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  #121  
Old Posted Feb 25, 2008, 3:23 PM
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New frontier for growth

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Staff writer
Sunday, February 24, 2008

Geography has isolated Rensselaer County from decades of development in other parts of the Capital Region.


Its rugged hills make large-scale construction and the extension of sewer lines difficult and costly. And the Hudson River, a barrier more psychological than physical, has led many in the Capital Region to consider the nearby county a distant locale.

As a result, developers mostly looked away, building instead in Colonie, Guilderland, Clifton Park and elsewhere. From 1960 to 2000, Rensselaer County grew by just 10,000 people, to a population of 152,000.

Now, though, with shopping centers and housing developments stretching north to Wilton and the suburbs between Albany and Schenectady largely filled in, builders are taking a fresh look at Rensselaer County, remembering just how close it is to Capital Region employment and residential centers.

It is, after all, right across the river from Albany.

Residents say the county's development boom really began about a decade ago, with the opening of Exit 8 from Interstate 90. New Route 4 shopping destinations -- including the region's first Wal-Mart -- quickly followed.

Yet Rensselaer County development shows signs of intensifying even as the economy slows nationally. As several of the county's larger employers continue to expand developers are preparing to build a slew of new projects.

A Pennsylvania-based developer, for example, is planning two Route 4 shopping centers in North Greenbush that together would include a staggering 480,000 square feet of retail space -- about half the size of Colonie Center.

Just up the road, GE Healthcare is building a $165 million center at the Rensselaer Technology Park where 150 people will work.

In East Greenbush, the Nigro Cos., a local firm, is planning The Village at Tempel Farm, planned to include 400,000 square feet of retail space, including a Lowe's home improvement store and, possibly, a Kohl's department store; an 84-room Marriott; a 70,000-square-foot office building; three restaurants; and 324 apartments.

There are other projects in the works, including large housing developments in Brunswick; riverfront high-rises and a marina in the city of Rensselaer; a plan for new offices, hotels and more along the Troy waterfront; and a $150 million arts center on the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute campus.

"We've created a buzz," said Robert Pasinella, director of the county's Economic Development and Planning Department. "Developers are seeing that the river is not a barrier anymore."

A frequently heard prediction is that development will follow Interstate 90 toward rural areas. "Schodack is clearly the next step for growth," Pasinella said.

Some residents, though, are not welcoming the change. They fret about traffic, particularly along Route 4, and fear the character of the county is too quickly shifting, that commercial development is coming on too fast.

"If we wanted to live in Colonie and Guilderland, we would have. But we consciously chose not to," said North Greenbush resident Betsy Belle Eadie, who lives near the Route 4 shopping sites.

She added: "We know change is coming. But there is wise development, and then there's development that's greedy and is only being done to make developers wealthy."

Too much of what's planned, she believes, falls into the latter category.

Rensselaer County is a diverse place. It has two dense and sometimes gritty cities along the Hudson River: Troy and Rensselaer. But they quickly give way to farmland and bucolic rural scenery.

The bulk of the growth is planned in the suburban towns in the county's southern half -- East and North Greenbush, Schodack, Sand Lake. It's the area closest to downtown Albany.

East and North Greenbush, in fact, are some of the Capital Region's fastest-growing towns: Among municipalities with populations larger than 10,000, only Clifton Park, Wilton and Malta have grown faster since 2000, according to census bureau estimates.

"This area is definitely seeing much more development pressure," said North Greenbush resident Mary Jude Foley, whose hay farm sits near new upscale housing developments. "Just driving along the road, I see the changes," she said.

But as the suburbs grow, the county's largest population center shrinks: The city of Troy has lost 1,200 people from 2000 to 2006, the bureau says. The city of Rensselaer had relatively flat population growth.

Some in the county fear a Rensselaer County future of disproportionately poor urban cores flanked by increasingly faceless suburbs of ubiquitous subdivisions, strip malls and office parks.

"Instead of development in areas that are now open space, why not have a regional, unified policy that would direct growth back into the cities?" asked Brunswick resident Joseph Durkin, a lawyer and 13-year resident of Rensselaer County.

Durkin is a member of Brunswick Smart Growth, which has sued to halt several large housing developments planned there. The group estimates that, collectively, the housing would add about 2,000 residents to the town of nearly 12,000.

But there are signs of revival in the county's cities: There are plans for residential towers along the water in Rensselaer, and the new life in downtown Troy could be aided by a developer's plans for a Hedley Park District of new offices, hotel space and residences.

Among the Capital Region's four core counties, only Rensselaer County lacks an enclosed shopping mall. It also has the lowest annual amount of retail sales.

It could be argued, then, that the commercial development planned for the county means it is simply pulling even with the rest of the region.

Is Route 4 becoming Balltown Road in Niskayuna or Wolf Road in Colonie, two roads with high concentrations of commercial development? William Madsen, vice chairman of the planning board in North Greenbush, said the fear of becoming another Wolf Road is often mentioned by development-wary residents.

