Eagle Hill Neighbors United

UAlbany drops sewer hookup plan

2010-10-26T13:22:00.000-04:00

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST Staff Writer

Published: 12:00 a.m., Tuesday, October 26, 2010

ALBANY -- As construction begins at the site of the University at Albany's new 500-bed dormitory, school officials have given up on a controversial plan to connect the two five-story buildings' sewer system to Albany's aging infrastructure and a pump station along the Krumkill Creek.

UAlbany originally planned to link the new apartment-style dorm to older sewer lines along Western Avenue that lead to the Woodville pump station.

But that plan sparked concerns that the added volume might increase bacteria spilling into the Krumkill during heavy storms, when the pump station is allowed to overflow a certain amount into the Hudson River tributary according to an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The plan also triggered worries that the added volume could exacerbate sewer backups in homes downstream in the city -- a problem DEC has ordered the city to remedy.

Karl Luntta, a UAlbany spokesman, confirmed that the university has decided not to connect to the city's Western Avenue sewers but said UAlbany still believes its plan, which centered on making repairs to the sewer pipes to mitigate the impact of the new volume, would have succeeded.

"We assessed our options," Luntta said. "Certainly there were questions that were being asked, and we do believe that we were in the right place."

The two most likely alternatives are connecting to the town of Guilderland's sewer system, also along Western Avenue, or pumping the sewage north directly to Albany's newer Patroon Creek sewer along Washington Avenue -- both of which would be more costly for UAlbany to maintain.

Luntta said the university hasn't decided which it favors.

Guilderland Supervisor Ken Runion said the town has discussed the possibility of connection with UAlbany -- including an estimated $338,000 mitigation fee the school would have to pay the town to make up for the increased burden on the system.

The fight over the sewer system was the last battle in neighbors' efforts to scuttle the dorm project amid fears it would also cause surface flooding, traffic, noise and other problems on Tudor Road, which is adjacent to the construction site on the campus' southeastern corner near the Boor Sculpture Studio.

To allay some of those fears, UAlbany has amended its plans for the $60 million project, funding permitting, to include rooftop vegetation in parts of the complex, as well as rain gardens and the strategic use of permeable pavement in the new 350-space parking lot -- all to reduce the amount of water flowing off the site and into storm sewers.

Neighbors also protested clearing of the land -- more than a dozen wooded acres, including nearly 3.5 acres of the Harriman State Office Campus.

That work has already begun. This fall, workers will focus on building a berm to shield neighbors from the two five-story buildings and preparations to move the campus ring road, University Drive, some 450 feet east of its current location.

The dorm is expected to open in August 2012.

Reach Jordan Carleo-Evangelist at 454-5445 or jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.

Found Cat!

2010-06-14T08:08:00.000-04:00

Found:

Grey, female cat with yellow eyes
Found on Cambridge Road off Western Avenue on 6/13/10

She is having trouble walking

Taken to Hudson-Mohawk Humane Society
Phone:(518)434-8128
Fax: (518) 434-0217
Email: information@mohawkhumane.org

Take exit 6 off I-787
Turn right (north) on Broadway (Route 32)
Go approx. 1/2 mile
Before the first light, make right on Oakland Ave.
Take Oakland to its end

What are community concerns?

2010-06-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

I received an e-mail from a neighbor that they had found a lost and possibly injured cat, and asked if I would put a notice on this blog.

As you can tell from the postings to date, I have been writing about the actions of our very large neighbors - UAlbany and and the Harriman Office Campus. The effects of their actions directly affect the quiet enjoyment of our homes and neighborhood. Describing their actions has also been important, because UAlbany and the Harriman take years in doing anything. It is difficult to keep track of where we stand, and what we can do at an appropriate time. That was my intent for this blog.

The problem is that the message conveyed by making some postings is that you only hear about the big issues - issues that do not quickly go away and where the gains are ambiguous. I may be able to help in this situation. But, we shouldn't defined just by our opposition to the University, but how we care for each other.

So, as small as it seems, here is a notice about a lost cat. It is a concern for a neighbor, and it's a concern for me as a cat owner. If you have any concerns about everyday life in our part of Albany, pass them on. Let me hear about what is important to you.

Steve Sokal

Caucus Talkus

2010-06-03T08:27:00.000-04:00

from Albany Citizen One by albanycitizenone

Just a few things on the agenda...not much of interest so far. There is an issue with the SUNY sewer issue...you know, where the community wants to route the wastewater in a way that SUNY doesn't want to route it. Seems the SUNY secret system involves they contacting all the common council members individually for meetings instead of working in the light of day. Wonder if they are registered with New York Public Integrity.

Seems that MOB nipped that in the bud. They will be invited to an open meeting.

If you're following me on Twitter, you already know that Anton has introduced legislation stating that the Common Council endorses Andrew Cuomo's New NY Plan. uh, hum. Sometimes I deserve a medal for holding back the giggles. The council members haven't even seen the 250 page plan...but he asks them to go on record in support of it...which, essentially, this would indicated that the council endorses Cuomo for Governor...to committee it goes.

The pesticides issue is up and it appears they are appointing an ad hoc committee to review the entire committee. Mr. Conti recommends that Bob Cross and Bill Bruce be involved since they were involved in the original legislation. Ms. McLaughlin is recommeding a 60 day turn around on this task force. Ms. Golby has interest in being on the committee...and MOB volunteers.

Mr. Konev has also introed legislation to tell Yellow Cab how to run their company...ya know, like most-favored drivers get better routes...how many people are fit into a cab. Seems that the college students like to share cabs as they all pay just $3. Well, from the old lady over here...count me out of that enjoyment equation. I've been in cabs thinking a second rider would be a split....nope...the cabbie charged me and the second rider the same fee...$25 to go to the same place.

Okay, the talkus has moved back into the pesticide realm with Rozy saying the info never got to the department. I'm betting the ad hoc committee will be looking at that communication gap. (Well, I would hope.) Mr. Conti says that the law committee should have some role in ensuring that the legislation gets to the director of the department.

Seems that Mr. Freeman wants a report on the city's employees...race, salary, gender, residency....seems there's no such report. Mr. Freeman has seen the information but says that Ms. Sheehan (that's who he says...I'm not sure that's right) will not release the information until he gets a "permission slip" from the leaders of the common council.

So, now the report exists...according to Mr. Freeman but he can't get the report. Ms. McLaughlin says she just needs to talk to Ms. Sheehan to release. Seems there's still no Director of Administration yet either. Hmmm....

Hands in the air. Mr. Bailey wants to know if there is anyway to get information prior to the night that a decision must be made. (He's talking about the Planning Department...and the CDBG funding.) Wonder of wonders...Ms. McLaughlin says that, if we invite the department heads to all the meetings...ya know, and develop relationships, you'll have an easier time getting information proactively.

UAlbany Response to Albany Common Council on Water Issues

2010-06-01T14:49:00.000-04:00

Here is a May 11, 2010 letter from Steve Beditz, UAlbany Interim Vice President to the Honorable Michael O'Brien on water issues.

May 11 Letter to Michael OBrien From Steve Beditz UAlbany

The letter included two attachments from UAlbany consultants.

Storm Water Management Methodology

CT Male Response to Common Council

Mr. O'Brien will be proposing a meeting with UAlbany at an upcoming Common Council meeting.

Sewers the last front in UAlbany dorm battle

2010-05-25T15:06:00.001-04:00

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
Last updated: 11:46 a.m., Tuesday, May 25, 2010

ALBANY -- The University at Albany is pushing ahead with a 500-bed dorm next to Tudor Road and plans to start construction as soon as July despite opponents' lingering concerns that the project could overwhelm part of the city's already tapped-out sewer system.

Neighbors in the Eagle Hill section have fought the project on numerous fronts, airing fears about increased noise and light pollution as well as traffic and water runoff from what's currently about 12 wooded acres southeast of the Boor Sculpture Studio.

That fight, however, has been largely stymied by the fact that -- as a state entity -- UAlbany is exempt from the city's zoning and planning regulations.

The final battle, however, centers on how the two new five-story apartment buildings will connect to the city's sanitary sewer system -- the only aspect of the project over which local officials have any say. The $70 million project also involves moving the university's ring road about 450 feet further east to push the buildings from nearby houses.

UAlbany intends to send its sewage south, toward Western Avenue and the Woodville Pump Station along the Krumkill.

The pump station, however, is part of one of the older sections of Albany's leaky and -- in some cases -- crumbling combined sewer system, which carries storm water and sewage in the same pipes and overflows into the Hudson River and backs up into homes during severe storms.

Opponents of the project, including the chairman of the Common Council committee that oversees the sewer system, fear the increased volume could violate state Department of Environmental Conservation orders not to make the overflows or backups worse.

"They're content to just go ahead and do it and let us pick up the consequences," said Councilman Michael O'Brien, the committee chairman who represents the 12th Ward.

O'Brien wants guarantees that UAlbany, not the city, will be on the hook for any fines or penalties that result from their connection.

Even more, O'Brien wants the university to pay the added expense to pump the sewage up hill to the north toward Washington Avenue and the Patroon Creek sewer system, which is newer and carries sewer and storm water separately.

In an April letter, all 15 members of the council and Council President Carolyn McLaughlin called on the city's Water Board to reject any southern connection to the sewer system.

In response, university Interim Vice President for Finance and Business Stephen Beditz last week wrote O'Brien saying the council's understanding of the project is flawed. He said the university plans to repair sewer lines downstream that will reduce leaks and illegal connections equal to the amount of sewage the project would add.

That condition was recommended by the Water Board's outside engineer, Daniel Hershberg, who told the council he would still prefer that UAlbany pump its sewage north.

But, Hershberg cautioned the lawmakers, the Water Board has no power to force the university to do so -- or reject the application outright for a connection to the system -- so long as UAlbany meets conditions imposed by the board.

John Kosa, assistant commissioner of the city Department of Water and Water Supply, said the city would not require UAlbany to make repairs to the system if it would not be enough to keep the overflows and backups in check.

"We're not going to allow a connection ... unless we know we can do it without impacting the residents," Kosa said. "We're not going to make it worse. We're the ones that have to deal with it, too."

Fifteenth Ward Councilman Frank Commisso Jr., who represents some of the neighborhoods around the campus, said "it doesn't make sense" that the city can conclude that the northern option is preferable but that the law gives it no power to enforce its preference.

"It's just not night," Commisso said. "The unfortunate thing is that a lot of people are going to end up with flooding in their basements because of it."

