Albany County Executive Dan McCoy joined local officials on Monday to unveil redevelopment plans at the Department of Public Works base in Coeymans.
The Democrat says the outdated facility will be replaced with a more modern structure. The roughly 15,000-square-foot facility that will take the place of the garage will make use of several green technologies, including solar panels, a rainwater collection system and geo-thermal technology.
“This is the first Albany County building that will be fully powered by 100 percent renewable energy," said McCoy.
McCoy says while it may be the first project of its kind in the Capital Region, it will not be the last.
“You’re gonna see more projects as we do, and as we go forward that are gonna have 100% renewable energy," said the county executive.
Saying fiscal responsibility is crucial, McCoy added that the current building is out of date and lacks space to fit all of the DPW’s equipment.
“We have over $2 million of equipment sitting around in the weather, in the cold like today, in the snow, you know, but also in the heat, and it deteriorates it," McCoy said. "So when this facility is built, not only are we gonna have a state of the art facility, but we’re gonna have a facility that we can protect the taxpayers’ investment, not just in the workers, because they’re as important as our equipment, more important, but, you know, to have a place where we can put our equipment, and also have a place where they can work on it in a safe environment, a cleaner environment, a more efficient environment.”
Albany County Legislator Zach Collins, a Republican whose 37th district includes Coeymans, says the project garnered bipartisan support.
“This made it through the legislature with ease, it was a no-brainer," Collins said. "And definitely I want to thank our county DPW workers, this is well deserved. They’ve been working in a facility like this for a long time. And when you invest into a project like this, you invest in your workers, it shows you care about them.”
McCoy says the new building should be complete by the end of January 2024.