But Madsen added that with gas costing more than $3 per gallon, many county residents no longer want to drive across Albany County to shop. They want to be able to buy a pair of pants near home, he said.

Rensselaer County residents note that while they often crossed the river to shop, others in the Capital Region have been less willing to do the same.

"People thought this side of the river was just the end of the world," said Jim Greenfield, the town historian for North Greenbush.

Developers say people seem more willing to cross the bridge. Still, most of the Rensselaer County retail developments aim to attract shoppers who live nearby; most of the planned stores are chains that are widely available elsewhere.

John Nigro, the developer behind the Tempel Farm plan, is warning that developers are likely to curtail retail building in Rensselaer County if the pace of residential growth doesn't pick up.

Many observers believe that employment growth at places like the Rensselaer Technology Park and the University at Albany's east campus will bring more housing development and continued growth overall.

"Historically, people had the perception that we were 1,000 miles away, even though we were just over the river," said Foley, the North Greenbush farmer, who is also a Planning Board member.

But now, she said, "anybody that has a large piece of property has had somebody come knock on their door."

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...date=2/24/2008
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  #122  
Old Posted Feb 25, 2008, 3:28 PM
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Developers, sure of plan, take a long look at potential site

The Business Review (Albany) - by Michael DeMasi
Friday, February 22, 2008

Jeff Pfeil is confident there would be demand for apartments or condominiums inside an old warehouse in downtown Albany.

But he and his partners have to finish structural and environmental studies before buying the four-story building at 17 Chapel St.

"The market is there for the type of product we're going to do," said Pfeil, president of J.W. Pfeil & Co. Inc. in Saratoga Springs. "We're talking about approximately 20 units."

The 36,000-square-foot building is owned by Capital Repertory Co. and located between Chapel, Orange and Monroe streets.

Capital Rep, whose theater is a block away on North Pearl Street, uses part of the building for storage and student instruction.

Capital Rep bought the property in 2001 with the intention of converting the top floor into apartments for actors, but found it more cost effective to lease existing apartments downtown, said John Privitera, president of the theater's board of directors.

Pfeil & Co. and another investor, The Rosenblum Cos. in Guilderland, have a contract to buy the building but aren't revealing the price. It's listed with CB Richard Ellis/Albany for $975,000.

The Pfeils have a lot of experience retrofitting old buildings.

Their most recent projects include converting a textile factory in Lansingburgh to an 18-unit condominium called Powers Park Lofts and converting the former Stanley's department store in downtown Troy into 19 luxury apartments called The Conservatory.

The Capital Rep warehouse would be their first project in downtown Albany and the first with Rosenblum Cos. Jeff and his wife, Deane, have known the Rosenblums for many years.

"We have our eyes open for properties all the time," Pfeil said. "When that one came to our attention we took a look at it and thought it had potential."

Built in 1928, the warehouse has had various uses, including as a parking garage and car dealership.

"It's just a great, solid, old building," he said. "It's a cast-in-place concrete edifice that certainly can be adapted to any number of other uses."

The apartments or condominiums would include interior parking, Pfiel said.

Seth Rosenblum, vice president of Rosenblum Cos., said the location is ideal for housing because it's near nightlife on North Pearl Street, professional offices and the yet-to-open Hollywood Brown Derby restaurant.

A block away, the former William Boyd Printing Co. plant is another potential redevelopment site. The property will be put up for auction Feb. 29 following three unsuccessful attempts to sell it to private developers.

"Hopefully somebody will buy it," Rosenblum said. "I think if six months from now someone comes forward to do condos or apartments there ... that will be a good thing."

Rosenblum Cos. owns and manages 350,000 square feet of suburban office space at Corporate Plaza on Washington Avenue Extension and Great Oaks Office Park in Guilderland.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/02/25/story4.html?b=1203915600^1594188
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  #123  
Old Posted Feb 27, 2008, 6:09 PM
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Region bucking housing trend

Local home prices rose at end of last year despite national slump

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
Wednesday, February 27, 2008

A closely watched housing index says home prices in the Capital Region rose during the last quarter of 2007, even as they fell nationally.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said Tuesday that prices of existing single-family homes here rose 1.22 percent during the year's final three months and 4.31 percent overall last year.

The numbers are a vindication of sorts for local real estate agents, who have insisted that the region's market is healthy relative to slumping areas in California, Florida and elsewhere.

"I'm sure there are a lot of communities that are different from the national numbers," said Marie Bettini, president of the Greater Capital Association of Realtors Inc., a Colonie-based trade group. "There are a lot of markets that are OK."

For months now, the Capital Region housing market has presented a paradox: According to numbers from GCAR, median sale prices have been flat or rising -- even as the number of homes sold were in steep decline.

On Monday, that trend continued: GCAR said January's closed home sales were down 20 percent from the same month last year, but the median sales price remained flat.

Because numbers like that seem to run counter to the laws of supply and demand, they've generated puzzlement -- and even skepticism.

Some cynics have wondered whether Realtors are cooking the books, or if buyers are using deflated prices to buy larger homes, thereby keeping prices stable.

