NYS Issues RFP For Downtown Albany Development Site

ALBANY, NY—State officials announced on Thursday that the state had issued a Request for Proposals for the purchase and development of a 4.5-acre parcel in Downtown Albany.

The site was previously studied as a site for a convention center, but the $66.5-million convention center project is now being built at a site near the Capitol on the corner of Eagle and Howard streets, according to the Albany Business Review. The RFP also includes the option to purchase another 1.9 acres of adjacent streets.

The RFP issued by Empire State Development and the state Office of General Services calls for a mixed-use development plan including a residential component that “maximizes economic impact to New York State and the City of Albany and addresses priorities such as area revitalization, market demand and sustainable building practices.”

The site consists of seven parcels of land bounded by Hudson Avenue to the north, Broadway to the east, Green Street to the west, and Pruyn and Hamilton streets to the south. The property includes four former warehouses most recently used as a commercial office complex totaling approximately 145,000 square feet of floor area, as well as multiple surface parking lots. All buildings on the site are vacant.

The deadline to submit questions is March 2 and proposals are due March 26.

“The Downtown Albany site provides a unique opportunity for mixed-use development that will attract significant private investment and continue the ongoing revitalization efforts of the area,” says ESD president, CEO and commissioner Kenneth Adams. “Our goal is to assist in the transformation of the vacant property into housing and retail/commercial space that will create jobs and enhance the existing historic assets.”

“An all-encompassing approach was taken in the development of this request for proposals to ensure the needs of the city, county, and state would be addressed within the RFP,” says commissioner of the Office of General Services RoAnn M. Destito. “With work on the Capital Center well under way, the addition of a mixed-use development nearby will complement the new convention center and significantly enhance the revitalization of this Albany neighborhood.”