Hershberg, however, notes that similar mitigation arrangements have been reached with Albany Medical Center and several new developments along New Scotland Avenue and said he thinks opponents of the dorm are just trying to use the city's Water Board as an 11th-hour roadblock.

"They're trying to have the Albany Water Board ... act as their agent to kill the project," he said.

UAlbany's request is pending before the board. No action will be taken until the board gets clearance from the health department, Kosa said.

Meanwhile, UAlbany is planning to begin construction in July. The dorms are scheduled to open in September 2011.

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.

Common Council Letter to Albany Water Board and UAlbany

2010-04-21T11:16:00.002-04:00

UAlbany had requested a connection to Albany's sewer lines as part of their Final Environmental Impact Statement. The connection would be to the Woodville Pump Station, which is a heavily used facility. The Krumkill receives not only stormwater runoff from our neighborhood, including the UAlbany Campus, but any overflows from the pump station.

These issues were taken up by Michael O'Brien with the General Services, Health and Environment Committee of Common Council. After conducting its investigation, a letter outlining the issues that the City has with the sewer connection was prepared. The Council members agreed with the findings and signed on.

Here is a letter sent to the Water Board and UAlbany concerning this request.

Water Board Letter

The bottom line here is that the proposed construction and sewer connection, while lowest cost to UAlbany, would harm the City and its residents. Pass the message on!

Harriman board talks continue with Columbia Development

2010-04-20T16:43:00.000-04:00

The Business Review (Albany) - by Adam Sichko

The board governing the state’s Harriman office campus in Albany, N.Y., has given a developer more land to work with in the initial stage of a campus overhaul.

In November 2009, Columbia Development Cos. was awarded the rights to redevelop 140 of the 330 acres at the state-owned W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus. The remainder of the Harriman campus will continue to be used by state agencies that employ 7,300 people.

At an April 19 meeting, the Harriman campus’ board voted to give Columbia access of up to 20 of the 140 acres for its first stage of development. Initially, state officials told The Business Review they had planned to give the company between 5 acres and 15 acres to work with.

The state will lease the land to Columbia for about a year, giving the firm the chance to market the site to potential tenants. Terms of the lease are being negotiated.

The intent is for Columbia to eventually buy the initial parcel, and the other acres to be developed, from the state.

The board also voted that high-tech companies will be the only businesses allowed to locate in that parcel.

The votes were taken after the board went behind closed doors to discuss ongoing contract talks with Columbia. The state and Columbia have met four times, most recently last week, said Peter Wohl, president of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp.

To date, no memorandums of understanding (MOUs) have been agreed to, Wohl said.

The parcel in question is located next to the state Department of Labor offices on the campus, near Washington Avenue.

According to plans Columbia submitted to the state, a building of between 40,000 square feet and 60,000 square feet would be built once tenants have been secured.

The state is currently going through a mandatory environmental site review process which will likely last for nine months to a year. Groundbreaking cannot begin until the review is complete.

Throughout last decade, the state has pursued an ambitious plan to renovate the campus to attract high-tech companies and build retail shops and residential units. The initiative has stalled repeatedly amid changing state leadership, the recession, tight credit markets and the state’s own financial problems and budget deficits.

The lack of a state budget is the latest hurdle facing the Harriman project. Without a budget, the Harriman board is unable to hire a development adviser or pay for an updated appraisal of the Harriman campus land—a key part to the ongoing negotiations with Columbia.

The development adviser would be retained for two to three years, costing $250,000 in total. Wohl said he is “exploring different ways we can address this,” but he declined to discuss specifics before the board went into executive session.

asichko@bizjournals.com | 518-640-6818

UAlbany meeting regarding student housing project - April 28

2010-04-20T11:49:00.000-04:00

UAlbany meeting regarding student housing project - April 28 John Giarrusso

We are sending this e-mail to let you know that the University will hold an information/update meeting with neighbors regarding the construction of the student housing project on WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, at 7pm. The meeting will be at the SEFCU Arena, Hall of Fame room. This is the same location as prior meetings. The purpose of the meeting is to review the latest site plans and renderings and discuss the project schedule. We hope you can attend.

[Please note that we are sending this e-mail to those residents of Tudor Road who had provided an e-mail address at prior UAlbany information sessions and hearings. A notice will be sent in the mail, as well, to all those who provided a postal address].

________________________________________
John Giarrusso
Associate Vice President - Finance and Business
Facilities Management
University at Albany
(518) 956-8090

Budget mess stymies Harriman redevelopment

2010-04-11T13:38:00.000-04:00

The Business Review (Albany) - by Adam Sichko

Friday, April 9, 2010, 11:50am EDT | Modified: Friday, April 9, 2010, 12:28pm

The lack of a state budget has prevented officials overseeing the state’s Harriman campus to hire appraisers and advisers in the ongoing redevelopment process.

The state’s 2010-11 fiscal year began April 1 without a budget. The state is operating on bare-bones, emergency spending plans that keep the lights on, until Gov. David Paterson and legislators hammer out a budget.

The lack of money means state officials have been unable to hire a development adviser or an appraiser, per requests for proposals (RFPs) issued earlier this year.

The appraisal, in particular, is key to ongoing negotiations with the developer chosen to work on the campus. The most recent land assessment was done in 2007—before the recession hit.

The board of directors for the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus was initially scheduled to vote on winning bids this month, but that will no longer happen.

“As soon as there’s a budget, we can go forward with that,” said Peter Wohl, president of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp., which runs the Albany, N.Y., campus.

In November 2009, the Harriman board gave Albany-based Columbia Development Cos. the rights to redevelop 140 acres, or about 40 percent, of the 330-acre campus. (For more on the company’s plans, see http://albany.bizjournals.com/albany/stories/2010/02/08/story9.html)

Throughout last decade, the state has pursued an ambitious plan to renovate the campus to attract high-tech companies and build retail shops and residential units. The initiative stalled repeatedly amid changing state leadership, the recession, tight credit markets and the state’s problems with multi-billion-dollar deficits.

The remainder of the Harriman campus will continue to be used by state agencies that employ 7,300 people.
The development adviser will help represent state interests in the ongoing contract negotiations with Columbia, in a retainer-like setup, Wohl said.

The appraisal, meanwhile, is crucial to the negotiations. Harriman land was last appraised before the recession rocked the real estate sector.

“We know the market has changed. Anyone alive with a pulse realizes it’s not as hot as it once was,” Wohl said.

In 2007, the Harriman land was assessed at between $300,000 to $400,000 an acre, Wohl said. He said it won’t be an issue if an updated appraisal reveals the land has lost some of its value.

“We still consider that property and that site some of the most valuable in all of Albany County,” Wohl said. “And regardless of the economic conditions outside, the improvements that will be made to the property will increase the value of the remaining acreage.”

Harriman officials are also seeking to hire a consultant to help with the environmental siting process, called the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA. The law requires developers to identify, and address, the “significant environmental aspects” of whatever work is being proposed or permitted. It’s a process that often takes nine to 12 months to finish.

The Harriman board is scheduled to meet on April 19.

asichko@bizjournals.com | 518-640-6818

The Morning After The Big Night

2010-01-15T12:02:00.002-05:00

We had a great turnout at the UAlbany Meeting last night of about thirty five residents.

Speakers included

Ira Bloom
Steve Burke
Frank Commisso, Jr.
Joe Cunniff
Kathy Johnson
Ray Moran
Michael O'Brian
Don Reeb
Doug Smith
and myself

You can see the show at:

http://www.albanycommunitytelevision.com/?p=943

I also heard that WNYT picked up the meeting last night as well.

If you hadn't had the chance yet, you can still send in written comments to UAlbany until the 22nd.

Here is the contact information:

Errol C, Millington, Director
University At Albany
Office of Campus Planning
1400 Washington Ave
Service Building A Room 107
Albany, NY 12222

(518) 442-3400 Phone
(518) 442-3464 Fax
Emillington@Uamail.Albany.Edu

Under the rules of SEQRA, they'll have to take them and respond to them in their Final Statement. Remember - if they don't hear your concerns, they won't be answered.

Meeting Tonight on UAlbany Student Housing Project

2010-01-14T08:12:00.000-05:00

From the original letter from UAlbany -

A Draft Generic Environmental impact Statement (DGEIS) has been completed and accepted for the proposed action described below. Comments are requested and will be accepted by the contact person until January 22, 2010. A public hearing on the DGEIS will be held January 14, 2010 at the Hall of Fame Room, SEFCU Arena, University at Albany, SUNY campus at 7p.m. Copies of the DGEIS are available on the University at Albany, SUNY web site at: http://www.albany.edu/facilities/dgeis/ and at hard copy repositories located at the University at Albany, SUNY Facilities Management Office and the Main Library on the Uptown Campus,the Guilderland Public Library, and the Hawley Library on the Downtown Campus.

Back to the soapbox -

Please attend this meeting to give voice to your concerns and to hear the concerns of your neighbors!

The meeting tonight should be recorded by a stenographer, and videoed. Under law, UAlbany is obliged to hear all the comments about its proposed action tonight and in any written comments filed by January 22nd.

Based on these comments, the Draft Statement must be revised to answer all expressed concerns to become final. UAlbany expects that this part of the process will be done by the end of February.

The Harriman Research and Development Technology Corporation has made it clear that it won't take any actions, including any land transfers, until UAlbany finishes this Environmental Review Process. This includes both the 3.3 and 11 acre land transfers.

If UAlbany finds 'no significant impact' from its construction program, construction of the Student Housing will begin this spring.

Let UAlbany and HRDTC know that the Student Housing project will have 'significant impact' so that more reasonable development may occur!

Steve Sokal

UAlbany dorm options limited

2010-01-14T07:57:00.001-05:00

Harriman development unlikely site, giving Eagle Hill area more weight

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published in print: Thursday, January 14, 2010

Direct Link

ALBANY -- The board charged with overseeing the redevelopment of the Harriman State Office Campus is unlikely to support an 11-acre land transfer to the University at Albany, the only option that school officials said will allow them to move a proposed new dorm farther from nearby homes.

The move means the 500-bed, apartment-style dorm will probably be located on wooded land in the southeast corner of UAlbany's uptown campus, a proposal that has angered neighbors in nearby Eagle Hill who fear increased noise, traffic, flooding and sewer problems.

While stopping short of a formal decision until the university's environmental review process is complete, the board of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp. earlier this week indicated it favors a smaller 3.3-acre land transfer that would encroach less on the 330-acre office campus.