But economists consider the OFHEO House Price Index to be among the most accurate of housing-price gauges because the agency bases its measurements on repeat sales of the same properties or refinancing on the same properties.

It is therefore considered more of an apples-to-apples comparison of prices than other measurements.

OFHEO says the country's housing prices actually fell 1.3 percent during the fourth quarter.

Some metropolitan areas, particularly in California and Florida, are seeing big drops. Merced, Calif., for example, saw home values fall nearly 20 percent last year.

And even some communities close to the Capital Region are seeing declines. In the Poughkeepsie area, for example, prices fell 1.76 percent last year.

Of the nation's 291 metropolitan areas, OFHEO says the Capital Region had the 59th highest rate of price appreciation last year. Wenatchee, Wash., where prices jumped nearly 14 percent, was No. 1.

OFHEO says housing prices in the Capital Region rose 64.06 percent from 2002 to 2007.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...date=2/27/2008
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  #124  
Old Posted Feb 29, 2008, 4:25 PM
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Albany Med's $360M vision

Expansion plan comes as the demand for services surges


Architect: TRO Jung Brannen

By CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY, Staff writer
Friday, February 29, 2008

ALBANY -- Crowded to the point of turning away patients, Albany Medical Center unveiled a plan Thursday to accommodate its growing demand for years to come.

Albany Med announced a $360 million expansion, the largest in its history and most expensive in northeastern New York, even as the 2006 Berger Commission report has led to the downsizing of hospitals statewide.

"Our critical care units often operate at capacity," said James Barba, president of the medical center. "Last year we had to deny 300 requests for transfers to the Albany Medical Hospital, and I learned just yesterday that last January 2008, we had to deny transfers to our hospital."

The actions of the Berger Commission have increased the demand for at the remaining hospitals, Barba said. The state panel recommended closing nine hospitals and reconfiguring 48.

Leaders of the landlocked campus want to construct a six-story building on their only available piece of land in front of the Emergency Department. The building will overlook New Scotland and Myrtle Avenues.

Barba said the hospital will raise $50 million of the construction costs through donations and borrow $310 million.

The project is motivated by unprecedented growth at the hospital.

The number of admissions has jumped from 24,300 in 2001 to more than 31,000 in 2007, a 27 percent increase. Many of those patients have been transferred from smaller hospitals and nursing homes.

The hospital re-opened 82 beds and added 300 jobs in the past five years but can't keep up with demand, Barba said. This expansion would add 116 beds for a total of 747, with most of the new ones in intensive care.

Albany Med is a level one trauma center that serves 25 counties and treats more trauma patients annually than any other hospital in the state.

Barba estimated that the patient load would increase 3 percent in each of the upcoming years. He attributed the increasing demand to the growing population in the Capital Region, the rising number of baby boomers seeking health services and the Berger Commission.

"Plans for major expansion during an era when some hospitals are contracting may seem counterintuitive, but it is both necessary and correct," Barba said.

One of the goals of the Berger Commission was to eliminate financially weak hospitals so that the remaining hospitals would see an increase in patients and financial stability.

A few miles down New Scotland Avenue, St. Peter's Hospital is in the middle of a $275 million expansion project.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno and Mayor Jerry Jennings praised the expansion. Bruno said good health care is a top priority for companies, such as Advanced Micro Devices Inc., that are looking to move into the area. Jennings said the project adds to the renaissance of the neighborhood, which already has a new hotel and restaurant.

Hospital officials said the expansion will add 500 jobs at the hospital.

The hospital has filed a request for the expansion with the state Health Department but has not applied for building approvals from the city. Hospital officials hope to break ground in 2009 and open the building in May 2012.

Because of elevation changes on the property, the building actually will be four stories shorter than the hospital's eight-story D Tower, where most of the inpatient beds are located. The building design would allow four more floors to be added in the future, though there are no plans to go higher than six stories at the moment.

The brick and concrete building will have a roof-top garden and a pedestrian bridge that connects to a new parking garage across the street on Veterans Affairs property. The proposed seven-story garage would house between 1,500 and 2,000 cars.

"Our expansion project, which will take several years to complete, is absolutely vital to the institution's ability to meet the needs of area residents seeking the most advanced medical and surgical care available," Barba said.

By the numbers:
$360M -- Cost of project
$50 M Being raised in donations
116 New beds, bringing total to 747
30 New adult intensive care beds, totaling 80
10 New neonatal intensive care beds, totaling 60
60 New medical/surgery beds, totaling 360
20 New operation rooms, bringing total to 42
500 New jobs 201
2 Year of completion

Breakdown of new six-story building:
Entry level: atrium, drop-off area for emergency department
Basement: waiting area and operating rooms
First floor: Operating rooms and recovery rooms
Second floor: Intensive care beds
Third floor: Medical surgical beds
Fourth floor: Neonatal intensive care unit

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...date=2/29/2008
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  #125  
Old Posted Feb 29, 2008, 4:32 PM
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And an aerial showing approximate locations of the building, garage and connector bridge.

