la la la here we go again
Teams line up for Harriman site
Three local developers plus partners selected to draw up proposals for office campus near UAlbany
By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
ALBANY -- Three development teams -- and deep-pocketed national companies -- will vie to build at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus.
The teams were chosen Monday by the board of Harriman Research and Technology Corp., which is overseeing the long-stalled redevelopment of the state-owned property near the University at Albany.
Each of the teams is led by a well-known local developer: Columbia Development Cos. Of Albany, The Galesi Group of Rotterdam and The Howard Group of Colonie.
And each of the local developers says it is working with at least one big-name national company -- suggesting wide interest in redeveloping the Harriman campus.
Columbia Development, for example, is partnering with Toll Brothers Inc., the nation's largest home builder; M+W Zander, the German engineering company involved in the construction of the Albany NanoTech complex and the redevelopment of the Watervliet Arsenal; and Ocean Hospitalities, a New Hampshire company that owns or operates 120 hotels.
Galesi Group, meanwhile, is partnering with New York City-based general contractor Turner Construction Co. and Cushman & Wakefield Inc., which calls itself the world's largest commercial real estate services firm.
Howard Group has, among other partners, Choice Hotels, one of the world's largest hotel franchisers; Winn Development, a large Boston developer; and Street-Works LLC, a White Plains company that says it focuses on "the creation of mixed-use projects around great public places throughout the United States."
(kz note: Winn has no capital right now. Their $800m project in Boston was just stopped a week ago because they couldn't secure any tax credits or financing. Also note how muxh work they've gotten done on redeveloping the Park South neighborhood).
The three teams are among the five developers that responded to the state's request for qualifications, which was released in December and asked that the developers prove they have the experience and financial backing needed for a major construction project.
The teams will receive requests for proposals in early May and will have until Aug. 11 to return the application.
Michael Phillips, president of Harriman Research and Technology Corp., estimated his group will select the final development plans by mid-October.
The Harriman campus is now a stark expanse of office buildings, parking lots and lawn adjacent to UAlbany.
Dissatisfaction with the sterile campus -- and the belief that its location near highways and the university made it valuable -- led former Gov. George Pataki in 2002 to propose a redevelopment plan that included relocating the 7,500 state employees who work there.
But that plan stalled, in part because it asked that one developer take responsibility for all the redevelopment at the 330-acre site.
Late last year, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer released a revised plan that keeps state workers in place and asks developers to tackle only a portion of redevelopment.
Judging by the company names unveiled Monday, that plan has generated a better response.
"That's what we were looking for -- the big guys and gals," said John Egan, commissioner of the state Office of General Services and a Harriman board member.
The selected development teams have not yet detailed their specific plans for the campus, and efforts to contact the heads of Columbia Development, Galesi Group and Howard Group were unsuccessful.
But the composition of the teams hints at what they may propose.
The presence of Toll Brothers, for example, suggests a proposal with a significant residential component. The involvement of Cushman & Wakeman's Global Life Sciences Project could mean the inclusion of medical or pharmaceutical development.
It's possible that all three teams will be awarded the rights to build at Harriman, and will build simultaneously on different parts of the campus.
Phillips, Harriman Research president, said that if more than one firm asks to build at the same location, the developer with the more concrete proposal -- and signed tenants -- will be given preference.
Churchill can be reached at 454-5442 or by e-mail at
cchurchill@timesunion.com.
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...sdate=4/8/2008
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