The news comes as UAlbany is to host a hearing tonight on the environmental impact of the dorm, along with 12 other projects.

In response to opposition from neighbors and elected officials, the university pitched an alternative to the Harriman board in November that would require about 7.7 more acres of state office campus to allow UAlbany to pull the dorm further from nearby homes. That plan would have also required rerouting a section of the Harriman campus' distinctive ring road.

UAlbany's 11-acre option "less significantly impacts on Tudor Road," said HRTDC Executive Director Peter Wohl, referring to the closest residents, "but it impacts the Harriman campus in a much more severe way ... including the loss of prime developable lands."

The dorm controversy is taking place as HRTDC, a subsidiary of Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm, is pushing ahead with redevelopment of about 140-acres of the Harriman campus as a private high-tech hub.

At the same November meeting where UAlbany made its pitch for the additional 7.7 acres, the board -- which includes UAlbany President George Philip and Mayor Jerry Jennings -- tapped Columbia Development as the preferred developer. The state is negotiating contract details with Columbia.

City officials back redevelopment as a way to get a large chunk of the land, currently tax-exempt, producing revenue for Albany.

Jennings said he understands neighbors' concerns, but he noted that state law requires that UAlbany address them in the environmental review process. He urged residents to take a more holistic view of how the development will benefit Albany.

"The neighbors should think about ... a bigger tax base," said Jennings, who initially proposed the 3.3-acre land transfer as an early way to mitigate their concerns.

He said that while he believes the campus' ring roads should be eliminated to free up more land for development, he doesn't believe it should be done piecemeal.

In a statement, UAlbany said it was "disappointed that our amended proposal ... was not approved" but hailed the board's "conceptual" support for the dorm project using the smaller parcel.

Ultimately, the state Office of General Services, which controls the land, has final say over the transfer. But that is not likely to be an obstacle because OGS Commissioner John Egan is also chairman of the Harriman board.

Meeting today

A public hearing on UAlbany's draft environmental impact statement for the dorm and other projects is scheduled for 7 tonight at the SEFCU Arena.

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.

Recording of the January 11, 2010 Harriman Board Meeting

2010-01-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

Here is Albany Community Television's recording of yesterday's Harriman Research and Technology Development Corporation's meeting. (Thank you again, Joe Cunniff! How else could we see what our government is doing?)

http://www.albanycommunitytelevision.com/?p=928

The Board considered and rejected the UAlbany proposal to use 11 acres of Harriman Campus land for its dormitory project. The Board was also briefed on ongoing discussions with Columbia Development, and plans for future construction.

The fifty minutes viewing time for the video is worthwhile for any Albany resident to see what is and will be happening in our neighborhood.

NY seeks advisers for Harriman project

2010-01-12T09:13:00.000-05:00

The Business Review (Albany)

Direct Link

Harriman board says developer may be picked within 6 weeks

The state is seeking to hire three advisers as it prepares to develop a slice of its Harriman office campus in Albany, N.Y.

State officials said Monday that three requests for proposals, or RFPs, are almost ready to be issued. The board of directors for the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp. plans to vote on selected proposals in an April meeting.

The RFPs are one of the next steps the state is taking as it prepares almost half of the 330 acres at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus for development.

In late November, the campus’ board of directors unanimously awarded Albany-based Columbia Development Cos. the rights to redevelop 140 acres of the campus—a controversial and abrupt decision, in the eyes of developers who lost the bid to overhaul the campus.

The Harriman board met behind closed doors on Nov. 30, 2009, to discuss development plans before emerging to formally vote to adopt Columbia’s vision.

Throughout last decade, the state has pursued an ambitious plan to renovate the campus to lure high-tech companies and build retail shops and residential units. The initiative stalled repeatedly amid changing state leadership, the recession, tight credit markets and the state’s problems with multi-billion-dollar deficits.

The remainder of the Harriman campus will continue to be used by state agencies that employ 7,300 people.

Peter Wohl, president of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp., said the state will soon issue RFPs for three needs:

• a development adviser, to assist with site planning, as well as engineering and environmental studies, as needed

• a property appraiser, to calculate new assessments of the Harriman campus that will replace “outdated” property values on file with the state, Wohl said.

• a consultant to help with the environmental siting process, called the State Environmental Quality Review Act, or SEQRA. The law requires developers to identify, and address, the “significant environmental aspects” of whatever work is being proposed or permitted.

“That takes nine to 12 months to complete, so we’re looking to engage someone fairly quickly,” Wohl said at a Monday meeting of the Harriman board.

The board plans to vote on winning bids at an April 12 meeting, its next regularly scheduled session.

Wohl said the state is continuing negotiations with Columbia Development. There is no timeline for finishing those talks.

The state has declined to make public any elements of Columbia’s concept for the Harriman campus, citing an exemption in the state’s Freedom of Information law for ongoing contract negotiations.

HRDTC Turns Down UAlbany Request for use of Harriman Campus Land

2010-01-11T19:47:00.002-05:00

At today's meeting of the Harriman Research and Development Technology Corporation, the Board turned down a request by UAlbany to use 11 acres of Harriman Campus land for the location of its housing project.

According to Peter Wohl, President of HRDTC, the responsibility of the Corporation is to obtain the maximum value of the Harriman Campus land. The UAlbany proposal failed to meet his objectives. The University would receive the land in a transfer between state agencies. There would not be any money from the lease or sale of the land.

Additionally, UAlbany use of the land would not produce additional tax revenues for the City of Albany, nor would it further promote the primary goal of HRDTC to further research and development projects in Albany. For these reasons, Mr. Wohl called for rejection of the UAlbany proposal, and the Board agreed with his recommendation.

As a result, UAlbany's alternate plan for the location of the housing project has been rejected. UAlbany will continue development along the property line along the west side of Tudor Road.

I have two comments about the effects of this decision:

Whether it is UAlbany or HRDTC as the responsible agency, the housing project is slated to proceed, despite the concerns of the Eagle Hill neighborhood, UAlbany's preferences, or the opposition of many of our elected officials. The actions of the board of the HRDTC should be brought to the attention of the public and our elected officials.

Second, UAlbany will continue with the only plan that they have prepared at this point. On Thursday night, there will be a meeting to discuss the Environmental Impact Statement that they have prepared. Please read their report, attend the meeting, if possible, or provide your written comments to UAlbany by January 22nd.

We have been successful in reaching UAlbany, and obtaining some respect, and meaningful changes. Please hold onto hope for a better outcome for Eagle Hill!

Steve Sokal

Times Union FOIL request on Harriman plan rejected

2009-12-19T09:38:00.000-05:00

First published in print: Saturday, December 19, 2009

Direct Link

ALBANY -- Empire State Development has rejected a Times Union Freedom of Information Law request to see a development plan for Harriman State Office Campus.

ESD last month announced that Columbia Development, an Albany firm, had won the role of preferred developer at the campus where the state plans a wave of construction. ESD, though, would not release Columbia's development proposal, prompting the Dec. 1 FOIL request.

ESD rebuffed that request in a Dec. 8 letter, saying that releasing the Columbia proposal would impair ongoing contract negotiations with the firm.

-- Chris Churchill

Harriman campus gets offer for redevelopment - Some concerned no plans have been released yet

2009-12-15T13:17:00.000-05:00

By Bob Bennett

The eastern section of the Harriman Office Campus houses state Taxation and Finance, pictured, and other state offices. Columbia Development Companies is currently in negotiations for the right to redevelop the campus. So far, plans have not been released and several local and state leaders do not know how many, if any, private businesses will be located on the campus.
Photo by Bob Bennett.

December 14, 2009

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Columbia Development Companies has entered into negotiations for the right to redevelop the W. A. Harriman State Office Campus. But the company has not yet unveiled specific plans for the office park, which concerns some nearby residents and their City Council members.

The state-owned, 330-acre office campus is situated to the east side of the University at Albany and now houses state agency buildings, including one that houses the New York State Police headquarters. And although the property currently benefits from tax-exempt status, an influx of new development could generate a lot of tax revenue for the state, but several city residents still have expressed concern because they have yet to learn the details of Columbia's plan.

"To this day I've not seen the plan that Columbia has developed," said Albany City Councilman Mike O'Brien, who represents a district that includes part of the Harriman campus. "My hunch is that the plan is rather abstract," he said. "I suspect it's not super specific."

A directory of the office campus’s 330-acre layout, which houses several state office buildings and about 7,300 state employees. Those on the Harriman development board say state workers will not be moved under redevelopment plans. Photo by Bob Bennett.

Albany City Councilman Dan Herring said he has also not seen the plan, but he too has some concerns because the campus "butts up to" many people's homes, and because those people don't know what's going to be built there.

"People are just concerned because they want to know if it's going to be compatible with their neighborhood," Herring said. "One reason we want some more details is to address their concerns, but the city is very pleased that it is being developed."

Both councilmen said part of their constituents' apprehensions stem from a proposal from the University at Albany, which approached the Harriman board about building dorms near those people's homes.

Assemblyman Jack McEneny, D-Albany, said, "I have always had a problem with the way Harriman was done."

He said he has always thought the office campus should fall under UAlbany's control as a way to help facilitate its technology school.

He also said the state needs the tax base the campus could potentially generate, so he hopes the land will be leased to those in the private sector.

Peter Wohl, the president of the board of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp., a subsidiary of the Empire State Development Corp., confirmed that UAlbany has approached the board about building dorms on the Harriman campus. However, he said the university was simply expressing its interest, which will be taken into consideration.

"There's a possibility that could happen," Wohl said, "but it was much more of an FYI."

He also said that nanotechnology, which has been a part of the master plan for redevelopment since 2006, is a first priority, and the board would very much like to build upon the research at UAlbany.

Wohl said the board is in pursuit of some research and development companies but that no one yet knows which companies could occupy the land.

Those companies are "sort of the ideal tenants," Wohl said.

The plan the board envisions would also include some residential housing, but research and development are the priority, Wohl said. The board is currently trying to get input from all of the stakeholders in the project, including the state and local governments.

"Let me express my understanding in the public's interest in the plan," Wohl said. "This plan very much envisions the community."

Wohl also said the project would generate some much-needed tax revenue for the city as well as the state. The plan envisions transferring ownership from the state of New York to private companies. During the initial phase of the plan, the Harriman development team would market parcels to interested parties, incrementally and in sub-sections, but the state would reclaim those parcels in a year's time if those businesses failed to draw revenue for the state.