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  #126  
Old Posted Mar 1, 2008, 4:20 AM
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Could they come up with a more sterile building?

Last edited by bpg88; Apr 14, 2008 at 2:58 AM.
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  #127  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2008, 5:28 PM
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Tech Valley momentum
State panel gives final OK for $300 million investment at UAlbany's NanoTech complex


(photo by Steve Jacobs / Times Union)

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer
Saturday, March 1, 2008

ALBANY -- In a major milestone in the development of New York state's Tech Valley, a state oversight board gave final approval Friday to $300 million in spending for the International Sematech project at the University at Albany.

International Sematech is an offshoot of Sematech Inc., the major computer chip manufacturing consortium that helped Austin, Texas, evolve from an eclectic college town into a high-tech mecca in the 1980s.

F. Michael Tucker, CEO of the Center for Economic Growth, an Albany-based economic development organization, said approval of the project is "critically important in continuing the momentum" of Tech Valley, a large economic development zone that stretches from the Canadian border to Westchester County.

"When you make an investment, you can expect dividends, and this project will pay numerous dividends in the form of jobs, new commerce and new investment," Tucker told the Times Union.

The Capital Region and UAlbany's College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering have positioned themselves at the epicenter of the growth of Tech Valley along with IBM Corp.'s operations in Dutchess County. IBM has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the college's Albany NanoTech complex on Fuller Road.

Sematech has had a presence there since 2003, growing to 250 workers.

But last year, Gov. Eliot Spitzer and the Legislature came together to stage a dramatic coup in the semiconductor industry by luring Sematech's headquarters and research and development operations to UAlbany.

The state agreed to kick in $300 million, while Sematech and its partner companies will supply an additional $300 million.

The new organization, which is expected to keep a smaller presence back in Texas, will be known as International Sematech and will grow to 700 people at the NanoCollege over the next several years. It will have its headquarters in a new $150 million, 250,000-square-foot building being built at the school. Both the governor and the Legislature approved funding for the project last summer. So did the board of the Empire State Development Corp., the state's economic development arm that will handle disbursement of the funds.

After a public hearing held earlier this month, the only approval needed was from the five-person Public Authorities Control Board, which OKs funding by state authorities. The board's members are named by the governor and leaders in the Legislature.

In a cramped conference room on the first floor of the Capitol Friday, proxies for the five members of the board quickly and unanimously approved the funding. The money will officially be given to the Research Foundation of the State University of New York, which will pass it onto the NanoCollege.

Within hours of the vote, Sematech's CEO, Michael Polcari, and Alain Kaloyeros, the chief administrative officer of the NanoCollege, issued a statement to the Times Union thanking Spitzer, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

"Together, International Sematech and the UAlbany NanoCollege are poised to lead the world in nanoelectronics education, innovation and commercialization, and of equal importance, create new opportunities to attract high-tech jobs, companies and investment across New York State," the statement said.

The $300 million destined for the NanoCollege won't be deposited into a bank account overnight.

The state will raise the money by selling bonds to the investment community, and then the money will be disbursed through five carefully planned installments of $60 million that will only be made as the program reaches certain milestones and employment targets over five years.

Construction continues at the NanoCollege on the new building, where International Sematech will have its headquarters, although the $300 million is not going toward that building. Overall, the college employs 2,000 people, with 2,500 expected by 2009.

Much of the $300 million will go toward machinery and equipment and renovations at the college to support programs at International Sematech that will help the industry make cutting-edge advances in computer chip manufacturing.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...sdate=3/1/2008
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  #128  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2008, 5:30 PM
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more suburban-style offices for Washington Ave!

Bank opening new base in Albany

First Niagara will employ 200 at $8.5 million regional office, with all commercial bankers under one roof

By LARRY RULISON, Business writer
Saturday, March 1, 2008

ALBANY -- First Niagara Bank is going to establish a new regional headquarters in Albany that will include 200 employees in a new 35,000-square-foot building off Patroon Creek Boulevard.

Most of the employees who will move into the new space -- known as a Market Center -- will be executive staff, commercial bankers and insurance agents. They will be moving from smaller offices around the region, including offices that the Lockport-based bank leases in Corporate Woods in Colonie.

Thomas Amell, First Niagara's eastern region president, said the bank has similar market centers in Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse.

The new Albany center will have prominent signage and will put all of the company's commercial bankers under one roof -- with room for expansion. "It's really a huge step forward for us," Amell said. "It solidifies our commitment to the Capital District."

The move does not affect First Niagara's 36 branches in the region. Staff there who deal with retail customers will remain working out of the branches.

First Niagara has $2 billion in deposits in the Capital Region, making it the fourth-largest bank in the area, according to the latest figures from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. KeyBank is the largest with $4.2 billion in deposits.

The new $8.5 million, two-story Patroon Creek building, which will be owned by Columbia Development Cos. of Albany, will also include a small banking branch expected to be used mostly by commercial clients and employees.

The construction firm for the project, expected to break ground in April and be completed in October, will be BBL Construction Services of Albany.

