The City of Troy is holding a community meeting tonight on the next phase of redevelopment of the One Monument Square site.
Ever since the former city hall was torn down in 2011, Troy has been looking to fill the prime piece of open space. There have been many attempts to move projects through. The most recent involved building a Bow Tie Cinema theater on the site, which became mired in legal red tape and was scrapped after months of public discussion.
Earlier this year the city held a three-day workshop to study the site, where Troy residents, business owners, employees and the general public were invited to participate. "I think people walked away from that with a strong positive feeling, not necessarily about the outcome of the meeting, but about the process of including their thoughts and including their hopes for that site."
In June, Russell Brooks, principal at River King Development, which owns property downtown, told WAMC that the city should be prepared to approve a project that may not necessarily make money. “If the city was more flush, it could just step up and develop that site as a civic site. So I think since we really don’t have the money here in Troy to do that right now, we look to the grant process and we look to a for-profit/not-for-profit/some sort of partnership to make this happen."
Project designers and planners have since come up with a concept for the site. The city describes it as a large, mixed-use project, all season civic plaza that includes two levels of parking with an open-air public space that spills onto River Street and Monument Square. Mayor Patrick Madden believes Troy is closer than ever to finding the right mix. "What had been proposed in the past didn't fit well with everybody, so we're trying to be inclusive, trying to gather their input, trying to make sure we can get as close to what the community wants as is possible."
Feedback provided during past meetings helped develop a series of "final concept" site illustrations, which will be on display tonight. Madden says there will likely be several more public meetings soon. "We won't get to the end goal tonight, but this is just another step forward toward bringing development of that site to fruition."
Madden adds he's hopeful the site will eventually attract more people downtown, which is already undergoing a renaissance.
Madden invites all to attend the 7 p.m. meeting at the Arts Center of the Capital Region at 265 River Street.
