Artist and historian Len Tantillo has been floating the idea of reopening Albany’s portion of the Erie Canal for more than 30 years.
In 2022, the idea solidified as Tantillo helped form Albany Waterway Inc. — a group that includes prominent local thought and business leaders formally advocating for the creation of a canal running parallel to the Hudson River.
Tantillo says the waterway would have a positive economic impact and give the city a certain identity.
“My impression is that most people go to places like this when they vacation and they go there because there is such a draw, we are just drawn to that kind of environment,” Tantillo said.
The canal would feature two entrances that pass under Interstate-787, each with its own marina where boats could dock. One of the entrances would be built where the city’s historic Erie Canal lock was once located — a property close to the Central Warehouse — and the other would be to the south in the courtyard of the SUNY System Administration Building.
The entrances would be connected by a stretch of water running along Broadway. Tantillo envisions restaurants, shops and apartments lining the banks.
The canal idea has already drawn the attention of multiple local politicians, including Mayor-elect Dorcey Applyrs and Albany County Executive Dan McCoy.
In a promotional video created by the Waterway group, Applyrs said the project would bring economic growth to Albany.
“People love the water, people are attracted to water, with an implemented waterway project we would really see economic growth that would in turn set Albany on a path forward in a way that we haven’t seen,” Applyrs said.
And County Executive Dan McCoy has suggested the canal as way to redevelop the area occupied by the Central Warehouse — a site he said last week is undergoing asbestos abatement ahead of planned demolition.
“You’ve got a blueprint to reimagine that whole area, if you open up the Erie Canal, you got green space you can do affordable housing with storefronts, you can make it a destination park that people want to come there and do stuff,” McCoy said.
In 2024, the Waterway group received $85,000 from the Albany County Legislature to study the cost and feasibility of the canal idea.
CHA Consulting led that study and found the entrances and marinas alone would be $362 million. That figure does not account for connecting the marinas along Broadway.
Despite that number, Tantillo isn’t worried about the funding.
“You need to think of that money in terms of points of reference, costs that the city is incurring, the state is incurring. Right now, the Livingston Avenue Bridge is being replaced. It’s under construction, the cost for this construction is $635 million and it’s going up,” Tantillo said.
With regional leaders already supportive, Tantillo is more concerned with raising awareness.
“We need to go a click higher, we have to get into the governor’s office,” Tantillo said.
Tantillo is hoping to get the attention of Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office next year and comes at a time when the Democrat is investing $200 million specifically for downtown revitalization through the Championing Albany’s Potential or CAP initiative.
The initiative seeks to revitalize the city’s downtown district and is accompanied by several other recent state-backed investments, including the Reimagining I-787 project and the renovation of the Empire State Plaza.
Tantillo says his group is working to get Hochul’s attention but has had little luck.
“It’s not something that I have heard her speak about and that’s the next goal for us, I think, is to get on the radar at that level,” Tantillo said.
A spokesperson for Hochul said Tuesday “the state looks forward to reviewing proposals” that leverage the historic financial investment coming to Albany through the CAP initiative.
In the meantime, Tantillo is working to finalize a plan for connecting the canal’s entrances.
“This is about an Albany that can finally have a means of competing with the draw of places like Crossgates those are a commercial draw that a downtown can’t do anymore,” Tantillo said.