Columbia has been an active developer in the Patroon Creek area, which is just north of the University at Albany and the Harriman State Office Campus.

The company is a part owner of the 180,000-square-foot building that is headquarters to CDPHP, the health plan company. The company also owns another 161,000-square-foot building there and is planning another 60,000-square-foot building.

Richard Rosen, vice president of Columbia, said the company was planning to build the new building at Patroon Creek and then found First Niagara to occupy it. The bank will be the only tenant.

"It's a perfect fit," he said.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...sdate=3/1/2008
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  #129  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2008, 5:42 PM
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And a couple images of 555 from Columbia Development's website. Jaw-dropping, I know.



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  #130  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2008, 6:10 PM
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An article talking about the growth at Saint Rose and Union over the past decade. Funny they don't mention RPI, since they've been going on a tear with new construction lately.

Cities benefitting from private colleges investing in downtowns

Colleges bring cranes and residents to urban neighborhoods


The Business Review (Albany) - by Robin K. Cooper
Friday, February 29, 2008

College trustee Carl Touhey also gave $2 million to Saint Rose. The Princeton University graduate is managing partner of The Latham Four Partnership, a property management company.

A third $2 million gift came from the family of fellow trustee Norman Massry.

Massry, whose family runs Tri City Rentals and Massry Realty Partners of Albany, is the school's longest-standing trustee.

"This is transforming the way we fundraise," said Karin Carr, the school's vice president of institutional advancement.

"Gifts have come from a number of sources," Carr said. "They understand the impact the Massry center will have. They know it will enrich the community by bringing in top-level performers."

The college also has worked with the city to develop an employee assistance housing program, encouraging more employees to live near campus.

In the past two years, five employees have taken advantage of the $5,000 housing assistance grant program.

And more than one-third, 205, of the college's 598 employees live in Albany.

Saint Rose also has bought and renovated 50 rundown buildings in the upper Madison Avenue neighborhood in recent years. Today, those old homes are used as student housing and college offices.

Improvements are part of an ongoing effort. Saint Rose earmarks up to $4 million of its annual $90 million budget to fund capital improvements.

Those efforts have generated a new energy among staff, trustees and donors.

"There is an excitement that has attracted attention from those who otherwise weren't connected to Saint Rose," said Nolan, a Loudonville resident and graduate of nearby UAlbany.

The formula Saint Rose is using to improve the campus and urban neighborhood is similar to the one used a few years ago by Union College.

A city on the rebound

Until the last few years, blight and abandoned buildings had been a major turnoff for prospective Union College students.

"When [applicants] were asked why they chose not to come to Union, they wrote one word--Schenectady," said Frank Messa, a 1973 Union graduate and chairman of the school's board of trustees.

That's changed due to Union's investments and efforts of the county and city economic development arm--the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority--to bring in more businesses.

Messa, a retired Ayco Co. financial planning executive, isn't ashamed to take would-be investors and alums through downtown Schenectady anymore.

Instead, the school shows off the city through trolley tours and downtown social events.

Renovations at Proctors theater, the opening of new restaurants and construction of the new Hampton Inn Hotel have helped the city rebound.

"A strong, vibrant city benefits both the college and the community," Messa said.

The rebirth in Schenectady began a decade ago when the college launched the Union-Schenectady Initiative, investing more than $10 million in project that included converting the former Ramada Inn into the College Park Hall dorm.

The college helped revive its urban surroundings by restoring nearly three dozen homes and offering free tuition to those who bought them.

"That has led other developers and businesses to come to the area and invest money," Messa said.

Union trustee Neil Golub, president of the Golub Corp., which operates the Price Chopper supermarket chain, plans to build a new $22 million, 240,000-square-foot headquarters on Nott Street across from a college dorm. It will bring 850 employees to the area.

"People like to back a winning team," said Michael O'Hara, Union's director of college relations.

Campus improvements at Union have totaled more than $38 million over the last several years.

Renovations to the Union ice rink made it possible for the school to host hockey leagues and public skating. The school also bought and restored an abandoned bar that now serves as the Kenney Community Center where public school students participate in a study program.

Union's efforts have paid off.

The school's 2,100 students and 800 employees have an annual economic impact of $273 million on Schenectady County, according to a 2007 estimate by the Capital District Regional Planning Commission.

Union also was named one of the nation's top 25 "Best Neighbors" among urban colleges in 2006. It was the only college in New York on the list compiled by Evan Dobelle, president of the New England Board of Higher Education.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/st...520400^1597657
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  #131  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2008, 6:20 PM
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And some images of the Massry Center for the Arts:

location:


site plan:


looking north:


looking west, from Madison Ave:
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  #132  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2008, 8:06 PM
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I may be repeating a previous post from some time ago, but I've noticed more and more the huge banner on Broadway concerning the Capital Grand, and now there is a rendering in an ad in the Times Union. The condo's website has a good picture and other details, I put it in the category of "believe it when I see it" but I am taking this one seriously.

http://www.thecapitalgrand.com/main.html
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  #133  
Old Posted Mar 3, 2008, 10:58 PM
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Yeah, sales have begun so that's a good sign. And even if it doesn't come to fruition, it shows that at least somebody has faith in the downtown Albany market, even during these shaky economic times.

