Albany -- The next steps for the redevelopment of the College of St. Rose campus are imminent, according to Albany County Executive Dan McCoy.
McCoy tells CBS6 the County is expecting to close on the campus in March, hoping to move quickly with the county footprint on the property after that. He says they'll be moving "a ton of county agencies" to the Pine Hills neighborhood, potentially selling off the current county buildings in Downtown Albany.
"People are like, 'Well, you can't leave downtown,'" McCoy said on CBS6's Power & Politics. "That [downtown property] will go on the tax roll. So that's a win for the city, even though St. Rose won't go on the tax roll....it hasn't been in 100 years. If I sell off my county buildings and move to the St. Rose campus. It's a win, win situation for the city, because now these [downtown county] buildings are going to run the tax rolls. It's going to be a win for the school districts and everyone else. So the way we're looking at it, we're trying to think about that aspect to what helps the city going forward, to get more taxable property."
With the closure of the college, many shared concern over the future of the neighborhood and businesses surrounding the sprawling 90+ building campus. Several different entities have expressed interest including school districts, landlords and some businesses.
McCoy sees the property has an opportunity to attract people from the suburbs into the City.
"I know people the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association, I'm listening to them. We want to make sure they're happy as they can be. But, I have an obligation to the county. This isn't a city project, and that's why I have to remind the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association, this is a county project. If you wanted a city project that focuses just on the Pine Hills needs, then the city should have done this. I have to have a project that's a mixed use, but attracts everyone from the county come here. And that's what I want. I want people from the suburbs to come in here, whether we have restaurants in there, brew pubs," McCoy says.
As he's mentioned in the past, McCoy is also looking at housing and a 55 and older senior community as a part of the property's use. He says the biggest challenges are the electrical, internet and HPCC interconnectivity to the variety of buildings that made up the campus, saying that makes the individual buildings more costly to flip and redo, especially as housing.
"The Governor's having a big announcement next week at The College of St. Rose, and you know, we got a couple things going that we've been working on, that we're going to move quick," he says. "Obviously we've been working with Governor's team and other people about housing, quick housing."