folks at UAlbany and Albany Nanotech.

So by all means, let’s launch a marketing campaign promoting how awesome Albany is to the world. But while we’re at it, let’s plan, and act, like we believe it.

—Miriam Axel-Lute

www.mjoy.org

Check out Miriam’s new blog, The Big Questions: The Path to Albany’s First Comprehensive Plan, at: http://metroland.typepad.com/the_big_questions/

[kznyc2k]

Damn, bpg. You certainly went on a tear! And that last article is great. We need (many) more pieces like this to break the Small-bany mentality.

[bpg88]

Paying for new convention center

$100 million increase in price tag for new facility won't hurt Albany's taxpayers, authority officials say

By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer
First published: Saturday, June 30, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...date=6/30/2007

ALBANY -- Leaders of the Albany Convention Center Authority sought to reassure the public Friday the plan is still viable despite a $100 million increase in the estimated cost.

The authority's board approved a master plan for the project, which chairman George Leveille now estimates could cost $300 million. Plans call for two hotels, one full-service hotel with 250 rooms and a 150-room hotel offering more limited amenities.

The convention center would include a 60,000 square foot exhibit hall, a 25,000 square foot multipurpose room and a 22,350 square foot ballroom. The concept calls for a sky bridge from the hotel to the convention center and to the county-owned Times Union Center for expanded exhibits.

"We're being realistic in talking about what it's going to cost," Leveille said. "It would be a mistake to build a facility that wouldn't meet the market."

The center was originally estimated to cost $185 million. When the state legislation was approved in 2002, the estimate rose to $200 million.

The authority hopes to begin construction next year and to have the project finished in 2010.

Two City Council members raised concerns about the projected cost increases.

Council President Shawn Morris said she still supports the project, but is worried about the price tag.

"The taxpayers can't afford the support of the convention center in our present state," she said.

Council member Dominick Calsolaro said the state should pick up the entire tab for the project.

"We're up to $300 million. You haven't even put a shovel in the ground yet," he said. "The citizens of Albany should not have to pay any part of this state project."

City taxpayers are not at risk of losing any money, Leveille said.

"At this point, it doesn't dig into their pocket at all," he said.

Some $75 million comes from a state grant, while $3 million a year comes from a 3 percent tax on hotel guests, he said.

The city also is receiving additional state aid that can be used to guarantee bonds for the project, but that money was made available specifically for the center. Without it, Leveille said, that aid -- totaling $192 million over 30 years -- would not exist.

The plan approved by the board calls for the removal of the 1,000-space Green-Hudson parking garage.

By removing the garage, authority leaders said they would expand downtown growth along the southern end of the central business district.

"The plan really tries to look at the broader area we're in," Leveille said.

Assemblyman Jack McEneny, a member of the authority's board, said he was pleased because the parking garage is the only structure slated for demolition. What some believe is the city's oldest home at 48 Hudson Avenue would be preserved, though an addition on the back could be removed. No decision has been made about a neighboring house at 50 Hudson Avenue.

"There is almost no demolition. No one is losing a home," McEneny said. "That's very unusual for something of this scale."

The authority also approved its goals for the hiring of women and minorities throughout the project. Leading up to the construction, the goal calls for 8 percent of the work to go to minority-owned businesses, 15 percent to women-owned firms and 22 percent of the workforce to be minorities.

During construction, the goal is for 27 percent of the work to go to minority firms, 12 percent to women-owned businesses and for 30 percent of the workforce to be minorities.

When the center is operational, the goal is for 20 percent of the work to be by minority-owned businesses, 10 percent by firms owned by women and 60 percent of the workforce to be minorities.

[bpg88]

Albany Convention Center Master Plan
Narrative Description
Albany, New York - June 29, 2007

http://blogs.timesunion.com/localpolitics/?p=389


The Master Plan for the Albany Convention Center is based on several key concepts that have grown out of the market study, community and stakeholder workshops, and the Albany Convention Center Authority’s mission statement and commitment to Downtown Albany.

The Master Plan for the Albany Convention Center district sets the stage for a new major step in the revitalization of downtown Albany. It is historically responsible because of its preservation and cultural resources strategy and approach to breaking down the scale of the project elements. Simultaneously, it sets up Albany to become an important 21st –century destination for meetings, conventions and exhibits in the new state-of-the art and business-supportive convention center and its related hotels.

The Master Plan locates the Convention Center to the south side of a new curved civic open space that enlarges historic Liberty Park to a civic scale commensurate with the project’s importance and downtown location. This civic space relates strongly to SUNY Plaza, and creates an organized sense of place for the Convention Center, hotels, connection to the Times Union Center, and the historic buildings and street patterns.