The rendering on the website, it's surprisingly substantial:



Hmm, I never noticed Albany being so lush with foliage...
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  #134  
Old Posted Mar 9, 2008, 7:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kznyc2k View Post
Hmm, I never noticed Albany being so lush with foliage...


I think that this project has a good shot at making it.

It's kind of a weird site plan (it does not front on Broadway) but I suppose they want to preserve the views of downtown to the south. Might have been nicer if they started from scratch but I'm not going to bicker when it comes to such a transformational project. That giant lawn should be taxed accordingly, however.

The Queri project looks even better.
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  #135  
Old Posted Mar 10, 2008, 10:43 PM
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Galesi plans professional office building near Union College

The Business Review (Albany) - by Michael DeMasi
Friday, March 7, 2008


Location -- this area is heating up quite nicely:


An old school on Nott Street in Schenectady would be demolished and replaced with professional offices under plans being pursued by the Galesi Group.

"It's a great location for medical offices, with its proximity to Ellis Hospital, Sunnyview Rehabilitation Center and St. Clare's," said David Buicko, chief operating officer of Galesi Group in Rotterdam.

Architects and engineers haven't yet determined how large a building could be constructed on the 1.3-acre site and still provide adequate parking, Buicko said.

The Schenectady County Department of Social Services is located in the former school at 497 Nott St.

The building is across from Union College and next to where the Golub Corp. will build a six-story, 240,000-square-foot headquarters under a separate deal with Galesi Group.

County officials have floated several ideas over the years to move DSS out of the cramped and outdated building, but none came to fruition.

The county found a solution with Galesi Group, the largest commercial real estate developer in the Capital Region as of 2006, according to The Business Review's 2007 Book of Lists.

The Galesi Group bought the former Schenectady International headquarters at 797 Broadway and is renovating a building there for DSS staff.

The county signed a lease with Galesi Group for about 47,000 square feet that begins January 2009, said County Manager Kathy Rooney.

The lease rate starts at $13.23 per square foot and increases every few years over the 20-year term. About 210 people will work there.

The Galesi Group will eventually redevelop a second, 80,000-square-foot building at the former Schenectady International headquarters.

A hill behind the buildings that was in danger of collapsing several years ago will be stabilized with funding from Galesi Group and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

"It's a great location," Buicko said. "It's one of the entrances to Schenectady."

In order to move ahead with the purchase of the DSS building on Nott Street, the Schenectady County Legislature must approve a resolution repealing the transfer of the property to Union College.

County lawmakers approved the transfer to the college eight years ago. At the time, Union was interested in opening a business incubator there.

Since then, Union has opened its U-Start incubator in other buildings on Nott Terrace.

"We talked with Union College and they fully support development of this site for commercial use," said Ray Gillen, chairman of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority.

The county has scheduled a March 11 public hearing on repeal of the transfer.

Provided the repeal is approved, the county will then sell the building to the Schenectady County Industrial Development Agency for $200,000.

The IDA, in turn, will sell the building to the Galesi Group for $200,000, Gillen said.

Metroplex administers the IDA.

--

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/03/10/story10.html?b=1205121600^1601084
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  #136  
Old Posted Mar 17, 2008, 5:56 PM
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Blight claims buildings, pieces of Albany's past

Preservationists find funds scarce to save neglected structures as city continues work to remove eyesores

By TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writer
Monday, March 17, 2008

ALBANY -- Where a historic knitting factory once stood, the ground is level and covered with fill.

The former factory and three adjacent buildings on South Pearl Street, not far from Alexander Street, fell victim to the wrecking ball last month. The demolition site is only a block and a half from where six buildings -- five of them vacant -- were torn down last year when a leak from a vacant structure flooded an occupied home.

"It's another poster child for how long these buildings have been neglected," said Susan Holland, executive director of the Historic Albany Foundation.

Holland says she often is frustrated when she responds to scenes where city engineers and firefighters are determining whether a historic building is too far gone to be saved. Still, she is optimistic that preserving the Victorian architecture is a priority again.

After the previous Alexander Street demolitions, Mayor Jerry Jennings announced what he called his "Block by Block" initiative as part of an effort to battle blight.

Owners of vacant buildings are being brought into a separate codes court, and the city is targeting the 50 blocks with the most vacant structures in need of improvement.

The critical piece, Holland said, is funding to enable the city to restore buildings that can still be saved.

"We definitely need money," she said. "We look at them and they look at us and say, 'Where are you going to get the money to put on the table?"

Michael Yevoli, the city's commissioner of planning and development, said the buildings that were most recently torn down were 20 years past saving.

"They were deemed an imminent threat to public safety," he said. "The goal had been to try to do something to preserve the fabric of that streetscape, but it was so far gone."

Also gone is a piece of the city's past.

The knitting factory was originally built in 1886. John Wolcott, a local historian, said the mid-19th century first opened as Eintracht Hall, a German music hall. Its name was later changed to Andes Hall.

