First published: Times Union - Friday, September 21, 2007
On the surface, the building swap involving Troy City Hall seems like a good deal. The city would move its offices from the riverfront to the former Verizon building at 1776 Sixth Ave., near the county offices. The developer who owns 1776 Sixth Ave. would in turn purchase City Hall, which is in dire need of repair, demolish it and build a mixed-use project in its place. The price would be a wash. The city would have the option to buy the Verizon building for $2.25 million, and the developer would have an option to buy City Hall for the same amount.
So why are some members of the City Council, and more than a few Troy residents, wary? Because they have long memories. They have been through this before, only to see what first appeared to be a golden opportunity turn instead into an economic blunder.
The examples are numerous, starting with City Hall itself. It was billed as a modern office building that would serve the needs of a city for years to come. Today it is in such precarious condition that it makes more sense to sell than to renovate. And then there's the Troy Atrium, which was billed as the answer to reviving the downtown retail economy. It never happened. At least the Atrium occupies a site that had once been an open excavation pit, after the city's highly touted downtown urban renewal program failed to fulfill its promises.
The public has yet to see copies of the City Hall deal, although the city's corporation counsel, Dave Mitchell, says copies will be available in two weeks, as well as an appraisal of the City Hall property by an unnamed company. But why wasn't the appraisal conducted, and made public, long before now? And what if either side, or both, decides against exercising its purchase options?
Little wonder, then, that Jim Conroy, the city's former deputy mayor who is the Democratic challenger to Mayor Harry Tutunjian this year, wants the state comptroller to review the legality of the deal and have the city seek bids from developers other than the owner of 1776 Sixth Ave. And little wonder that other critics find it hard to take at face value Mayor Tutunjian's optimism when he says the deal is "almost to good to be true, but it's real. What they're paying for this property is more than any comparable sale."
Too good to be true? How many times have Troy taxpayers heard that before?
THE ISSUE: Troy may sell its City Hall to a developer.
THE STAKES: Rushing ahead with the deal could be costly
On the surface, the building swap involving Troy City Hall seems like a good deal. The city would move its offices from the riverfront to the former Verizon building at 1776 Sixth Ave., near the county offices. The developer who owns 1776 Sixth Ave. would in turn purchase City Hall, which is in dire need of repair, demolish it and build a mixed-use project in its place. The price would be a wash. The city would have the option to buy the Verizon building for $2.25 million, and the developer would have an option to buy City Hall for the same amount.
So why are some members of the City Council, and more than a few Troy residents, wary? Because they have long memories. They have been through this before, only to see what first appeared to be a golden opportunity turn instead into an economic blunder.
The examples are numerous, starting with City Hall itself. It was billed as a modern office building that would serve the needs of a city for years to come. Today it is in such precarious condition that it makes more sense to sell than to renovate. And then there's the Troy Atrium, which was billed as the answer to reviving the downtown retail economy. It never happened. At least the Atrium occupies a site that had once been an open excavation pit, after the city's highly touted downtown urban renewal program failed to fulfill its promises.
The public has yet to see copies of the City Hall deal, although the city's corporation counsel, Dave Mitchell, says copies will be available in two weeks, as well as an appraisal of the City Hall property by an unnamed company. But why wasn't the appraisal conducted, and made public, long before now? And what if either side, or both, decides against exercising its purchase options?
Little wonder, then, that Jim Conroy, the city's former deputy mayor who is the Democratic challenger to Mayor Harry Tutunjian this year, wants the state comptroller to review the legality of the deal and have the city seek bids from developers other than the owner of 1776 Sixth Ave. And little wonder that other critics find it hard to take at face value Mayor Tutunjian's optimism when he says the deal is "almost to good to be true, but it's real. What they're paying for this property is more than any comparable sale."
Too good to be true? How many times have Troy taxpayers heard that before?
THE ISSUE: Troy may sell its City Hall to a developer.
THE STAKES: Rushing ahead with the deal could be costly
