Troy developer investing $2.6 million into historic downtown Schenectady property

Michael DeMasi Reporter-Albany Business Review

The historic, empty Foster Building in downtown Schenectady, New York will be sold to a Troy developer and renovated into upscale apartments, offices and ground-floor retail space.
Sequence Development is buying the six-story property at 508 State St. from the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority for $475,000, according to Ray Gillen, chairman.
The Foster Building is located on the Proctors block downtown and is listed on the Federal Register of Historic Places. It has stood vacant for many years as most of the properties surrounding it were upgraded with tens of millions of dollars in public and private investments.
Now, the Foster Building will get the same treatment. Sequence Development plans to invest $2.6 million, including the cost to renovate the property into 12 loft apartments, two offices, retail space and a rooftop deck connected to the adjacent building at 510 State St.
Sequence Development is headed by Jeff Buell, a former journalist-turned-developer with a growing portfolio of projects. They include partnering with Kirchhoff Consigli Construction Management on the $27 million redevelopment of Monument Square in downtown Troy.
"We believe very strongly that the Foster Building should be a key cog in downtown life, and look forward to creating a dynamic product in Schenectady that people enjoy for a very long time," Buell said.
Metroplex will hold a 15-year mortgage on the $475,000 purchase price with a 4 percent interest rate. The public authority also will provide a $200,000 grant to restore and preserve the building's ornate State Street facade.
BBL Construction Services LLC of Albany will do the renovations.

Quoted Text

Metroplex will hold a 15-year mortgage on the $475,000 purchase price with a 4 percent interest rate. The public authority also will provide a $200,000 grant to restore and preserve the building's ornate State Street facade.

Metroplex, holding a commercial mortgage for 3-4 percentage point below the market rate, AND giving away $200,000.  The residential property can't even get a $50k loan for a piece of property that pays $5k in property tax.  

Bend over Schenectady as another millionaire has their way with you.  Enjoy it!

508 State was also part/combined with 510, 512 and 514.  I wouldnt be suprised if they are all included for the $475,000 but convieniently left out of the article.  

Also in the same article.  $900,000 to clean up a parking lot less than an 1/2 acre in size?  Really the best use of this money?  Something fishy here.  



Approved $85,000 to match a $815,000 state grant to clean up a vacant lot at 37 Van Guysling Ave., Schenectady. Once cleaned up, the lot will provide a development site in the Broadway Commerce Park.

why is METROPLEX/GILLEN holding the mortgage instead of a Bank....such as Key Bank?

Yep, yet ANOTHER taxpayer paid building.  


Taxpayers were FORCED to give a pair of scumlords tax delinquents a WHOPPING QUARTER OF A MILLION dollars and the city NEVER NEVER withheld one penny in back taxes on the HUGE MULTITUDE of properties the pair owned throughout the city - probably then owed at least a hundred thousand dollars on all their properties.   Properties that were mostly taken in tax foreclosure and now homeowners have to foot the bill for those houses.

And that after that Alsdorf scum chose to NOT keep heat on in that Foster building, so pipes broke, caused massive flooding downtown and  a million dollars in damage at least

But plex rewards the buy with a huge profit and paid him with taxpayer dollars but NEVER withheld one penny on back taxes owed.


So this will be yet another tax INCREASE on the homeowners and yet another DECREASE IN THE CITY'S TAX BASE


DV CHEERS FOR EVERYTHING THAT CAUSES THE CITY TAX BASE TO DROP.

MC...

You are perhaps the most knowledgeable on the insanity that is Metroplex and our local government.

I really wish you would put together a package with all the circumstantial evidence of corruption, with references, and send it - even anonymously if you desire...  To the NYS Comptroller's office, the FBI, the TU, and anyone else that might care.

You spend a lot of time documenting the likely corruption here - I think your time might be better served putting a comprehensive package together for those that might actually (eventually) do something about it.

Quoted from JackBauer

MC...

