BY PAUL NELSON, Times Union
John Eoff is cautiously optimistic about the impact a casino and new building projects on Lower State Street will have on his century-old, family-run camera store.
“It’ll be beautiful when it’s all done,” said Eoff, 62, who owns The Photo-Lab Inc., which has been on State Street near Erie Boulevard since 1948. “I’m hoping for the best and hopeful I can survive to see it.”
Executives of two area real estate development companies touted plans last week for an approximately $25 million development that calls for 105 luxury apartments and about 8,500 square feet of ground-floor retail space.
“It’s true city living where people can walk to restaurants, bars and the theater without ever having to get into their cars,” said Dean DeVito, a principal with Prime Companies, about the upscale apartments the company will develop.
He said the one- and two-bedroom apartments in the four-story building will range from 650 to 1,700 square feet and have amenities including a workout area, a meeting room and a “common area for people to gather and interact.”
Additionally, some of the apartments will have offices and there will be underground parking spaces for tenants, DeVito said.
In December, plans to redevelop the property — loosely bounded by Erie Boulevard and State Street, and Erie and South Ferry streets — received a boost when Prime and the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority were awarded $1.2 million through the state Regional Economic Development Council.
DeVito said the location is desirable because of its proximity to General Electric Co. andSchenectady County Community College. It is not far from the future home of the $300 million mixed-use waterfront building project that includes a casino at the former ALCO parcel on Erie Boulevard.
John Roth, of Highbridge Development, which is partnering with Prime on the project, said last week that the parcel “will have several different building facades so it fits in with the style and characteristics of Lower State Street.”
Company officials have been talking with several potential retail tenants but no deals have been reached, said Roth.
He said the companies hope to appear before the Schenectady Planning Commission to seek site plan approval within the next few months and hope to break ground late this year.
Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen said the project is part of ongoing efforts to improve all of downtown.
“It’s a tremendous boost to Lower State Street and is the next major phase of downtown redevelopment,” Gillen said.
The luxury apartments and retail space are across the street from NYBizLab, a business incubator that is expected to open in March. NYBizLab is the idea of Antonio Civitella, CEO of Transfinder, the Schenectady transportation software company. He is also excited about the future along Lower State.
“There are great things taking place in Schenectady and it is rewarding to be one of the change agents making things happen in this great city,” said Civitella.
Gillen said Metroplex has worked with the city for the past several months on infrastructure upgrades, including replacing water and sewer lines as well as fixing lighting, curbs and sidewalks.
Michael Bisaillon, manager of a high-end modern art gallery on State Street called Jbis Contemporary Fine Art, said Friday that he and his brother, Jeffrey, are excited by how the area has been spruced up.
“We’re thinking long term and are focused on the future and want to be on the ground floor of the burgeoning business and what’s going on in the Lower State Street area,” he said, and they are “psyched” about the casino project. “We see Schenectady coming back to its glory days.”
pnelson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5347 • @apaulnelson