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Rensselaer waterfront’s future subject of new study

View of the Albany skyline from the Rensselaer waterfront.
Ian Pickus
/
WAMC
View of the Albany skyline from the Rensselaer waterfront.

The city of Rensselaer has been trying to develop its waterfront for years. A new study may help move the project forward.

In 2014 the city of Rensselaer missed out in the casino sweepstakes and the chance to revitalize its waterfront when Hard Rock Cafe's bid to develop a 24-acre site fell through.

A year later, then-Mayor Dan Dwyer and then-SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros announced a partnership to encourage two prospective corporations from outside of New York (which never were named) to commit to a $12.5 million investment on De Laet's Landing. The deal went off the rails when bid-rigging charges forced Kaloyeros to resign.

An apartment complex and some smaller projects have since sprung up. There have been other development plans. Last year the city reached out to the Capital District Transportation Committee, which then included Rensselaer in its community and transportation linkage program. CDTC Transportation Engineer Andrew Tracy says that was the beginning of the City of Rensselaer Waterfront Connectivity Study project.

"We hired a consulting firm, MJ engineering,and they did the bulk of the work," said Tracy. "The process took about a year. There was heavy public involvement, several rounds of public engagement, we held public meetings and there was pretty good turnout from city Rensselaer residents at these meetings, and MJ engineering drafted concepts to improve roadway sidewalk and bike trail connections from the northern portion of the city of Rensselaer to the waterfront area. So these concepts were all prepared. They were vetted through the public process and by the city of Rensselaer. And this all culminated in the publication of the final report, which was published at the end of March."

2015: then-Mayor Dan Dwyer gives then-SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros a tour of De Laet's Landing.
Dave Lucas
/
WAMC
2015: then-Mayor Dan Dwyer gives then-SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros a tour of De Laet's Landing.

Tracy says results were turned over to the city. Rensselaer's Director of Planning and Development Ketura Vics says the city is pursuing grant funding to enable it to implement the study's recommendations. The initial focus is on Forbes Avenue.

"It's a winding road that you can access pretty much immediately off of Exit 7 from I-90," Vics said. "And right now it's two way traffic, and it's a very quiet entrance to the waterfront, but at the foot of that is a switchback that is pretty difficult to navigate. And if you're not familiar with the area, it would make it very difficult to find the entrance to our waterfront, the boat launch and the new development site, which is the Barnet Mills. The purpose of this study was to figure out how can we make this a more legible area, a place that's safer for everybody to use. Cyclists, pedestrians, motorized vehicles, ADA citizens, etc. So really, what we're looking to do is design an efficient street that kind of eliminates that switchback opens up access to the waterfront."

Vics keeps her eyes open for funding opportunities. She says American Rescue Plan Act money was not available for this project and believes once the new Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge is constructed it will stimulate interest in and significantly improve access to the waterfront

"Continuation of the style of development that you see in De Laet's landing, with the Livingston Avenue Bridge being redone, our proximity to the Empire State Trail of the Albany Hudson Electric Trail, having a trailhead in our Riverfront Art Park," said Vics. "I think that what I would like to see is full continuity of connections between our Riverfront Art Park and the boat launch within the city that allows for some private development, but also plenty of public access that can eventually continue north up through Troy and the rest of Rensselaer County."

Tracy says the project's success is dependent on how quickly the city can secure a grant opportunity.

"Many of the recommendations in the study are noted as being either short term or medium or long term," Tracy said. "Some things, like improvements to signage and wayfinding, those can be implemented relatively cheaply, on a shorter basis. Some of the more costly recommendations of the study, you know, constructing new sidewalk or bike trails, for example, or fixing certain roadways or drainage issues that they encountered, those issues might be more costly and might be more longer term."

Tracy adds the study's recommendations will likely be implemented in phases and notes that CDTC might be able to help secure federal funding through programs it administers. Here's a link to the report.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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