City officials in Troy want to do more than just redevelop the site of two nine-story empty public housing towers that loom over the Hudson River downtown.
They're also interested in proposals that would replace two other buildings at the Taylor Apartments where people still live in 125 units.
Those residents would have to be accommodated in new, mixed-income apartments on the site or moved to other public housing in the city.
The potential redevelopment of the entire Taylor Apartments site near Russell Sage College is detailed in a request for qualifications that was issued last month by the Troy Housing Authority and Troy Local Development Corp.
Responses are due June 17.
Built in the 1950s, the four Taylor Apartment buildings dominate the Troy skyline to the south.
They are a familiar sight to drivers going across the Congress Street Bridge from Watervliet. The bridge was built in the 1970s to replace an older bridge one block south. It was connected to a tunnel under Ferry Street.
As a result, a ramp on the Troy side of the bridge runs between buildings No. 1 and No. 2 at the Taylor Apartments. Another ramp separates building No. 4 from the others.
Buildings No. 1 and No. 2 were vacated in 2006 and sit empty. Both would be demolished as part of any redevelopment.
Building No. 3, which is occupied, was renovated in 2006 at a cost of nearly $6 million.
Building No. 4, also occupied, had a less extensive renovation in 1995.
"Despite these renovations, the development team acknowledges that these mid-rise buildings and the way they are situated, with bridge ramps running adjacent to and/or between the buildings, is not the best situation for housing for families," according to the request for qualifications. "Therefore, the development team is interested in responses that completely reconfigure the location, number of buildings and mix of apartments/uses that presently exist on this site."
Tom Hulihan, director of planning and program development at the Troy Housing Authority, said including all of the buildings will make the site more desirable.
"It opens up the opportunity to serve more people and it provides greater access to redevelopment of the waterfront area," he said.
The goal is to create a mix of affordable and market-rate housing, commercial space and public amenities at one of the major gateways into Troy. City officials believe the timing is right to seek developers given the amount of new development in the downtown core.
Separately, the city has a grant to study the feasibility of reconfiguring the bridge and/or ramps to minimize the impact on traffic and pedestrians downtown.
Source:
https://www.bizjournals.com/albany/n..._news_headline
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