The Albany County executive’s office is advancing plans to purchase five buildings on the former College of Saint Rose campus, despite public opposition.
Although a final decision on whether the county can buy the buildings has not been determined, signage for the Albany County Sheriff’s Department is posted at the front entrance of the Hearst Communications Center.
That’s a sign the county may be moving ahead with plans to more permanently occupy the campus, even as the formal process to develop the 26.5 acres in Albany continues.
Albany County Legislature Chair Joanne Cunningham told WAMC it is important for the county to move quickly.
“We’re the owner of those bonds — the county, Albany County, the taxpayers, all of us. So now the heat is on for the county to say, ‘OK, Pine Hills Authority has got their job, they are going to think about how to use this,’” Cunningham said.
In March, the Albany Pine Hills Land Authority bought the former campus using $35 million in bonds.
An additional $5 million in bonds was issued afterward to manage the property, bringing the total to $40 million.
M&T Bank is the purchaser of those bonds, which are backed by Albany County.
In a statement Friday, Michael Whalen, M&T Bank regional group manager for government banking, said the bank is grateful to have been selected by the Albany County Pine Hills Land Authority to assist in the acquisition of the former campus.
The county will make funds available in its annual budget to pay the debt service.
On Thursday, the county’s Audit and Finance Committee voted 7-2 to advance a request from County Executive Dan McCoy to purchase five buildings on the former Saint Rose campus from the authority.
The buildings include the former Neil Hellman Library, the Events and Athletics Center, the Hearst Center for Communications and Interactive Media, the Huether School of Business and the former Administration Center.
During the committee meeting, County Director of Operations Michael Lalli outlined the county’s plans for the buildings.
“The Neil Hellman Library is currently vacant. That building, along with the Events and Athletics Center, we applied to New York state for a $14 million BRICKS grant to create a community center,” Lalli said.
He said the Administration Center would be used for administrative and budget offices, and that the Huether and Hearst buildings would be used for county sheriff’s offices.
Since the committee approved the request, it will move to a final vote by the County Legislature on Nov. 10.
A county spokesperson declined to answer questions Friday and said more information about the potential property purchases will be available early next week.
After Thursday’s vote, Cunningham said McCoy will continue to evaluate which county departments are best suited to move into the five buildings.
“That process is going to take a while, though, but I think the goal is to have the county assume ownership, which means we then can start planning in a more methodical way,” Cunningham said.
The vote comes as residents await a November report from the Pine Hills Land Authority on potential development plans for the campus. Neighborhood advocates have called on the county to pause all property purchase plans until that report is complete.
The report will take into account public input from three meetings held by the land authority over the last few months.
At the last public meeting Wednesday, a presentation detailed five potential plans for the site.
Each plan included a campus map showing a mix of uses — recreational buildings, green space, educational developments, government service buildings, and single-family, institutional and senior housing.
After the meeting, land authority Chair Nick Mazza said the group could select one of the concepts as the final plan.
“We will pick one of those five. Very likely, or a modification — it may be six, but who knows. But yeah, I think, you know, we’ve put a lot of time and effort into this — we’ve had three community meetings, a website, interactivity and so on. I’m very comfortable with where we are, and very likely a final plan will reflect what you see tonight,” Mazza said.
In each plan, the southwest portion of the campus is labeled as “Government Service,” and includes the Hearst Communications Center and Huether School of Business.
“There is an agreement in place already that’s been approved that allows the county to occupy some of these buildings,” Mazza said.
Some residents, including Carolyn Keefe of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association, expressed concern after the presentation.
“Well, I was a little concerned that they did not seem to have any options for the buildings that the county wants to buy — like anything beyond what the county wants for them — because the point of this was to assess every building and to get a real feel for all of the options for every building,” Keefe said. “The fact that that does not appear to be included in what they presented today is a bit of a concern, but we’ll see what the final report shows.”
Mazza said he has heard that some residents may not want government buildings on the site.
“I’ve heard that they don’t want government. My question is, why?” Mazza said.
He added that the Pine Hills Land Authority’s final report is essentially a final plan.
“No action will be taken until Nov. 18, but that is when a final plan could be adopted,” Mazza said.
