Metroplex facade grant furthers downtown Schenectady building rehab
Developer Reza Mahoutchian wants to convert 108 Union St. in Schenectady into apartments. The Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority is providing a $40,000 grant toward the $130,000 cost of a facade upgrade. Donna Abbott Vlahos | The Business Review
The Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority will provide a $40,000 grant toward the $130,000 cost of upgrading the façade at 108 Union Street in downtown Schenectady’s Stockade District.
The building, a former Schenectady County courthouse, is being renovated by Reza Mahoutchian, principal of Maxim Engineering.
Over the past 12 years, Mahoutchian has refurbished about a dozen buildings in Schenectady, converting them into apartments and retail or restaurant locations.
Exactly what we need....more apartments. So let me get this straight. Metroplex is supposed to only help businesses not the individual homeowner who wants to upgrade there homes appearance. So we are going to give this business $40,000 out of $130,000 to do what they are supposed to do? Maintain their property.
This guy isnt even paying his taxes.
Then again, he purchases it in 2005 for $730,000 and then the city reassesses him for $1.7 million. So he has paid about $400,000 in taxes since he purchased it and it is vacant. Wonder if he pays the vacant building fees! What a racket the city has.
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Apartments? What about condos? lol. Nobody wants to pay the insane DEM clown posse taxes. This was supposed to be a restaurant a few years ago. Metrograft should not be in the Section 8 Housing business. Where's the alleged increase in jobs and tax revenues? City revenues are in the toilet but no one ever blames Death Ray the tax exemption Godfather.
Then what is this, see below,that I rec'd in my e-mail the other day?
Light on 108 Union December 5th, 2012 Open House 5:30pm-7:30pm 108 Union Street, Schenectady NY, 12305 Schenectady Center for Conscious Development, Health, & Wellness
@ 7:00 pm Featuring a musical performance by Rich Goodhart
We would love to see you there to hear your thoughts and good wishes.
all best, Mary Clare
Caerkalos.org Find us on Facebook under Pages "108 Union"
Are they Section 8 Apartments? A City built for 100,000 with 60,000 residents doesn't need more surplus housing. Fat Morris should pay his taxes and stop with the double STAR crapola. Metrograft is a total failure. After 12 years not even a McDonald's nor Dunkin Donuts downtown. But it has managed to keep 10 DEM half wits employed. Keep the DEM implosion going.
Remember the story about a month or so ago, regarding Mt Pleasant especially, but VERY SPECIFICALLY it was explained by metroplex that they DO NOT DO RESIDENTIAL!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, they ARE doing residential units while there is a HUGE EXCESS of non-Metroplex residential units---thus the EVIDENCE PROVES that there is absolutely no need whatsolever for ANY new residential units to be built! Especially when it's done on the taxpayers' dime AND the property owners are profitting from the rent and the properties are tax exempt!
By the way, why are those Galesi apartments still unoccupied? You can find them online, listed as being listed on the MLS for almost 150 days! That's five months AND NO ONE WILLING TO RENT IN THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!
So, what was the dem downtown cheerleader saying about how wonderful the apartments would be? The apartments that no one is renting? Very silent these days
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
MVP building to become apartments June 21, 2007 at 9:44 am by Chris Churchill Schenectady county and city officials this morning said taxpayer money will be used to help convert the MVP Building in downtown Schenectady into 32 luxury apartments.
The building, vacant since health insurer MVP relocated to new headquarters, has 43,000 square feet of space.
The Union Street building is located near to the Stockade Historic District. The building is owned by Reza Mahoutchian, president of Maxim Engineering.
Mahoutchian, as part of a retrofit expected to cost about $2.5 million, plans to utilize the ground floor for office or retail space, and upgrade the Union Street facade. Housing in the building is expected to be ready by the end of 2008.
Metroplex, a taxpayer-funded county economic development agency, will provide a $100,000 loan at 4 percent interest and a $60,000 facade grant to support the project. Mahoutchian paid Metroplex $75,000 to purchase a nearby parking lot.
The City Planning Commission has already approved the project.
That's right folks!!!! Posted on this site back in 2007!!! No mention of the $75K from the Plex...no mention that this project was to be done FOUR YEARS AGO, no mention of the low-interest loan?!?!?
Listen, all these plex and Biz Journals stories are re-hashed former news of projects we have ALREADY FUNDED BUT HAVE FAILED TO HAVE BEEN DONE!!!!!
The Plex faucet is running dry, someone please stop the waste....
This caerkalos thing is what? Some kind of "space" for touchy-feeliness that needs $40,000 from taxpayers? What is an "intuitive artist"? Aren't all artists intuitive? Sheesh. Will the taxpayers be able to go hang out at this place that we've bought into? These are rhetorical questions, of course. I could read up some more to find out what this thing is supposed to be, but the small amount I've already learned about it is making me gag. Some of the nicer, larger buildings in the Stockade should be considered for a charter elementary school, IMO. Not one of those for-profit, corporate rip-offs, mind you, just one run by and for Stockade residents. Lack of a neighborhood school is what is killing that neighborhood. People will pay high taxes for good schools, really. To a point. Those apartments at Barrett Street are an eyesore. Whose dumb nouvelle idea is it to site buildings perpendicular to or even away from the main Street? Who wants to look at poorly applied vinyl siding on an otherwise blank wall, except for the conspicuous utility meters? And a nice view into the meant-to-be-hidden rear areas of adjacent buildings, with the asphalt and dumpsters? Does anyone think overhead garage doors right up to the sidewalk are luxurious? I see cars parked up over the curb there all the time. Classy. If you are going to rip off the citizenry, at least do a good job.
If you are going to rip off the citizenry, at least do a good job.
Metroplex has no idea how to hide their incompetence over and over and over again.
Do they FORGET that they've loaned and granted money to this project YEARS ago?? Have they been receiving monthly payments ...I mean ....do you know what the taxpayers have been paying for??
Logged
Apartments? What about condos? lol. Nobody wants to pay the insane DEM clown posse taxes. This was supposed to be a restaurant a few years ago. Metrograft should not be in the Section 8 Housing business. 
