Troy City Council needs to slow down plan to sell City Hall

By FRED LeBRUN First published: Friday, September 21, 2007

Troy wants to sell its city hall, again.

Not Troy exactly. We don't know what Troy wants yet. It's the mayor, Harry Tutunjian, and his corporation counsel, Dave Mitchell, who hatched the idea and now want the City Council to go along with it, and pretty fast.

Since the majority of the council is Republican, as is the mayor, there seems to be a natural receptivity to going along.

Regardless, no matter how good an idea this may be, the City Council should fight the urge for a quick decision, and do its due diligence first. After all, the mayor and corporation counsel do not own City Hall. They are merely temporary residents.

Not that selling Troy City Hall is a new idea, or necessarily a bad idea.
When he was city manager during a tempestuous term more than a decade ago, David Grandeau promoted the same thought. In those highly charged times, anything Grandeau came up with was ripped to shreds by opponents, and even some supporters. But he's being vindicated now. Although perhaps it was an idea ahead of its time, since the value of riverfront property has skyrocketed since.

According to the mayor and others, City Hall's roof leaks, the carpet is stained, the interior is moldy, the concrete downstairs is destabilizing and general restoration would cost upwards of $3 million to $4 million.

Due diligence point 1: How much would it take to restore City Hall into a comfortable working environment for its 100 or so workers? Restoration estimates are at least four years old. If anything, newer estimates would reinforce the need to sell.
No doubt, the property City Hall sits on is incredibly valuable. Everybody says so. Troy would be much better served by putting it on the tax rolls through the hands of a private developer that does a great job.

Due Diligence Point 2: How much is the property really worth? The city assessor came up with $900,000 for the two acres. An independent appraisal is expected today. But shouldn't we have more than one? The mayor insists getting about $1.2 million an acre, which is what his deal would bring the city, is far above anything the city could expect. But how do we know that?

Due Diligence Point 3: What exactly does the favored developer, Judge Development Corporation, have in mind for the site? It has agreed to the $800,000 demolition costs, but no plans are on paper yet for the building of up to six stories that it has in mind.
Shouldn't the city have plans in hand before agreeing to the building exchange?

Due Diligence Point 4: Isn't it simple prudence to seek outside guidance on how appropriate and legal -- these are not the same -- this exchange is? Democratic mayoral challenger Jim Conroy quite rightly raises the notion that a methodical, transparent bidding process, which we don't have here, eliminates even the appearance of impropriety and inside dealing.

The corporation counsel says his approach, which skirts the normal bidding process, is legal. Maybe yes, maybe no. Let the state comptroller offer an opinion. This is not just another municipal building being sold; it's the symbolic first building of the city, no matter how shabby it is.

Which brings us to the other half of the equation, the building that would become the new city hall, the Verizon building on 6th Avenue.

It's actually older than City Hall, but in much better shape, physically, if all you're looking for in a city hall is a plain vanilla office building. Does it say Troy? I wonder. Well, no I don't. Troy is a remarkable little city, charming and easy to walk, full of great little shops, fantastic period architecture and more than its share of good restaurants. I think Troy can do better.

True, unlike Albany with its gorgeous, architecturally significant City Hall just below the state Capitol, and Schenectady's stately old complex that takes up an entire block, Troy has not had a tradition of an impressive city hall. Troy hasn't had a city hall that looks like one since 1938, when that structure burned down. Then Troy didn't have any city hall at all for 34 years until the current one was constructed, or assembled, or whatever.

Now is not a bad time for the City Council to reflect on the image the city ought to be casting as the new Troy. Maybe the city should lease space for a temporary city hall until some hard thought is put into this, and a proper search of available old buildings or potential building sites is explored.

All of which suggests that the City Council should be in no hurry. As more than one City Hall gadfly has observed, if Mayor Harry's deal is really fantastic for the city today, it still will be in six months. But if there's a hole in it somewhere, now's the time to find it, before taxpayers get stuck.

LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com.