State Searches for Master Developer

The Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp, a subsidiary of the state's Empire State Development Corp., has sent out the RFPs for the first phase of the project that are due back on Aug. 11. The first phase entails possible uses for a 35-acre to 45-acre parcel at the northwest corner of the site. It is part of the state's Albany Plan legislation enacted in 1998.

The campus, to eventually be renamed the Harriman Research and Technology Park, currently features 2.5 million sf of existing space in 18 buildings. The property, which was constructed between the late 1950s to the 1970s, was the home of approximately 11,000 state workers in its heyday. Today, approximately 7,000 employees of New York State government work at facilities on the campus. A spokesman for the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp., says that in about six to eight weeks approximately 1,000 employees of the New York State Department of Civil Service are scheduled to be relocated from the Harriman campus to the Alfred E. Smith Building in Downtown Albany.

According to the recently released master plan, authored by a team of Saratoga Associates, Economic Research Associates and Ballinger A-E, the New York State Department of Labor would retain its operations at the campus. The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, which has operations at the site, would have a new headquarters facility built at the campus per the master plan. The entire project could feature up to 3.5 million sf of mixed-use space if the master plan was followed.

The spokesman says that the RFP for the master developer did not include a funding commitment amount from New York State. He adds that was because, "We wanted to allow for the most flexibility for the development community."