The Convention Center, consisting in Phase 1 of a 60,000 SF exhibit hall, a 25,000 multipurpose room, 22,350 SF of dedicated ballroom and meeting space and support spaces is elevated above a 1,000 car parking garage. Its public edge along Hudson Avenue contains entrance lobbies, retail space and preserves and integrates with the historic 48 Hudson Avenue structure. Service areas are confined to the southern edge of the Convention Center along the South Mall Arterials The main level of the Convention Center includes the exhibition hall, multi-purpose space and junior ballroom, which will be easily accessible from other portions of the Convention Center and the nearby hotels.

Opposite the Convention Center on the north side of Hudson Avenue are the project’s two hotels – a 250-room full service hotel with restaurants, business center and other amenities, and a smaller 150-room, focused and more limited service hotel. The larger hotel is connected by a sky bridge to the convention center, and this elevated walkway system also connects to the Times Union Center, thereby creating a single and unified public assembly and hospitality complex. The ground floor of both hotels will include lobbies and retail space, and will contribute to the pedestrian-friendly character of the district. Framing the Green Street entrance to this new hospitality district, the two hotels also will play a role in connecting the new complex back to State Street. With the location of the hotels on the site of the existing Green-Hudson Garage, it is proposed that replacement parking be created in several sites in downtown Albany. This will allow the location of the hotels in this preferred location with respect to the Convention Center, Times Union Center and the rest of downtown, and will facilitate an improved distribution of parking capacity throughout downtown Albany.

The Master Plan envisions that the Greyhound Bus Station will remain in Phase 1 when the center is initially constructed, and then at the future time of the Convention Center’s expansion in Phase 2, a new intermodal transit facility will be incorporated at the base of the expanded Convention Center. The Master Plan for the district also identifies numerous other opportunities for future renovations and new development which will be induced by the convention center and hotel projects.

[bpg88]

Scenic rail line goals gain support of counties

Officials plan public authority for service, which would link Saratoga Springs with North Creek

By ERIC ANDERSON, Deputy business editor
First published: Saturday, June 30, 2007
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...date=6/30/2007

NORTH CREEK -- Officials in Saratoga and Warren counties want to create a public authority to operate the scenic railroad connecting Saratoga Springs with North Creek, said Jon Kelley of the Saratoga Economic Development Corp.

"We're going to act as one railroad," he said Friday of the line that runs through several towns and at least those two counties. Legislation is being drafted, and Kelley hopes a bill will be acted on early next year.

The move comes as operators of the Upper Hudson River Railroad begin seasonal service today Hadley, a 40-mile trip from its station at North Creek. The trip to Hadley will run on Saturdays through Labor Day. Shorter trips from North Creek run throughout the week.

Officials of the two counties have been working to have regular train service from Saratoga Springs to North Creek. The Upper Hudson River Railroad has operated scenic trains since 1999 as far south as Riparius, and more recently to Hadley.

But a washed-out section of track in Greenfield in Saratoga County has blocked trains from the southernmost part of the route. Bids are being sought for repairs, and work is expected to be completed this summer.

Two new stations also are planned in Thurman and in Hadley. Bids to build the Thurman station will be sought this fall, and work will begin either in late fall or next spring, said Paul Butler, director of parks, recreation and railroad for Warren County.

Johnsburg Supervisor William Thomas, whose town includes North Creek, envisions dinner trains and other efforts targeting tourists year-round once the tracks are restored. It was Thomas who first suggested operating a scenic train along the line. That was in 1990, a year after Delaware & Hudson Railway ended freight service along the route.

One question is how fast trains will be able to go on the southern section of the line. Thomas said he believed the top speed would be just 10 mph, but Kelley said he expects the current work will allow speeds of 20 to 30 mph.

"On the lower end, there are several very sharp curves as you climb out of Saratoga," Kelley said. The goal is to get from Saratoga Springs to North Creek in two hours or less, he added.

Kelley admits the scenic train project has taken a lot longer than anyone envisioned. Thomas suggested it in 1990, and the late U.S. Rep. Gerald Solomon obtained initial funding in 1998. Since then, about $12 million has been spent.

Asked about the lengthy process -- the entire Adirondack Northway, after all, was built in 10 years -- Kelley said "it takes time" to build consensus. And he thinks the effort has been worth it.

"When that first train rolls out," he said, "I guarantee everyone will be pleased."

[Ex-Ithacan]

^ I always root for scenic railroads. Hope it's a success.

And that convention center plan is impressive, hope that works too. Thanks bpg.

[kznyc2k]

Developer seeks approval for office buildings near Harriman campus

The Business Review (Albany) - June 29, 2007
by Michael DeMasi

Two more private office buildings would be constructed across from the Harriman State Office Campus in Albany under plans being pursued by Columbia Development Cos.

