A week after demolition began at Albany’s maligned Central Warehouse, prep work for taking down another decrepit site began Monday. The redevelopment of Lincoln Square Towers is another step toward reimagining the city’s downtown neighborhoods.
Lincoln Square Homes, built in the 1960s, consisted of 196 public housing units spread between four buildings, two, 12-story and two, eight-story buildings.
Plagued by rising maintenance costs and crumbling architecture, the site underwent substantial rehabilitation in the mid 1980s before deteriorating to the point of being deemed obsolete two decades ago by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
On Monday, officials kicked off a $3 million investment at the Morton Avenue property. There, asbestos in the building will be removed before demolition.
The Albany Housing Authority's Chiquita D’Arbeau says the long-term redevelopment plan for the site blends residential living with non-residential and commercial uses and comes as downtown Albany considers how to spend $200 million in state funding to revitalize downtown.
"These milestones clear the way for what's ahead, and we are thrilled to be more closer, moving closer to transformation. At the same time, we are actively pursuing opportunities to secure funding needed for full demolition," said D’Arbeau.
In 2004, one of the towers was demolished. Following a more than $35 million tenant relocation and unit replacement plan between 2005 and 2022, the housing authority entirely vacated the towers in preparation for their demolition, which has a current price tag of $12 million dollars.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand grew up seeing the towers every day on her way to school. She says the towers represent Albany’s need for more affordable housing.
"A recent analysis from the Comptroller's Office found that one in every five New York households spends more than half of their income to cover the cost of housing. Here in Albany, nearly half of our housing stock was built before 1950 driving up the cost and too often leaving residents with inadequate conditions," Gillibrand said.
Mayor Kathy Sheehan, who noted several developers have expressed interest in the property, said it's challenging to get people to rally around tearing something down... "...especially when it's tearing something down in a formerly Red Line neighborhood, where people wring their hands and say, Well, what will come next? But nothing will come next unless we create the vision for what this can be. And this is an example of well-intentioned but failed housing policy from decades ago, and it's time."