"Obviously the state is feeling the pinch right now," Wohl said of New York's dwindling tax base.

Wohl also said approximately half of Harriman's 330 acres would be used — the other half is mostly occupied by state agencies.

The board also still envisions using the existing buildings, as former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's administration had previously proposed, and keeping all 7,300 state employees in place, Wohl said.

Tom Comonzo, the vice president of the public employees federation, said he's anxious to see the plan because there have been many proposals over the years that called for moving state employees. He also said the currents set-up is self contained and includes parking, so he would prefer to keep the employees there as long as possible.

Spitzer's plan for the office campus came after a 1998 proposal by the Office of General Services, which called for selling the land and moving all state employees to downtown Albany. Spitzer's plan also came after a 2003 plan Gov. George E. Pataki backed to demolish the buildings and start construction of a new office and technology park from the ground up.

"Overall, [the plan] is a step in the right direction," said Mike Yevoli, the director of Planning and Development for the city of Albany. It takes nontaxable property and creates potential for new tax revenue from private businesses and new opportunities for residents … not only for jobs. It's ripe for development, as opposed to picking a green field somewhere else."

Yevoli said the plan calls for a more community-friendly layout, which could include housing, but he is unsure exactly what that layout will look like.

Other than housing and research and development facilities, the campus would also include commercial retail businesses and office space, Yezoli said.

But it's still unclear exactly what businesses will be built on the land because of the ongoing negotiations with Columbia.

Eight calls to the development company were not returned.

Bob VanAmburgh, the executive assistant to Albany Mayor Gerald Jennings, who is on the board, said the mayor has long been committed to finding someone to develop the land there.

"It's the last major track of contiguous land in the city, obviously he's concerned with development within the area," VanAmburgh said, referring to the mayor.

He said he has not seen Columbia's plan for re-development so he would not comment on what businesses might be located there in the future, though he did say nanotechnology could be a consideration, which both governors have proposed.

He also could not say whether the existing buildings will be re-used.

The park is currently occupied by the state police academy, a state police forensics lab and several other state agency buildings.

Wohl said it could still be a couple of months before any final decisions are made. But he added that he understands the public's impatience at this point — talk of the project has been going on for about 10 years now.

But Wohl added, "We're actually trying to get something done."

Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement has been posted!

2009-12-09T15:22:00.000-05:00

The UAlbany Capital Construction Plan Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement has been posted, and is available from http://www.albany.edu/facilities/dgeis. As noted previously, we are at a fork in the road! The DGEIS does describe the fork as follows:

Notwithstanding the planning and concept work to date and the likelihood of the southeast corner site as the location for the housing, at the time of publishing this DGEIS, the University is pursuing an alternate concept to fully locate this housing project on the adjacent State-owned Harriman Campus.

The Harriman Campus location in mind is approximately 11 acres, inclusive of the 3.3 acres mentioned above, and is directly adjacent to University property, due north of the southeast corner site. Specifically, on November 30, 2009, the University asked the Board of Directors of the HRTDC to consider this project for the Harriman Campus site. HRTDC, in conjunction with the NYSOGS, is the entity responsible for planning and development of the adjacent campus. To date, HRTDC and the State of New York have earmarked the Harriman Campus for private development with no land specifically identified for University at Albany projects. The outcome of this request is not yet known, but should this site be approved by the HRTDC and NYSOGS, the University may amend its housing construction plans, necessitating an amended environmental review, as appropriate, to address environmental issues and impacts specific to said new site.

For the purposes of this DGEIS document, however, the site selection for this housing project is deemed to be the southeast corner of the UAlbany campus, and the design concepts for that site that have been developed, described above, and publicly shared to date will be discussed and analyzed herein for environmental impact.

Please read these documents and let us know what you think!

A Fork in the Road

2009-12-09T08:22:00.000-05:00

UAlbany published its legal notice stating that its Draft Environmental Impact Statement is ready, setting a comment period through January 22, 2010, and a public hearing on January 14, 2010. The notice appears below.

At this moment, UAlbany has only two potential sites for student housing - the Southeast Corner of the Uptown Campus or on the Harriman Campus. While they are pursuing the Harriman Campus option, that option requires approval by the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corporation Board of Directors. That meeting is scheduled for January 11, 2010. Until the Board acts favorably on the proposal, UAlbany will be building on the original site.

The Impact Statement isn't available yet. When it does appear, please read it very carefully, and raise any concerns that you may have by sending your comments to UAlbany, and showing up at the public meeting.

Stay in touch!

Draft Environmental Impact Statement of UAlbany Capital Construction Plan

2009-12-09T08:11:00.002-05:00

State Environmental Quality Review

Notice of Completion of Draft

and

Notice of SEQR Hearing

Date:               December 9, 2009

Lead Agency: University at Albany, SUNY

Address:         1400 Washington Avenue Albany, NY 12222

This notice is issued pursuant to Part 617 of the implementing regulations pertaining to Article 8 (State Environmental Quality Review Act) of the Environmental Conservation Law,

A Draft Generic Environmental impact Statement (DGEIS) has been completed and accepted for the proposed action described below. Comments are requested and will be accepted by the contact person until January 22, 2010. A public hearing on the DGEIS will be held January 14, 2010 at the Hall of Fame Room, SEFCU Arena, University at Albany, SUNY campus at 7p.m. Copies of the DGEIS are available on the University at Albany, SUNY web site at: http://www.albany.edu/facilities/dgeis/ and at hard copy repositories located at the University at Albany, SUNY Facilities Management Office and the Main Library on the Uptown Campus,the Guilderland Public Library, and the Hawley Library on the Downtown Campus.

Name of Action: University at Albany, SUNY Capital Project Plan

Description of Action:

As part of the continuing evolution of University at Albany, SUNY Uptown Campus, a Capital Project Plan has been developed that involves a holistic perspective and encompasses the foreseeable capital needs of the Uptown campus over a five year planning horizon. The following list provides a summary of the projects that constitute this Capital Project Plan.

1. Student Housing Project: Construction of new student housing facilities with approximately 500 apartment-style beds
2. Campus Center Master Plan: Construction of student activity, and surge space of approximately 50,000 sq ft under roof
3. Construct New Business School Building: Construct new 90,000 sq ft academic facility
4. Relocate Data Center: Relocate campus Data Center to another site on campus
5. Implement Various Athletics Improvements: Phase series of improvements to athletics facilities
6. Purple Path Continuation: Construction of the Purple Path to encircle and incorporate pedestrian and bicycle paths around the perimeter of the Uptown Campus
7. Northern Landscape Improvement Project: Perform activities consistent with Landscape Master Plan
8. State Quad Parking Lot Expansion: Add approximately 250 spaces to west side of State Quad parking Lot
9. Multi-Discipline Science Surge Building: Construction of academic building of approximately 150,000 sq ft to facilitate Podium renovations
10. Service Building Renovation: Add approximately 24,325 sq ft addition for vehicle, operations, small engine and metal shops
11. Entry Improvements: Improve entrance aesthetics and safety at Washington and Western Avenues
12. Bus Rapid Transit: Based on recommendations in the Harriman - University at Albany, SUNY Linkage Study, locate Bus Rapid Transit stations on campus
13. Bicycle-Pedestrian Path: Develop a network of paths, improving connections between each quad, the Podium, and the Purple Path

Location: University at Albany, SUNY Uptown Campus
                 1400 Washington Avenue
                 Albany, NY 12222

Potential Environmental Impacts:

Potential unavoidable adverse environmental impacts may result as a consequence of the Capital Project Plan.

Construction Phase: Potential unavoidable adverse environmental impacts as a result of construction phase activities associated with the Capital Project Plan include:

• short-term disruption and exposure of soils as a result of excavation, grading; and restoration activities
• increased potential for sedimentation and erosion as a result of disruption and exposure of soils
• consumption of petroleum hydrocarbon fuels during construction phase activities and the subsequent release of air pollutants and GHGs, including carbon monoxide, particulate matter, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide
• potential short-term and localized increases in dust and vehicle/equipment emissions to construction activities
• temporary construction-related noise, truck traffic and other campus disruptions.

The potential unavoidable adverse environmental impacts identified above will be term in nature and limited in scope. Following the completion of construction-related activities, restoration and mitigation measures will be implemented.

Operational Phase: Potential unavoidable adverse environmental impacts as a result of operational phase activities associated with the Capital Project Plan include:

• commitment of previously undeveloped land on the University at Albany, SUNY Uptown Campus for implementation of components of the Capital Project Plan

• modification or loss of existing terrestrial and forested habitats, vegetative cover, and landscaped open space as a result of implementation of the Capital Project Plan
• displacement of wildlife associated with existing habitats
• potential for increased surface runoff as a result an increase in impervious surfaces
• consumption of petroleum hydrocarbon fuels and the subsequent release of air pollutants and GHGs, including carbon monoxide, particulate matter, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide
• noise and lighting impacts to surrounding residential neighborhoods resulting from the development of one or more of these projects in proximity on the Uptown Campus, such as the Student Housing Project (Project No. 1)
• localized and short-term increase in traffic levels along roadways in the vicinity of the Uptown Campus during normal campus activities and during periodic, recurring events, such as sporting events at the multi-use stadium.

The potential unavoidable adverse environmental impacts identified above are not anticipates to be significant. Appropriately designed and implemented mitigation measures will minimize potentially unavoidable adverse environmental impacts associated with the implementation of the Capital Project Plan.

Contact Person: Errol Millington, Director
Address: Office of Campus Planning
University at Albany, SUNY
1400 Washington Avenue, Service Building A
Albany, NY 12222
EMillington@uamail.albany.edu
518-442-3400

A copy of this notice must be sent to:

Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY 12233-1750
Chief Executive Officer, Town/City/Village of: Mayor of Albany
Any person who has requested a copy of the Draft/Final DGEIS
Any other involved agency
Environmental Notice Bulletin, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233-1750

Copies of the DGEIS must be distributed according to 6 NYCRR 617.12(b).

WAMC: Progress on 2 Albany Projects (2009-12-07)

2009-12-07T15:20:00.000-05:00

Here is an article and audio on the downtown Convention Center and Harriman Campus developments -

WAMC: Progress on 2 Albany Projects (2009-12-07)

Peter Wohl is interviewed, and committed to follow the 2006 master plan found here.

