BY PAUL NELSON, TIMES UNION
SCHENECTADY – For years, residents have been raving and city and county politicians have been gloating about the transformation on State Street into what has become a showpiece in the heart of downtown Schenectady.
You can catch a Broadway show and the latest Hollywood flick, enjoy fine dining and spirits at fancy restaurants or just grab a sub all within walking distance of each other.
Several major projects in excess of $65 million are extending the rebirth farther down the busy corridor past Erie Boulevard into what is commonly referred to as the Lower State Street area.
“The goal is to really make that part of downtown Schenectady as successful as the other parts that we’ve developed,” said Ray Gillen, chairman the Metroplex Development Authority, adding that its proximity to the historic Stockade District and Schenectady County Community College makes the area that much more appealing.
Re4orm Architecture, a local firm, is spearheading two major projects totaling $25 million, one of which is scheduled to be reviewed next week by city planning officials.
The proposal would convert several mostly vacant properties at State and North Church Streets and Mill Lane into the Mill Artisan District, consisting of 83 apartments, restaurants, a brewery and distillery, according to plans submitted to the city development office.
The plans indicate that four of those structures on State and Mill Lane would be renovated and restored while six that are in “serious disrepair” would be demolished to create three restaurant spaces, a brewery, distillery and cooperage.
The “project will create hundreds of new jobs,” the application states.
A rendering lists 70,000 square feet of retail spaceand 83 apartments units, 50 with Stockade views and 22 as “new build” in the first phase and the second phase described as 18,000 square feet of construction on the $11 million project.
Re4form Principal James T. Pollard is listed as the applicant on the Mill Artisan District application, and the Schenectady-based firm is scheduled Wednesday to appear before the city Planning Commission to seek site plan approval.
Not far away, the group also wants to transform an old city firehouse and a former department named Breslaw’s on State Street next door to each other at 136 State St. into a complex that would house a culinary lab and kitchen to support businesses looking to manufacture food in the county.
The $15 million Schenectady Innovation Project would team up with nearby Schenectady County Community College’s craft beverage and distilling programs, according to Gillen. Additionally, the facility would be able to house a number of brewing companies and a cooperage and other related companies as well as a Taste of New York retail store in the future, Gillen said.
Metroplex has applied for a $2.9 million grant from the Capital Region Economic Development Council to help pay for the Schenectady Innovation Project, the same agency that awarded $2.32 million for the Mill Artisan District project.
The other projects underway on Lower State Street include the former YMCA building at 13 State St., which is being turned into a $20 milion four-story building with 61 apartments for seniors plus construction of the 104-unit Electric City apartments and 1,000 square feet of retail space.
The latter was delayed for years and is now tied up in litigation because of structural problems related to the now-demolished historic Nicholaus Building, an iconic structure that stood at the corner of State Street and Erie Boulevard.
To see photos on the Times Union site, click here.