Other buildings on the site were also significant, he said. Two of them are believed to have housed founders of the city's first black church, he said.

The Albany African Association was founded in 1811 and built a school on the site in 1815-16. Two years later, the building was turned into the Albany African Church.

The building that one housed the church is long gone, Wolcott said. But the church's founders, Benjamin Lattimore and Francis March, lived on the property where the demolitions occurred.

Wolcott said he gave a report to the Common Council four years ago lobbying for preservation of those buildings, which he says had not been vacant for as long as the former knitting factory.

"They just let them go," he said. "The city ought to start taking responsibility for fixing these places up."

But the buildings' owner, Olga Jobe of New York City, said she agreed with the decision to take the buildings down.

Her firm, Jobe Development Corp., acquired the buildings in summer 2005 and had hoped to convert them into affordable housing. But those plans never panned out.

"These buildings really were unsafe. I'm just glad no one got hurt," Jobe said.

Unlike many absentee landlords, Jobe made an effort to salvage the buildings, Holland said.

Now that they have been demolished, Jobe said, the firm hopes to build affordable housing on the site. She is not sure whether the firm will do the work or sell it to someone else.

"We're open to both," she said.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...date=3/17/2008
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  #137  
Old Posted Mar 20, 2008, 4:57 PM
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u guyz wow liek omg!!

Biggest U.S. Wal-Mart Supercenter opening in May--in Albany, N.Y.

The Business Review
Thursday, March 20, 2008

The Albany, N.Y., area will soon have a new distinction: Home to the country's largest Wal-Mart Supercenter.

The Wal-Mart Supercenter at Crossgates Commons in Albany will have a grand opening in May.

The 259,650-square-foot store is one of a handful owned by the retail giant that has two floors.

A specially-built escalator transports shopping carts, depositing them on the floor just seconds after customers step off an adjacent, traditional escalator, said Philip Serghini, a company spokesman.

Part of the store was once a Sam's Club that closed in May 2006. Since a Wal-Mart was adjacent to the Sam's Club, the company decided to combine the two spaces into one large Supercenter that has more spacious aisles. Wal-Mart Supercenters include food and groceries not found in the company's typical discount stores.

The company has more than 2,300 Supercenters. They average 187,000-square-feet and stock 142,000 items.

The Crossgates Commons store has been open since late February but interior renovations and stocking of merchandise isn't finished in part of the store.

Wal-Mart has scheduled a grand opening for May 17.

The store will have about 425 employees, roughly 40 more than had worked at the former Sam's Club and Wal-Mart combined.

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, had $374.5 billion in sales for the fiscal year that ended Jan. 31, 2008. The Bentonville, Ark., company has more than 4,000 stores and other facilities in the U.S.

The chain's biggest stores are in China, Serghini said.

http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany...ml?jst=b_ln_hl

--------

The merits of having the biggest Wal-mart aside, it's good that they're reusing an existing building and not eating up another 25 acres of farmland for it.
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Old Posted Mar 27, 2008, 2:38 PM
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Solution possible to DeWitt Clinton dispute

Tenant's lawyer talks with owner of Albany landmark about businesses leaving premises for another site

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
Thursday, March 27, 2008

ALBANY -- The owners of the DeWitt Clinton building and the structure's last remaining tenant are negotiating a financial settlement that would allow two businesses to move to another downtown Albany location.

See Why Gerard LLC, owned by Brooklyn investor Chaim Ausch, says it wants to turn the landmark building at the corner of State and Eagle streets into a high-end hotel. But the company claims it cannot begin the redevelopment if businesses owned by Tom Nicci -- the State Room banquet hall and the Comedy Works club -- continue to occupy the building.

In November, See Why Gerard even filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in an attempt to force Nicci's businesses from the building. U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge Robert Littlefield Jr. has ordered the dispute to mediation.

Attorneys for both sides say negotiations to move the businesses to another downtown location -- they declined to say where -- were under way before the judge's March 10 order.

"What we're trying to do is work something out that's mutually beneficial," said Stephen Waite, the attorney for Nicci. "That involves dollars -- compensating my client."

Richard Weiskopf, the attorney for See Why Gerard, essentially agreed with Waite's comments, saying the parties were trying to determine a fair value for moving Nicci's businesses and retrofitting the new location.

Waite stressed the businesses would not relocate until at least 2009. Weddings and other events planned at the banquet hall this year would not be interrupted, he said.

"The key (to the negotiations) is that there's no damage to my client's business or my client's customer base," he said.

Nicci signed a 15-year lease in 2003, before See Why Gerard purchased the property for $5.3 million. At the time, it mostly was a 400-unit apartment building that catered to low-income residents. Those tenants have been evicted.

The DeWitt Clinton has an enviable location: The 11-story, block-long building is directly across from the state Capitol.

But the building, constructed in the 1920s, is in poor condition. So are a string of historic buildings to the east, known as Wellington Row.