Columbia Development is proposing a three-story, 60,000-square-foot medical office building and a two-story, 38,000-square-foot office building on a 12.5-acre vacant parcel it owns off Washington Avenue.

The site, known as Patroon Creek Boulevard, already features the headquarters of Capital District Physicians' Health Plan and of the State Employees Federal Credit Union, a SEFCU branch and a medical office building with several tenants.

Columbia Development has been talking to prospective tenants about the office space but has no commitments, said Joseph Nicolla, president.

The project went before the Albany Planning Board for the first time June 21 and is still under review.

"We're not a speculative builder," Nicolla said. "If we have tenants and we think it's sufficient occupancy, then we'll go ahead and build it. ...When we go through site- plan approval, we're usually optimistic about tenants."

Columbia Development bought the 12.5-acre parcel from the state for $4.2 million last year because of its easy access to Interstate 90, Route 85 and the availability of water, sewer and other utilities.

"That is the best piece of [undeveloped] property left in the city," Nicolla said.

The land is the same parcel where Spanos Corp. of Atlanta wants to build 300 upscale apartments with an attached three-story parking garage, pool, courtyards and fitness center.

It would be the first apartment project in the Northeast for Spanos Corp., a large real estate development company founded by the owner of the San Diego Chargers football team.

Plans for the apartments, tentatively called The Alexander at Washington Avenue, are still being reviewed by the city but a final approval could come this summer, Nicolla said.

The office buildings and proposed apartments are across the ring road that surrounds the Harriman State Office Campus.

The state and city intend to redevelop much of the campus into a private research and technology park but three redevelopment proposals for a master plan were rejected in April.

The Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp. is now going back to the drawing board.

mdemasi@bizjournals.com | 518-640-6814

[kznyc2k]

Nice to see some updated renderings/massing studies on the convention center, and it's very nice to see that no structures of architectural significance would be coming down for it. However, the height enthusiast in me really wants to see something go up that doesn't fall in the 6-12 story range.

And one other observation, that big oval-ish curve that's attempting to unify the various elements of this project strikes me as being a bit silly, if not outright futile. Plus, I fear that that big swoop will overwhelm the quaint little structures sitting front and center on Hudson Street. Geometry wrought on so much larger a scale tends to do that, and it kinda seems like a "fuck you" to those old rowhouses.

[bpg88]

Ownership change for Albany landmark

New York City firm pays $8.25M for old Home Savings Bank building

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published: Friday, July 6, 2007
http://timesunion.com/AspStories/sto...sdate=7/6/2007

ALBANY -- An Art Deco downtown landmark has a new owner.

Manhattan-based The Heights Real Estate Co. paid $8.25 million for the former Home Savings Bank building at 11 N. Pearl St., according to a deed filed in the Albany County clerk's office.


Built in 1927, the 20-story building is considered one of the city's most architecturally significant and is notable for the terra cotta artwork that graces its upper floors.

But recent decades have been unkind to 11 N. Pearl. Like many older office buildings in downtown, it has struggled to lure tenants and is largely empty.

Officials with Heights Real Estate did not return phone calls seeking comment on the purchase, so it is unclear what changes, if any, the company has planned.

Pamela Tobin, executive director of the Downtown Albany Business Improvement District, said she believes the building is a prime candidate for conversion to apartments or condominiums -- a move that would be in line with what city officials hope to see in other older buildings downtown.

"We're starting to get a lot of interest in mixed-use concepts for development," she said. "And that's where we really need to be."

There has been no shortage of ideas for the former bank building. One plan would have turned part of it into a "hotel" that hosted telecommunications equipment; another called for a nightclub in the building's grand but long-shuttered lobby.

Yet the building has largely failed to attract tenants for much of its 110,000 square feet. Real estate brokers say that's typical for older buildings, with tenants preferring suburban office parks or newer downtown high-rises such as 677 Broadway.

It wasn't always so: Mike Urgo, owner of a North Pearl Street pizza shop, came to Albany from New York City in the 1970s and remembers the Home Savings building as largely occupied.

But life drained from the building just as it drained from Pearl Street, he said.

Urgo recently converted the offices above his shop, Jonathan's Pizza, into six apartments. A similar move -- albeit on a much larger scale -- by the new owners of 11 N. Pearl would be "absolutely dynamite" for the future of Pearl Street.

Heights Real Estate purchased the building from Albany Home LLC, a New York City group that paid $2 million for the landmark in 1999 and quickly spent at least $3 million on upgrades.

The ownership shift follows the January purchase of the former National Savings Bank building at 90 State St., another landmark high-rise. That structure was acquired by Andelex Group of New York City for $9.75 million.

Andelex says it plans no major changes at the mostly occupied office building.