Time to share Harriman plan

2009-12-07T08:05:00.001-05:00

First published in print: Monday, December 7, 2009

Direct Link

So here's the Harriman office campus, 330 acres of the best, and perhaps last, developable parcels of land in Albany, ready for a very belated transformation. Soon enough, that dreary 1960s creation of some of the most bland and impersonal state office buildings imaginable could be ... well, what exactly?

We don't know, despite repeated efforts to find out.

Neither do the neighbors.

That's more than enough to cast dreary, potentially ominous, shadows over what should be encouraging news that a developer -- a politically well-connected one as it happens -- has been chosen.

Could there be a more reasonable question than what Joe Cunniff, president of the neighborhood association along the adjacent stretch of upper Washington Avenue, is asking?

"I'd like to know if they're going to build a 300-bed hotel," he says. "Is a dorm included in all this? What exactly is in the package that was proposed?"

Something's wrong when the public can see the rejected plan for $2 billion worth of retail, office and residential construction submitted by Howard Carr of the Howard Group, but not the one proposed by the Columbia Development Cos. that's been approved by the state.

"They have a well-assembled team, and it looks to us like they can do a good job," John Egan, commissioner of the state Office of General Services and a Harriman board member, says of Columbia.

Perhaps they can. Work done by Columbia, along with its affiliated BBL Construction Cos., is everywhere in Albany.

Yet Empire State Development says ongoing negotiations with Columbia preclude the release of any details about what it's about to do with the Harriman site.

It's an unconvincing argument. The direction and quality of life in Albany is on the line. The accountability of the state government entity that makes those decisions is at issue, too. Failure to level with people about what's about to happen in their own neighborhood can only breed cynicism.

One crucial detail yet to emerge about what we can only presume will be a combination of housing, stores, a hotel and maybe a University at Albany dormitory is what will become of the road that surrounds the Harriman campus, cutting it off from the adjoining neighborhoods. That's really where the failure to use that land wisely begins.

Mr. Carr calls the road the moat that makes the campus an island of sorts. Mayor Jerry Jennings has argued as well, rightfully and forcefully, that the road must go -- in large part so more of those 330 acres could be developed and generate property taxes. A 2006 state master plan called for its removal, too. It's not overstating things to say that a plan that keeps even part of the road is compromised from the start.

It's enough to wonder. Does the fate of that road have anything to do with the secrecy surrounding the development plan?

It's time citizens of Albany saw what the insiders have in store for them.

The issue:

A developer is chosen for a huge project in Albany.

The stakes:

Why can't the public know the essential details?

To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com

A lesson in what not to do

2009-12-06T10:50:00.002-05:00

First published in print: Sunday, December 6, 2009

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In one University at Albany classroom, the method used to redevelop Harriman State Office Campus has become a lesson in what not to do.

Harriman, for the unfamiliar, is a state-owned campus that officials want to transform through private development. The state has selected a development plan, but has refused to release it.

"The process certainly doesn't inspire confidence and trust," said Gene Bunnell, a UAlbany planning professor. "It's an odd way they're going about it."

Bunnell said that in a recent class, he unfavorably compared the state's method at Harriman to the very public process used to redevelop the old Stapleton Airport in Denver into a successful new neighborhood.

Officials here did use public input to craft a 2006 Harriman campus plan, but that blueprint seems to have been abandoned.

"I don't know why they scrapped that," Bunnell said.

The Alexander is open for business

2009-12-04T11:43:00.001-05:00

Chris Churchill at the Times Union has a blog entry describing the new Alexander apartments, which are located on the north side of the Harriman Campus. It's worth looking at to see the type of development that might occur on the campus itself.

Direct Link

Reactions by Neighbors

2009-12-02T08:00:00.002-05:00

I would submit that a substantial portion of the 11 acres (aka Parcel A) is nearly as close to the termini of Tudor, Clarendon and western Cambridge roads as the previously proposed "southeastern" site is to the properties along western Tudor. It is a minimal shift, in my view. I am no more comfortable with these 11 acres than the earlier southeastern/Tudor Road site. Again, convenience and expediency appears to be prevailing over the concerns of proximate neighbors. I remain unimpressed with the state's efforts to site these dorms in a location that does not intrude seriously on the neighborhood.

Leslie Knauf
34 Clarendon Road

I am sending this to some of my neighbors. I hope you hear from them.

As for my response---to transfer about 11 acres near the State Police headquarters and the sculpture building from the Harriman campus to the University campus for the construction of a 500 bed university dormitory seems nearly perfect to me. The University at Albany needs more dorm space and the Harriman campus--presently under used--is a fine place for a university dorm.

As for the development plan and the selection of a general developer, I know nothing about the plan except its general outline--office buildings, some apartments/housing with a very small number of retail stores. I know even less about the general developer. I wish it well. But to find a private use for the Harirman campus where several of the buildings will continue to be occupied by State offices (State police,Labor,Tax and Finance) for many more years seems like trying to find a reuse for a Cathederal--tough but not impossible.

The University is a great university and a resource for the region--to promote its further development is good for the city and the region. I look forward to the University using much more of the Harriman campus.

A disclaimer: As a former faculty member (Professor Emeritus, Department of Economics) at the University this opinion may contain more than a little bit of self interest.

Don Reeb

As a resident of Albany I am very interested in the development of the Harriman Campus. We have a unique opportunity to create a new neighborhood within the City of Albany.

In the past development in Albany has been plague with no vision, buildings go up helter-skelter with no rhyme or reason. No thought was given to future use of the riverfront when 787 was built or when Washington Avenue Extension was being developed.

Now it also appears that there is no master plan on the north side Washington Ave across from the Campus. Again the buildings seem to be going up wherever each developer wants them to go. No cohesiveness, no connection, not even visual pleasing. Case in point the Alexander; luxury high-rise apartments over looking…wait satellite dishes, Washington Avenue, I90, or office buildings. In a few years when they cannot fully occupy the building don't be surprised when it becomes Section 8 Housing.

We need to bring people back to the City, people who will be part of the community, people who will have a vested interest in Albany. Baby Boomers are looking to downsize to smaller homes, maybe town homes or condo units. We are losing them to the suburbs. A public park would be nice for the residents of that part of Albany. Dorms and maybe a second high school might serve the City better.

What we don't need is any more office buildings, all that brings is people who work here from 9 to 5 and leave the City, taking their earnings and spending elsewhere, while using the services that the City provides for free; fire and safety. Again at the expense of the property owners of Albany.

There is plenty of property in the Capital District for commercial use but this is a one shot deal that can bring more people to live within the City of Albany - let's not make this another wasted opportunity.

Sofeya (Pia) Lascaris
Democratic Committee Person
13th Ward

Plan OK'd, kept quiet

2009-12-02T07:58:00.000-05:00

State grants Harriman development rights, won't release details

By CHRIS CHURCHILL AND JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writers

Direct Link

First published: Wednesday, December 2, 2009

ALBANY -- The state and a private developer are proceeding with a plan for the large-scale redevelopment of Harriman State Office Campus -- but few people have seen it.

A state panel on Monday granted the right to redevelop Harriman to Columbia Development Cos. based on a proposal submitted last year by the Albany business.

But Empire State Development, the state's economic development arm, refused to release the development plan Monday -- and did so again Tuesday, citing ongoing negotiations.

That leaves some neighbors of the campus -- a 330-acre parcel near the University at Albany -- wondering just what is coming.

"Whatever was in that proposal should be public knowledge," said Joe Cunniff, president of Upper Washington Avenue Neighborhood Association, a piece of which borders the sprawling campus. "I'd like to know if they're going to build a 300-bed hotel. Is a dorm included in all this? What exactly is in the package that was proposed?"

The board of Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp. on Monday chose the Columbia plan over a proposal submitted by a rival developer. That developer, Howard Carr of The Howard Group, then released his plan, saying both proposals should be subjected to public scrutiny.

Carr repeated that assertion on Tuesday: "The public is never going to have a chance to give its input on this thing," he said. "I think the public is entitled to speak."

In February, the Times Union submitted a Freedom of Information Law request for access to the Columbia and Howard Group proposals. ESD denied that request because the process is active.

The Times Union submitted a second FOIL request Tuesday. The newspaper is waiting for an official response, although an ESD spokeswoman said the Columbia proposal will not be released until negotiations with the company are complete.

"We look forward to releasing the development plan when a specific agreement has been reached and has been approved by the Board," Jola Szubielski said in an e-mail.

In prior years, the public has weighed in on Harriman. The state held a series of public meetings, building consensus and gathering information used to compile a 2006 master plan for the campus.

That plan eliminated the wide road that rings the campus, emphasizing new connections to surrounding neighborhoods. It also called for moving state office workers from the campus, demolishing existing buildings, and building 3.6 million square feet of office, retail, hotel and residential space.

That plan, though, was largely abandoned by the administration of Gov. Eliot Spitzer.

In fact, the request for proposals, or RFP, issued last year made no mention of the master plan. And it put the center of the campus, home to 7,500 employees, largely off limits to development -- scrapping the plan to move workers or knock down buildings.

In reality, the state is bolstering its presence there, saying last year that it would build a $40 million laboratory for the Department of Agriculture and Markets on the campus.

It is now no longer clear that ring road would be eliminated, which could make it harder to connect to nearby neighborhoods or the University at Albany campus.

"The ring road is 1950s design, and it's exclusive in its nature," Carr said. "Harriman is an island and the ring road is a moat."

On Monday, Mayor Jerry Jennings, a member of the board, repeatedly made clear he wants the ring road gone entirely, in no small part because it would free up more acres for development that could go on the city's tax rolls.

Recently, residents around the campus have been battling their other massive neighbor, the University at Albany, and its attempt to build a new dorm on UAlbany's southeastern corner near Tudor Road.

Ironically, those same residents have pointed to the sense of inclusion they initially felt in the Harriman master plan to highlight what they believe was the university's failure to include their input on the dorm.

UAlbany's plan for the 500-bed, apartment-style dorms are inextricably linked to the future of the Harriman campus because the university has already moved to take 3.3 acres of Harriman land to accommodate the new student housing.

On Monday -- the same day that the board backed Columbia's proposal -- university officials briefed the board on a new plan that would require the transfer of roughly seven more acres of the state office campus, worth an estimated $3 million, to UAlbany in order to move the dorm farther north and pacify neighbors.

That proposal, which university President George Philip stressed is only preliminary, would require the southwest corner of Harriman's ring road to be moved.

