Opponents of a proposal to move the headquarters of the Adirondack Park Agency from its current site in Ray Brook to Saranac Lake are asking the governor to put a stop to the idea.
The Adirondack Park Agency was created by the state legislature in 1971 and has occupied the same building in Ray Brook since it first opened.
The governor and legislature allocated $29 million to modernize the headquarters. The agency is looking to renovate the historic Paul Smith’s Power & Light building in Saranac Lake and construct an adjacent building. APA Executive Director Barbara Rice said a number of sites had been considered before focusing on Saranac Lake.
“This happened prior to me coming on as well as when I came on. When it comes to Saranac Lake and why it was chosen it’s consistent with the APA’s Smart Growth strategy to channel development to hamlets. So essentially we are practicing what we preach. And also it allows us to decrease our carbon footprint by reducing miles that our staff travels. Also, in keeping with the Smart Growth strategy, public infrastructure is available there. Adaptively reusing this historic building is very important. It’s more I environmentally friendly than building completely new.”
Saranac Lake Mayor Jimmy Williams is enthusiastic about the Park Agency’s potential move to the village.
“The Paul Smith’s Power and Light building is a beautiful, historically registered landmark and it is in desperate need of some serious restoration that we do not have capital for in our village budget. This project would restore that building and also provide a $30 million investment to our village and our village downtown. And then ultimately the investment with the additional building I think would be great. It’s not a sale. It’s a lease. So at the end of the lease potentially that could be a huge, wonderful structure for the village of Saranac Lake.”
Opponents have a number of concerns including potential conflicts of interest, and they question why the agency is rejecting the idea of building on existing state land that cannot be transferred to the private sector. Former Special Assistant and Economic Advisor to the APA Steve Erman and 18 other former staff sent a letter to Governor Kathy Hochul outlining their objections. A member of the Saranac Lake Housing Task Force, Erman says his doubts escalated after talking to Rice about the proposal.
“I didn’t feel any better after hearing the details of the project. In fact, I found out things about the project that made me even more concerned. Namely the addition of a new building on a small site, a site that is currently zoned by the village of Saranac Lake for multi-family housing. I started thinking that, you know, a site that’s zoned for multi-family housing is being taken away basically by the Park Agency which has a perfectly good alternative of building a new building on its current state office campus.”
Mayor Williams notes that there a number of affordable housing projects in the village, but none at the proposed APA headquarters site
"No one has ever approached the village about creating housing there. I have more opportunities to affect the housing crisis in different locations than I do to take care of that building and that property at that site.”
The second phase of a feasibility study on a proposed move by the APA to Saranac Lake is expected to be issued by the end of the year.
