Downtown Albany wins $10 million state grant
Albany won a $10 million state grant to redevelop a portion of downtown near the Palace Theater — a busy gateway into the city with empty lots and run-down buildings but where there have been new investments in recent years.
The blocks connect downtown with the warehouse district to the north, an area that Mayor
Kathy Sheehan said provides a crucial first impression to 23,000 drivers exiting Interstate 787 daily on Clinton Avenue.
"This is good for the entire Capital Region," Sheehan told local politicians and business people who were invited to Capital Repertory Theater for today's announcement by Lt. Gov.
Kathy Hochul. "But it does feel good to win."
That was a reference to this being Albany's third attempt in three years to win the funding through Gov.
Andrew Cuomo's Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
Albany lost in the previous two rounds of the regional competition to Glens Falls and Hudson. This time, Albany edged out
two other finalists,
Troy and
Cohoes.
More than $280 million in projects have been proposed near the Palace Theater, and more than $80 million is underway within the one-third mile-long area dubbed "Clinton Square," according to the city's grant application.
Bounded by Colonie Street, Steuben Street, Interstate 787 and North
Hawk Street, Clinton Square includes the Palace Theater, Albany Pump Station and former
Kiernan Plaza, along with homes in the historic Ten Broeck Triangle in Arbor Hill.
Sheehan and her husband, Bob,
bought a house last January for $77,000 at 18 First St. that's within the Clinton Square boundary lines,
according to the map included in the city's application.
Sheehan's chief of staff,
Brian Shea, said the mayor wouldn't benefit personally in any way from the grant funding.
Developments underway include an $18.5 million, 88-unit apartment complex
being built on Broadway near the Leo O'Brien federal office building.
Across the street, construction of a large, mixed-use development called Quackenbush Square is months behind schedule after bids came in
much higher than anticipated.
Both projects are among 28 in Clinton Square that are "primed and ready" for development, according to the grant application.
The Palace is in the midst of a $30 million fundraising campaign to expand the theater.
Capital Rep will be moving into a
new $8 million theater inside a renovated building at 251 N. Pearl St.
Hochul was in Amsterdam on Wednesday to announce
that city had won the $10 million grant, beating out competitors in the Mohawk Valley.
Winning the grant doesn't mean the money will start flowing quickly.
For instance, Cuomo announced the winners of the first round of funding in summer 2016, including Glens Falls, Oneonta and Elmira. But it took nearly a year for the state to approve an "investment plan" for each of the projects because consulting firms had to work with the municipalities to prioritize the projects.
The consultants cost the state $300,000, meaning each city's downtown will actually receive $9.7 million once the funds are distributed.
As in the previous two rounds, one downtown in each of 10 regions in the state will receive $10 million.
Cuomo was in New Rochelle this afternoon to announce the city was the winner in the Mid-Hudson Valley region.
In addition to Albany and New Rochelle, the other winners that have been announced are Auburn in central New York; Central Islip on Long Island; Saranac Lake in the Adirondacks; and Owego in the Southern Tier.
Source:
https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/n...0-million.html
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