Neighbors of both campuses have unequivocally said they would rather see UAlbany expand into Harriman than any closer to their homes. But some city officials are anxiously watching the university's expansion and fretting it will gradually eat up land that Albany deserves.

Councilman Michael O'Brien, who represents the 12th Ward north of the state office campus, expressed concern when the state seemed to abandon the master plan it so painstakingly crafted. O'Brien has not been privy to the Columbia plan and said he's eager to know just what the company wants to build.

"I'm happy in the sense that it looks like something is going to happen," O'Brien said. "My big concern is always the best use of the land for the city of Albany."

Rejected developer slams Harriman board

2009-12-01T15:35:00.000-05:00

Tuesday, December 1, 2009, 12:01pm EST
The Business Review (Albany) - by Michael DeMasi and Adam Sichko

Direct Link

The leader of a real estate development company that lost the competition to develop the state’s massive Harriman office campus in Albany, N.Y., claims political influence won out over the best plan.

Howard Carr, president of The Howard Group, said the relationship between Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and the winning developer, Columbia Development Cos., played a part in the decision by the board of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp.

“If...Columbia and BBL are always going to get the projects in the city then tell us all so we don’t waste our time and effort,” Carr said.

Columbia and BBL are affiliated companies in Albany that have tackled several large-scale projects in the city, including redeveloping historic Wellington Row downtown and the run-down Park South neighborhood. The companies also built the Patroon Creek office park across from the Harriman campus.

Calls to Jennings and several other board members were not immediately returned. Joe Nicolla, president of Columbia Development Cos., also couldn’t be reached for comment.

Carr’s accusations are unusual for Albany, where private sector developers typically shy away from publicly criticizing local elected officials. Carr, however, said he wasn’t concerned about burning bridges.

“What are they going to do?” he said. “Not give me this job?”

His claims came after a closed-door session Nov. 30 in which Harriman’s nine board members, including Jennings, unanimously picked the team led by Columbia as the preferred developer for the 330-acre office campus. No reason was given for the selection.

Reached later for comment, Peter Wohl, president of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp., cited Columbia team member M+W Zander U.S. as one of the reasons its proposal was preferred.

M+W Zander is the general contractor for the $4.2 billion computer chip plant that GlobalFoundries Inc. is building in Malta, N.Y. M+W Zander also built most of the Albany NanoTech complex near the Harriman campus.

“Their experience in these large-scale technology and R&D projects ... obviously bode well for them,” Wohl said. “You can’t discount having a member like M+W Zander, which has connections in the technology and R&D fields worldwide and can market this worldwide, well beyond the capabilities of some traditional developers we’ve seen.”

The state is targeting 139 of the Harriman campus’ 330 acres for redevelopment. The remainder will continue to be used by state agencies that employ 7,300 people.

The competing redevelopment proposals have not been released to the public since they were first given to the Harriman board in September 2008.

Carr said he felt free to disclose his team’s plans now that Columbia has been picked, and hopes the public will pressure the Harriman board to reconsider.

“My attitude was the state kept this under lock and key,” Carr said. “They never brought in any outside players. We were prohibited from speaking with the university due to procurement issues, or to any other stakeholders.”

Carr said his team, which includes Turner Construction Co. in Albany and C.T. Male Associates in Latham, spent more than $250,000 on its proposal for the site. Calls to officials at Turner and C.T. Male weren’t immediately returned.

Their plan envisioned nearly 8 million square feet of new buildings over a 15-year period, including retail, offices, research and development space, recreational areas, a hotel, performing arts venue, student housing and residential homes.

Carr said the $2 billion-plus development would link the Harriman campus to the adjacent University at Albany and the high-tech workforce at Albany NanoTech.

He said the state would reap more than $150 million through the sale of land and profit-sharing over 15 years without having to spend any taxpayer money on the project.

The selection of Columbia as the preferred developer means the Harriman project is now farther along than ever before in the seven years since former Gov. George Pataki started the process.

Throughout this decade, the state has pursued an ambitious plan to renovate the campus to lure high-tech companies and build retail shops and residential units. The initiative stalled repeatedly amid changing state leadership, the recession, tight credit markets and the state’s problems with multi-billion-dollar deficits.

Negotiations with Columbia Development will begin immediately, Wohl said. Among items to be negotiated are how much the state will invest in the project, who will pay for necessary zoning changes and site evaluations—and how long Columbia Development will have to secure tenants before the state intervenes.

Other members of the Columbia team are BBL Construction Services LLC, of Albany; CHA, of Colonie; Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL), the nation’s largest luxury home builder; and Ocean Hospitalities Inc., of New Hampshire, part of the firm that purchased The Sagamore resort in Bolton Landing last year.

Dorms on Harriman Conceptual Rendering

2009-12-01T12:20:00.000-05:00

Here is an image from yesterday's ACT recording of the Harriman Board Meeting that shows the new dorms, parking lots, and realigned ring road.

Columbia Development wins Harriman project - The Business Review

2009-12-01T09:51:00.000-05:00

Monday, November 30, 2009, 1:31pm EST | Modified: Monday, November 30, 2009, 3:30pm

The Business Review (Albany) - by Michael DeMasi and Adam Sichko

Direct Link

Columbia Development Cos., of Albany, N.Y., has been selected to redevelop the state’s massive Harriman office campus in Albany.

The nine-member board of directors of the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus voted unanimously Monday to choose Columbia Development to lead efforts to overhaul almost half of the campus.

The project is now farther along than ever before in the seven years since former Gov. George Pataki started the process.

“We’re thrilled. We’re heading down a path we’d been hoping to head down for years,” said Peter Wohl, president of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp., which runs the campus.

Throughout this decade, the state has pursued an ambitious plan to renovate the campus to lure high-tech companies and build retail shops and residential units. The initiative stalled repeatedly amid changing state leadership, the recession, tight credit markets and the state’s problems with multi-billion-dollar deficits.

The state is targeting 139 of the Harriman campus’ 330 acres for redevelopment. The remainder will continue to be used by state agencies that employ 7,300 people.

The latest round of bids was submitted more than a year ago. Columbia Development is leading one of two teams that competed for the right to redevelop the Harriman campus.

Joseph Nicolla, president of Columbia Development, was unavailable for comment. No details of Columbia’s plan were revealed at the Harriman board meeting.

Negotiations with Columbia Development will begin immediately, Wohl said. Among items to be negotiated are how much the state will invest in the project, who will pay for necessary zoning changes and site evaluations—and how long Columbia Development will have to secure tenants before the state intervenes.

“The board is not interested in saying, ‘Here’s 10 years, see what you can do with it.’ They are saying, ‘What can you come up with in a year?’ ” Wohl said.

In its bid, Columbia partnered with two big area companies: BBL Construction Services LLC, of Albany, and CHA, of Colonie.

Also involved in Columbia’s winning bid was M+W Zander U.S. M+W Zander is also the general contractor for the $4.2 billion computer chip plant that GlobalFoundries Inc. is building in Malta, N.Y.

“Their experience in these large-scale technology and R&D projects ... obviously bode well for them,” Wohl said of Columbia’s bid. “You can’t discount having a member like M+W Zander, which has connections in the technology and R&D fields worldwide and can market this worldwide, well beyond the capabilities of some traditional developers we’ve seen.”

Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL), the nation’s largest home builder, is involved in Columbia’s plans. So is Ocean Hospitalities Inc., of New Hampshire, part of the firm that purchased The Sagamore resort in Bolton Landing last year.

The other development team to submit a bid was led by The Howard Group, in Colonie.

Howard Carr, president of The Howard Group, attended Monday’s meeting but left when the board went behind closed doors to talk about the Harriman campus. After a 20-minute discussion, the board emerged and formally voted to select Columbia as the winning bidder.

In response, Carr said he was disappointed. He noted the project’s rocky past as he reacted to the vote.

The Harriman board solicited bids from developers once before, in 2006. A winning bidder was never named, and the project was rebid last year after months of delay.

“Just because they picked [Columbia] doesn’t mean they go with them,” Carr said of the Harriman board. “These guys have backtracked 16 times already.”

asichko@bizjournals.com | 518-640-6818

Two New Blog Entries at the Times Union

2009-12-01T08:11:00.000-05:00

The Times Union has two new blob entries concerning yesterday's developments.

Harriman board to hear about UAlbany dorm today [update]

Columbia Development tapped as Harriman developer

Read both, and comment away!

Two Recordings of Harriman Meeting

2009-12-01T08:05:00.000-05:00

The November 30, 2009 Board meeting was recorded by Albany Community Television (Thank you, Joe Cunniff and Elise Van Allen. You did a great job!) and by Empire State Development Corporation (click on the link for '2009/11/30 - HRTDC Directors Meeting'). Both recordings skip over the Executive Session when the Board selected Columbia Development as the preferred contractor.

On the ACT recording at 15:00 minutes into the meeting, Mayor Jennings expresses his thoughts concerning development on UAlbany's Southeast corner. You should see this for yourself!

Harriman choice criticized

2009-12-01T07:49:00.000-05:00

Panel's vote for Columbia Development is politically motivated, rival says

CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published: Tuesday,December 1, 2009

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ALBANY -- An Albany firm closely tied to Mayor Jerry Jennings on Monday won the right to develop one of the city's most significant and potentially lucrative parcels of land -- leading a rival developer to charge that the decision was politically motivated. The board of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp., which includes Jennings as a member, chose Columbia Development to lead the transformation of the Harriman State Office Campus, a 330-acre parcel where the state has long wanted a dense new neighborhood of offices, stores and homes.

Those plans had seemed stalled -- until Monday's surprise vote.
"They (Columbia) have a well-assembled team, and it looks to us like they can do a good job," said John Egan, Office of General Services commissioner and one of nine Harriman board members.

Harriman officials and the Empire State Development Corp., the state's economic development agency, have refused to release Columbia's construction proposal or a rival plan by The Howard Group of Colonie.

They did so again Monday -- citing ongoing negotiations.

But Howard Carr, president of the The Howard Group, released his company's plan after learning of the board's decision. The proposal calls for $2 billion of retail, office and residential construction over a 15-year period.

Carr also noted that Columbia, which is affiliated with BBL Construction Cos., has built nearly every project of consequence in Albany in recent years, charging that "political considerations" and ties to Jennings help BBL win work.

"If Columbia and BBL are going to get every project in the city, just let us all know so we don't have to waste the effort," Carr said, estimating that his firm spent $250,000 developing its Harriman proposal.

Jennings and Joe Nicolla, president of Columbia Development, could not be reached for comment Monday.