You are perhaps the most knowledgeable on the insanity that is Metroplex and our local government.

I really wish you would put together a package with all the circumstantial evidence of corruption, with references, and send it - even anonymously if you desire...  To the NYS Comptroller's office, the FBI, the TU, and anyone else that might care.

You spend a lot of time documenting the likely corruption here - I think your time might be better served putting a comprehensive package together for those that might actually (eventually) do something about it.

One of these days.   We will, or maybe we have already done some.   Sadly the party colludes together to screw the taxpayers

And the puppets who shake their pom poms won't EVER state what the homeowners are getting in return for their money.

Nor will the mayor, his dem council, the county nor the Metroplex tell the homeowners what they are getting in return.


But we do see lots of reports in the paper where they are having secret meetings

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Troy developer investing $2.6 million into historic downtown Schenectady property

surrounding it were upgraded with tens of millions of dollars in public .... investments.


Metroplex ..... The public authority also will provide a $200,000 grant

The public authority financially struggling TAXPAYERS also will BE FORCED TO  provide a $200,000 grant.  Then the taxpayers will be FORCEDE to pay higher property taxes on this building under threat of having their homes seized in order to pay the taxes on this building  


And WHAT to the homeowners in the city get in return??????


The homeowners and residents get to live next to this









And the homeowners and residents get to live next to this






And the homeowners and residents get to live next to this with the city not having money to address this trash





No wonder Pinocchio won't put a pinky toe IN the city

Downtown has come a long way since the days of decay and ruin under the Farley-Jurzynski regime. People are actually willing to invest money downtown.  People are opening new businesses -- reopening old businesses -- downtown is buzzing everyday with positive activity ---  there is a real sense of dynamic optimism now.  
It makes most everyone proud to residents of the City-County of Schenectady.

2 million....200 million...yipee...it makes not a bit of difference on my tax bill  

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

Downtown has come a long way since the days of decay and ruin under the Farley-Jurzynski regime. People are actually willing to invest money downtown.  People are opening new businesses -- reopening old businesses -- downtown is buzzing everyday with positive activity ---  there is a real sense of dynamic optimism now.  
It makes most everyone proud to residents of the City-County of Schenectady.

Oh Pinocchio, how many more lies are you going to tell?


Yet ANOTHER building OFF the tax rolls.  

In exchange for low wage jobs

Increasing taxes mean increasing rents.  No wonder so few are willing to rent in Schenectady -- NOT EVEN YOU PINOCCHIO

Homeowners will pay higher taxes.  No wonder NO ONE is investing in buying a house in Schenectady -- NOT EVEN YOU PINOCCHIO.  

More homeowners will abandon their Schenectady city houses

More abandoned houses, more decaying buildings, more blight continues to spread throughout the city of Schenectady under the dem leaders.


People need to wake up and see how the rich political cronies of the city/county/plex leadership are living high on the hog on the taxpayers' money and laughing all the way to the bank.


And people who love seeing all the taxpayer money thrown at downtown won't explain what will happen when there are no more homeowners left in the city to pay the taxes of these downtown buildings.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

It makes most everyone proud to residents of the City-County of Schenectady.

Proverbs 16:19
It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud.

John 2:16
For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world.

What's "funny" read the Gazette today where Gillen says the previous owner of the building didn't pay taxes on the building.

Did Metroplex withhold the money owed in back taxes from the purchase price?

NOPE


The building was purchased by the delinquents for about $125,000, they didn't put a penny into the building, didn't even pay to keep heat on which caused a million in damage and they did NOT carry insurance.

And what did the DEM city leadership and plex do?   They rewarded the scum owners with a whopping quarter of a million dollars in taxpayer money and TOTALLY absolved them of paying ANY taxes!!!!!!!!!!!!


And now, the building will be owned by ANOTHER NON-TAXPAYER!!!!!!!!!


Wait til the building starts decaying when there is no one left living in the city to pay the taxes.