A prestigious Upstate law firm will be the main tenant in Albany’s first new office tower in 20 years.
Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP, which purports to be one of the Capital Region’s largest law firms, intends to set up shop in the new building planned by First Columbia at 705 Broadway. Once finalized, the move will mean more than 200 professional jobs are tied to downtown Albany at a time when many firms are shifting to the suburbs.
First Columbia Vice President of Real Estate Kevin Prunty says "It's exciting for the city that they're going to continue to have these jobs in downtown, walking around, spending money, bringing commerce and keeping commerce in downtown. And it's good news for I think everyone here."
Key elements of the move include a payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreement, and parking arrangements for employees through the Albany Parking Authority. While construction has not started, plans for the building call for a public restaurant and a coffee shop.
The move aims to centralize the law firm's operations, consolidating satellite offices in Corporate Woods and another downtown location. Robert Schofield, Managing Partner at Whiteman Osterman & Hanna, said while several law firms have left downtown in recent years, his firm views a downtown Albany presence as central to its identity and mission.
"This is a culmination of a many-year process that we have been undergoing as a firm to find a location where we can bring all of our attorneys back under one roof, and with the preference of the partnership, keep them in the downtown core of Albany," said Schofield. "We started this prior to the pandemic, and have really, you know, tried to approach it as a turning over every stone kind of a process. And we're really, really excited that, you know, we have finally found what appears to be a project that checks all of the boxes."
Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan says 705 Broadway will put the finishing touch on Clinton Square.
"We were the recipient a number of years ago, of a downtown revitalization initiative, $10 million to really focus on that gateway into the city. And we saw tremendous projects completed, the Skyway, the Clinton Market Collective, new housing, and we want to be able to build on that by having this final project that will really connect the investments that have been made," Sheehan said.
The project’s proponents say it has the potential to be one of the first to utilize a portion of Governor Kathy Hochul’s $200 million earmarked to help revitalize Albany and strengthen the city’s core.