A Times Union report in July explored the relationship between Jennings and BBL/Columbia, disclosing that BBL President Don Led Duke had hosted Jennings in his VIP suite at Giants Stadium and that Nicolla had hosted a lavish fundraiser for Jennings at his Guilderland home.

BBL/Columbia projects include the office park at Patroon Creek -- across from the Harriman campus -- and the tower at 677 Broadway. The firm is now building the Wellington Row development on State Street; redeveloping the Park South neighborhood; and has been chosen to play a major role in the construction of the Albany Convention Center.

Jennings, in prior interviews, has insisted that his relationship with BBL and Columbia does not help either company, an opinion echoed by Led Duke.
"What we do, we earn," Led Duke said in July.

On Monday, Carr asked that Harriman officials release the Columbia plan so the public could assess both proposals. Noting that both plans were submitted more than a year ago, he also said he was "completely taken by surprise" by the timing of Monday's decision.

Carr said he has contributed to past Jennings election campaigns, but not the most recent one.

The Harriman campus consists of state office buildings set amid parking lots and large lawns. The state built the campus in the 1960s, but it is now considered underused and an example of outdated urban planning theories.

In 1998, the Office of General Services, the agency that oversees the state's real estate, suggested selling the campus and moving its 7,000 workers downtown.

In 2003, Gov. George Pataki proposed a $300 million plan to move workers, raze most of the campus' buildings and transform the site into a new neighborhood.

Four years later, Gov. Eliot Spitzer scrapped that plan, insisting the development occur with state workers and existing buildings in place.

Harriman officials said current plans for development, along with the Columbia proposal, are in line with Spitzer's model, and residential and retail construction has been de-emphasized in favor of office and high-tech development.

"There are no plans right now for any demolition," said Peter Wohl, who heads the Harriman Corp.

The board vote awarding development rights to Harriman was unanimous and came after a brief executive session. Board members did not discuss the Columbia plan in public.

Egan and Peter Wohl both said the state and Columbia will enter into negotiations designed to hammer out design and construction specifics.

Staff writer Jordan Carleo-Evangelist contributed to this story.

UAlbany Presentation to Harriman Research & Technology Development Corporation

2009-11-30T17:15:00.000-05:00

President George Philip and Assistant Vice President John Giarusso made a presentation to the Harriman Research & Technology Development Corporation (HRTDC) at its board meeting today to explain its proposal to locate student housing on the Harriman Campus, instead of in the Southeast Corner woods adjacent to the west side of Tudor Road.

Mr. Giarrusso noted that dormitory utilization on the Uptown Campus is very high, with students making use of lounges as dormitory room space. UAlbany is also in the process of renovating all four student quads, and needs additional space to be used as these quads are renovated.

According to Mr. Giarrusso, any student housing would have to be within walking distance of the uptown campus, and be accessible to other UAlbany services, such as Security and Residential Life.

UAlbany is looking at two options for the new dormitories:

1) Use the Southeast Corner

As this option last stood, an earthen berm would be placed on top of the rise between UAlbany and the neighbors.

University Drive would be relocated parallel to the berm. This move would place the buildings further away from the neighbors, and eliminate a street crossing for the students. The 3.3 acres acquired from the Harriman Campus would be used to route the relocated University Drive. There would be no connection with the Harriman Campus.

Parking for 350 vehicles would be placed west of the relocated University Drive, and two five story buildings would be placed west of the parking lots and east of Iroquois Lake.

As designed, UAlbany intended to hide the new buildings from view of the neighbors.

This option is currently on hold, due to neighborhood opposition.

2) Move the site north onto the Harriman Campus.

In this option, access and parking for the dorms would be located in the 3.3 acre triangle of land acquired from the Harriman.

The buildings would be located in the space between the current ring roads on the corner of the campus. Again, the intent is to move the buildings away from the neighbors.

The ring roads would be reconfigured to run east of the proposed buildings.

With this option, a corner of the proposed parking lot will adjoin Tudor Road, rather than having development along the entire edge of the property.

Also, by being placed further north, it would be easier to reach the Patroon Creek for storm water drainage, rather than the Krumkill, if needed.

UAlbany believes the timeline for the project is urgent, and will look for HRDTC action at its January 11, 2010 meeting. It will develop more detailed information for the Harriman in this time. They would still use Dormitory Authority funding to build the project, including the ring road relocation. They will also have to use competitive bidding for the construction of the buildings.

UAlbany's presentation and request were clear, direct, and well received by the Board members. However, Mayor Jennings expressed his opinion that if the need for housing is urgent, that the original Southeast corner plan was fine.

If you have an opportunity to talk to the Mayor's office, you should ask about his apparent lack of support for the residents of Eagle Hill.

Some Questions and Answers about Harriman Development

2009-11-30T16:48:00.000-05:00

Who was selected as the preferred developer on the Harriman Campus?

The Albany Heights Team, consisting of BBL Construction Services, BBL Development Group, Columbia Development Companies, Clough Harbour & Associates LLP, Woodward Connor Gillies Seleman Architects all of Albany; M+W Zander, Watervliet; Toll Brothers, Horsham, Pa.; and Ocean Hospitalities, Portsmouth, N.H.

What will be developed?

The Harriman Research and Technology Development Corporation is interested in:

Development of office/R&D facilities
Administrative offices for technology focused industries
Hotel/conference facilities
Residential development
Associated convenience retail

How will the Albany Heights Team acquire the land?

Land will be declared as “Unappropriated”, and transferred from OGS to ESDC and then to the Albany Heights Team by means of a Land Disposition and Development Agreement/Contract of Sale or a long term ground leases. The conveyance of land will be subject to protective covenants and restrictions to protect the interests of NYS, ESDC and HRTDC.

What parcels may be developed?

There are three areas that are available for development

Section A – 62.6 acres of vacant land on the western end of the campus, which includes both the campus inner and outer ring road. ‘H’ Parking Lot (913 spaces). Adjacent to State Police Campus, UAlbany Campus, Tudor Road, Clarendon Road and west side of Cambridge Road.

UAlbany is proposing the use of 11 acres out of Section A – The 3.3 acres proposed by Mayor Jennings, and an additional 7 or so acres.

Section E-2 – Buildings 1 and 1A and a contiguous 28.2 acres of land in the southeast corner of the campus, across from Brevator Street. “B’ (334 spaces) and ‘C’ Parking Lots (604 spaces).

Section D-1 – 49.9 acres of land and three existing buildings. Buildings ‘3’ Cafeteria – Credit Union, ‘4’ Transportation and ‘5’ Transportation Administration. ‘D’ Parking Lot (193 spaces), ‘J’ Parking Lot (112 spaces). Strip between Washington Avenue and Building ‘17’ Heating and Refrigeration Building.

Here is a map:

Columbia Development tapped for massive Harriman project

2009-11-30T16:38:00.000-05:00

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST AND CHRIS CHURCHILL, Staff writers
Last updated: 2:53 p.m., Monday, November 30, 2009

Direct Link

ALBANY -- A team led by Columbia Development Cos. has been chosen to redevelop the Harriman State Office Campus in Albany.

The surprise decision today by the board of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp. came more than a year after Columbia and rival development companies submitted proposals for the 330-acre campus near the University at Albany.

The state has long wanted to turn the campus, now home to state office buildings and workers, into a hotbed of private development. But those plans, first proposed in 2003, had seemed stalled -- until today.

Columbia Development is associated with BBL Construction Services, the prominent and politically connected construction firm.

For its Harriman plans, Columbia has partnered with some high-powered firms: Toll Brothers, the nation's largest home builder; M+W Zander, a German engineering company involved in building the Albany NanoTech complex and the GlobalFoundries plant in Malta; and Ocean Hospitalities, the New Hampshire company that last year purchased The Sagamore resort in Bolton Landing.

The Columbia plan beat out one by The Howard Cos. of Colonie, which proposed a redevelopment that would have included Choice Hotels, one of the world's largest hotel franchisers, and Street-Works LLC, a White Plains company that says it focuses on "the creation of mixed-use projects around great public places throughout the United States."

The Galesi Group of Rotterdam submitted a plan but withdrew it last September.

The Harriman board vote awarding development rights to Harriman was unanimous and came after a brief executive session. Board members did not discuss the Columbia plan or unveil what the proposal contains.

Meeting with UAlbany - Report on Consideration of Other Dorm Locations

2009-11-25T15:02:00.000-05:00

Today, Ray Moran, Michael Weisberg and I met with UAlbany officials concerning options for the location of their proposed dormitory buildings.

UAlbany was represented by:

George Philip, President
Vincent Delio, Chief of Staff
Miriam Trementozzi, Assistant Vice-President Communications Engagements
John Giarrusso, Assistant Vice-President for Physical Facilities
Thomas Gebhardt, Director, Personal Safety and Off-Campus Affairs

UAlbany also met with city officials yesterday.

UAlbany is examining construction of student housing on the Harriman Campus. The Harriman Research and Technology Development Corporation (HRTDC) Board will be holding meetings on this subject as follows:

Monday, November 30, 2009 at 12:00 PM and
Monday, January 11, 2010 at 12:00 PM

30 South Pearl Street
Albany, New York

Use of Harriman Campus lands will require the approval of the HRDTC Board. We'll be following these meetings with great interest!

Also, on November 17, 2009 the SUNY Board of Trustees approved a resolution which will allow SUNY to discuss the acquisition of a 3.3 acre parcel located north of the Southeast Corner site, and to the side of the Harriman ring roads. UAlbany does appear to be actively pursuing a Harriman Campus site.

UAlbany also reviewed the previously identified State Quad and Dutch Quad sites for the new dorms, which were considered in last year's Feasibility Study, but again rejected them as unsuitable.

The State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) draft report is scheduled to be released December 2, 2009, but may be delayed by a week. The study will discuss development of the Southeast Corner, but will note that other sites are being considered, and that further environmental review may be required.

Ray, Michael and I are guardedly hopeful that the Harriman option will work for UAlbany and the Eagle Hill neighbors.

Please let us know any information that you may have about the proposed dorms!

Happy Thanksgiving!
Steve Sokal

SUNY moves on Harriman, Herring says, ‘whoa’

2009-11-18T16:36:00.000-05:00

November 18, 2009 at 10:11 am by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist

From today’s paper: SUNY trustees yesterday approved the acquisition of 3.3 acres from the Harriman State Office Campus — potentially the site of a controversial new dorm.

