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Tearing down in order to build up
Crumbling ex-furniture shop in Schenectady to give way to a housing and retail project  
  
By PAUL NELSON, Staff writer
First published: Tuesday, September 18, 2007


SCHENECTADY -- Emergency demolition of a crumbling building that formerly housed a furniture store will eventually pave the way for a sprawling residential-retail building project.
The demolition of Robinson Furniture Building on Schenectady's lower State Street became necessary recently when two floors of the building complex collapsed about two weeks ago creating a safety hazard, according to city housing rehabilitation supervisor Steven Jacobson.

  
The 40,000 square foot building located at 238-248 State St. has been vacant for many years and was seized by the city in a tax foreclosure. Officials said the building had seriously deteriorated and had become an eyesore in the vicinity of new development taking place near Proctors.

Water was a big factor in weakening the building's structural integrity.

"The water did the damage and caused two floors to pancake," said Jacobson on Monday, adding that the long neglected building has been vacant for upward of 15 years.

City officials say the demolition process, which is set to get under way today, will be done by the end of the month.

Once the building is removed, the site will be conveyed to a group of investors who plan to turn it into a mixed-use project of housing and office space above street level retail establishments, said Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority Chair Ray Gillen.

Emergency bids for the demolition work went out on Wednesday.

Two days later, four interested contractors met with Jacobson to do a walk-through of the site before submitting their bids.

Dan's Hauling and Demo of Troy won the contract with a bid of $274,325.

A second phase of the project calls for a company to finish asbestos removal from a partially collapsed roof inside one of the three buildings, said officials. The structures have fallen into such disrepair that vegetation is growing inside them and a hawk previously took up residence inside the buildings, said officials.

Gillen said city officials were forced to ditch their original plans to replace the roof, dry out the structure, and reconstruct it after a study by professional experts concluded it could not be rehabilitated.

An investment group, Schenectady Renaissance LLC, will finance a project for mixed use of the location after they secure the required planning approvals and permits, Gillen said.

How about making it SCCC music program place....

Really, this is one of the many buildings that they want to make the SCCC students take their short "stroll" past on their way up to Proctors to do all their practicing.  It's in the forgotten zone between Erie Blvd. and I-890.

maybe this will help them think outside the State St. Erie Blvd. Nott Terrace box?



It's ONLY .4 miles... (that is if you ignore that you have to cross an Interstate Exit and 2 of the busiest streets in the city (Erie Blvd and Broadway).  
Imagine the fun of running all the way to Proctors.  
Some of the kids living in the dorms that don't have a car, needing to run with their tuba across I-890, Erie Blvd, and Broadway?  
Anybody for a game of Chicken?

Hold on to your wallets.  Metroplex is here to help.  Legislator Fields won't be happy.  He expressed his desire for Metroplex to fund projects "north of State Street" during the last meeting of the Schenectady County Legislature, much to the chagrin of Savage.

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Hold on to your wallets.  Metroplex is here to help.  Legislator Fields won't be happy.  He expressed his desire for Metroplex to fund projects "north of State Street" during the last meeting of the Schenectady County Legislature, much to the chagrin of Savage.

At least now it gives her a reason to tell him tough luck.

Suzie's gotta be ecstatic that this is falling down.  That way she doesn't have to give in to the pressure of other legislators, just react and be the nice lady who comes with the open checkbook, paid for on the blood, sweat, and tears of the entire county.

I remember going to Robinson's when I was young with my parents. I think that was where my parents bought my bedroom set and my brothers. I remember the people there were very nice and very personable. It leaves me with a nice memory and I thank them for that.

Gee, the way the code violations are flying around the city, by the city enforcers, you would think that the code enforcer would have done something about this building BEFORE the 2 floors caved in. I mean they are going around the city, siting homeowners with cracked windows, and peeling paint! I swear that they are nuts in that city.

The code enforcers seem to be only targeting the residents dwellings not the city or vacant buildings that would not bring any results. It's hard to harass a landlord who lives in Florida or to get the city to do anything outside the infamous 2 block area on State Street.