Yet Albany developer Columbia Development Cos. has announced plans to redevelop Wellington Row with stores, apartments and a 14-story office tower, and city officials hope the DeWitt Clinton hotel plan will complement a remade Wellington Row.

The DeWitt Clinton lease dispute is similar to one that occurred on the north side of downtown Albany, on Broadway north of Quackenbush Square.

There, Queri Development Co. of Syracuse intends to build a $40 million apartment and office tower. Its plans were delayed by a long lease dispute with the Broadway Auto Clinic.

In August, a state Supreme Court justice ruled the clinic, owned by Richard and Sandra Hameroff of East Greenbush, had a valid lease through 2011.

That led to a negotiated settlement that will have Queri paying roughly $750,000 for the relocation this summer of the auto shop to Menands.

http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories...date=3/27/2008
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  #139  
Old Posted Apr 4, 2008, 4:19 PM
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$350M ethanol plant planned for Port of Albany

The Business Review (Albany) - by Pam Allen
Tuesday, April 1, 2008

The Albany Port District Commission on Monday approved a proposal to build a $350 million ethanol plant on 20 acres of riverfront property.

Albany Renewable Energy LLC will pay $20,000 a year per acre to lease the 20-acre site for at least 20 years, commission Chairman Robert Cross said. The project is expected to generate between 300 and 400 jobs during construction and employ between 50 and 60 full-time employees with average salaries of $60,000.

The plant is scheduled to create 600,000 tons of cargo and bring 350 barges a year in and out of the Port of Albany, Cross said. Currently no barges travel through the port.

"We're very excited. this is the largest development project in the history of the port," Cross said.

Bio Pro Resources of North Carolina will build the facility. Officials plan for a completion date of late 2009 or early 2010.

Albany Renewable Energy was chosen from four bidders. Financing for the plant has not been finalized yet.
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Old Posted Apr 4, 2008, 4:22 PM
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Revival of downtowns continues to spur condo development and sales

The Business Review (Albany) - by Michael DeMasi
Friday, March 28, 2008


The urban condominium market is blossoming in the Capital Region.

Last year, 161 condominiums sold or were put under contract in Albany, Troy, Saratoga Springs, Cohoes and Glens Falls, according to a report by T.L. Metzger & Associates LLC in Albany.

Officials in those cities green-lighted an additional 483 condominiums, but the state Attorney General's office has not yet approved the offering plans. As a result, those units can't be marketed and deposits can't be accepted for them.

While Saratoga Springs is commanding the highest prices--an average of $326.07 per square foot--Cohoes has more units in the pipeline, 384, than any other community.

The report is the second issued by T.L. Metzger in eight months, and the first to look at a complete year's worth of information gleaned from the Capital Region Multiple Listing Service, developers, other brokers and the news media.

According to the report that was released last August, 591 condominiums sold in Albany, Troy, Saratoga and Schenectady between 1993 and June 2007.

That means nearly one-fourth as many urban condominiums sold in the region last year as there were in the previous 15 years combined.

Condominium construction isn't limited to local cities. Thousands of condos and townhouses have been built over the past 35 years in suburban towns such as Colonie, East Greenbush, Clifton Park, Rotterdam, Niskayuna and Guilderland.

The region's first condominiums were built in East Greenbush in 1972, according to Joseph Conlon, principal of Diamond Realty Management in Latham, which manages more than 5,000 condominum and homeowner associations.

Conlon estimates there are 9,000 to 12,000 units that are part of condominium or homeowner associations in the region, about half of which are condominiums.

Homeowner associations exist in some single-family detached housing subdivisions.


Demand for condominiums in local cities is relatively new.

In Cohoes, for instance, no condos were sold during the 15-year period covered by the last Metzger report and Glens Falls wasn't included.

In 2007, 28 condos were sold or deposits were received in Cohoes and 32 were sold or deposits were received in Glens Falls.

The units appeal to young professionals and retirees who like the idea of living in an urban environment without the headaches of shoveling snow and parking on the street.

Of the six cities included in the most recent report, Schenectady had the smallest inventory, with 31 condominiums.

There are no units on the drawing board, but that could change as commercial development accelerates downtown, according to Tracy Metzger, president of T.L. Metzger & Associates.

The roughly 500 jobs expected to be created at GE Energy by 2011 and the relocation of the Golub Corp. headquarters from Rotterdam to Nott Street near downtown Schenectady could also fuel demand for condos in the city, according to Metzger.

The Capital Grand, a 125-unit proposed condominium in downtown Albany, has received about 36 deposits since the property went on the market in January, said Sean Sezlik, a sales representative. Prices range from $179,900 to $516,000.

Norstar Development USA has expressed confidence the nine-story tower will be built if it that pace of deposits continues.

In Troy, however, the owner of the former Mooradians Furniture building on River Street has shelved plans to convert the six-story, red-brick building into 48 loft condos.

The owner, NADC in Brooklyn, has cited high property taxes, lack of indoor parking and the fallout from the national subprime mortgage crisis as the reasons why it had trouble finding buyers.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2008/03/31/story3.html?b=1206936000^1610988
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