Less than 24 hours earlier, 13th Ward Councilman Daniel Herring, who represents parts of the nearby Eagle Hill neighborhood, introduced this resolution calling for UAlbany not to build on the 12 wooded acres adjacent to Tudor Road.

Councilman Michael O’Brien also supports the measure, which was sent to the planning committee, which Herring chairs.

Herring said he believes there were enough votes to pass it but that he wanted to use the committee as a venue to engage UAlbany officials about their plans.

In response to neighborhood resistance, UAlbany said last month it would look at other options — but hasn’t yet said what those might be.

Eagle Hill residents have started this blog to fight the plan.

Click here to see the comments on the TU blog or to post your own.

SUNY moves on plan for land

2009-11-18T08:11:00.000-05:00

Trustees OK acquisition of 3.3-acre tract from Harriman campus

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published in print: Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Direct Link

ALBANY -- The trustees of the state university system on Tuesday approved the acquisition of 3.3 acres from the Harriman State Office Campus, land that one day could help house as many as 500 students.

The vote came less than 24 hours after Councilman Daniel Herring, who represents residents near the University at Albany's uptown campus, introduced a resolution calling on the university not to build a controversial new dorm there.

SUNY's move to acquire the land from the Office of General Services, however, did little to clarify UAlbany's intentions for those in the city who have battled the development.

Last month, the university, responding to resistance from residents and elected officials, said it would consider alternatives to building the two five-story dorms on about 12 wooded acres of the campus' southeast corner near Tudor Road.

But the Harriman land transfer was first suggested as a way to soften opposition to that original proposal, leaving some to wonder how seriously UAlbany is considering other options.

On Monday, a UAlbany spokesman said the university plans to meet soon with residents and local officials to discuss alternatives, but the school has not discussed them publicly and continues to eye the southeast corner as a "viable" site.

The land transfer is significant because it also touches on the long-debated plans to redevelop the 330-acre state office campus into a private technology park that would put the land back on the city tax rolls.

While some view UAlbany's expansion into Harriman as preferable to encroaching on neighborhoods like Eagle Hill, others -- like Councilman Michael O'Brien, who also supports Herring's resolution -- fear a land-grab by the university will keep much of that prized land tax-exempt.

Still others suggest UAlbany should construct a dorm farther downtown.

The Harriman Research and Technology Development Corporation, the subsidiary of the state's economic development arm charged with ushering Harriman's public-private transition, met last month for the first time in over a year.

UAlbany is exempt from city zoning laws, and Herring's resolution would not be binding on the university.

Among other things, it cites concerns about traffic, flooding, sewer capacity and the fact that UAlbany already uses city fire and EMS services without paying taxes for them.

Herring is chairman of the Common Council's planning committee, which will review the measure. He said he hopes to use it as a venue to engage UAlbany officials about their plans, even if city lawmakers hold no official sway over them.

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.

SUNY trustees weigh Harriman land deal for dorm

2009-11-16T15:57:00.000-05:00

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST
Last updated: 3:17 p.m., Monday, November 16, 2009

Direct Link

ALBANY -- Even as the University at Albany has publicly tabled plans to build a new uptown dorm amid outcry from neighbors, the state university system is moving to secure land from the Harriman State Office Campus to accommodate the facility.

At a meeting Tuesday, the SUNY Board of Trustees will consider a resolution approving the transfer of 3.3 acres from the state Office of General Services, which controls the sprawling Harriman campus, to the state university system.

The parcel was first proposed as a way to lessen the impact of the proposed 500-bed apartment-style dorms on neighbors, who forcefully opposed construction on about 12 wooded acres on the uptown UAlbany campus' southeast corner, near Tudor Road.

Mayor Jerry Jennings proposed the transfer in September as a way to ease neighbors concerns, which include noise, traffic, sewer capacity and storm-water runoff from the site.

That was before UAlbany, confronted with solid opposition from residents and elected officials, agreed last month to consider other options.

UAlbany has still not said publicly what options it will consider. The university plans to meet privately with residents and local officials in the "near future" to discuss alternatives, said Karl Luntta, a school spokesman.

Luntta stressed, however, that UAlbany has not ruled out building in the southeast corner, which remains "viable as an option."

"The transfer of that land from the Harriman Campus to the university would be consistent with our original plan," Luntta said. David Henahan, a spokesman for the SUNY system, said the trustees finance committee gave the transfer a positive recommendation on Friday.

"It's just transfer of jurisdiction" from one state entity to another, Henahan said, noting and there would be no money exchanged.

Henahan said the resolution would permit Chancellor Nancy Zimpher to reach out to OGS to transfer the land.

The deal is significant not only because of the friction between the UAlbany and its neighbors about the dorm but also because it touches on the larger issue of the future of the state office campus, a 330-acre swath of tax-exempt land that the city covets as a way to generate revenue.

Plans backed by the state to redevelop the land as a private technology park, stalled for more than a year, have recently begun to show signs of life. In the meantime, the city has pushed for millions in state money as compensation in lieu of property taxes on the land.

While residents -- including Assemblyman Jack McEneny -- have encouraged UAlbany to expand into Harriman instead of toward their homes, some city officials fear that, contrary to the comprehensive redevelopment plans, the office campus will be carved up piecemeal and without focus.

The SUNY vote also comes as the statewide system experienced its largest enrollment increase ever this year, while UAlbany was one of a handful of schools whose enrollment declined. UAlbany saw a decrease of about 1 percent -- or about 186 students -- to 18,018.

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.

Agenda Item for November 16, 2009 City Council Meeting

2009-11-15T10:01:00.000-05:00

TO:         John Marsolais, City Clerk

FROM:   Daniel Herring and Michael O'Brien, Council Members

RE:         Request for Common Council Legislation
                Supporting Memorandum

DATE:   November 12, 2009

RESOLUTION NUMBER 89.112.09R (MC)

TITLE:      A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT ALBANY, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, THE NEW YORK STATE DORMITORY AUTHORITY, AND OTHER INVOLVED AGENCIES OF GOVERNMENT TO REFRAIN FROM BUILDING STUDENT HOUSING ON AN APPROXIMATELY ELEVEN ACRE SITE ADJACENT TO TUDOR ROAD IN THE CITY OF ALBANY

GENERAL PURPOSE OF LEGISLATION: To officially express the position of the Common Council

NECESSITY FOR LEGISLATION AND ANY CHANGE TO EXISTING LAW: As explained in resolution

FISCAL IMPACT: None

RESOLUTION NUMBER 89-112.09R (MC)

2009-11-15T09:52:00.000-05:00

A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT ALBANY, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, THE NEW YORK STATE DORMITORY AUTHORITY, AND OTHER INVOLVED AGENCIES OF GOVERNMENT TO REFRAIN FROM BUILDING STUDENT HOUSING ON AN APPROXIMATELY ELEVEN ACRE SITE ADJACENT TO TUDOR ROAD IN THE CITY OF ALBANY

WHEREAS, the University at Albany has a large student population and many of the students come to the Unversity from outside of the Capital Region therefore requiring local student housing, and

WHEREAS, the University has a capital plan which calls for the building of a campus dorm to house five hundred students, and

WHEREAS, one of the primary locations proposed for this large student dorm is an approximately eleven acre plot of land located adjacent to Tudor Road in the City of Albany, and

WHEREAS, the City of Albany is impacted in many ways by the University, providing to it fire and safety services, EMS services, streets and traffic services, water and sewer services, and other necessary services. Despite the impact and service provided, the University is largely autonomous. It does not pay real property taxes and is not requred to comply with local zoning and planning laws, and

WHEREAS, the resident neighbors of the University have expressed serious concerns regarding the impact of such large proposed student dorm on their neighborhood, and

WHEREAS, there are many genuine concerns over locating such a large facility at this site including the section of Western Avenue in proximity to the proposed site for this student dorm, has been the location of numerous accidents in recent years, including three fatalities, the development of this currently wooded approximately eleven acre area would cause additional storm water runoff into an area of Western Avenue which is already prone to flooding, the closest sanitary sewer line to the proposed site is only a twelve inch diameter pipe, the combined downstream storm water capacity is already inadequate to handle the current overflow, causing sewer back ups even in down stream areas remote from the University Campus, the existing conditions already necessitate a SPEDES permit for the overflow discharge of sanitary sewerage into the Krumkill Creek at the City of Albany's Woodville Pumping Station, and the additional sewer use from the project would potentially violate the consent order between the City of Albany and the Department of Environmental Conservation regarding combined sewer overflow levels, and

WHEREAS, the University has already been designated as its own lead agency in determining whether or not to conduct a full SEQRA environmental review regarding the proposed construction project, and

WHEREAS, the ideal of a University is to foster cooperation and understanding between academia and its host community, and

WHEREAS, the Common Council appreciates the recent efforts of the University to consider alternatives to this location and to take a closer look at the impacts of the proposal

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Common Council of the City of Albany calls upon the State University of New York at Albany, the University of the State of New York, the New York State Dormitory Authority, and all other involved governmental agencies, to refrain from building the proposed student dorm on the approximately eleven acre site adjacent to Tudor Road in the City of Albany, and to consider other sites which will have less negative impact on the City of Albany and its neighborhoods.

UAlbany Dormitory Project and City Council – Where are we now?

2009-11-15T09:27:00.000-05:00

In the October 31, 2009 Times Union, we read that President George Philip was willing to reconsider the proposed dormitory project on the southeast corner of the campus, that UAlbany will be reaching out to elected and community leaders to explore viable options, and that the process will be slowed down. There has been nothing further to report on this front.

In order to give the City Council an opportunity to express its position on the proposed project, Councilman Dan Herring has placed a proposed resolution on the agenda for City Council's meeting on Monday, November 16, 2009 at 7:00 PM.

Based on the discussion at the Common Council Caucus on Friday night, Dan intends to introduce the resolution and ask that it be referred to the Planning Committee, which he chairs. After review, the committee will report back the resolution to the full Council for its vote.

(The discussion about the resolution was recorded by www.albanycommunitytelevision.com and occurs at 36 minutes through 40 minutes into the meeting).

It is important that this draft resolution move forward. As UAlbany looks at all of the options for providing student housing, we hope that City Council will be on record against the construction of dormitories next to our neighborhood. Please express your support for this resolution by contacting:

Daniel Herring – Councilman, 13th Ward
(danherring47@hotmail.com, 438-7527)

Michael O'Brien – Councilman, 12th Ward
(twelfward@aol.com 482-1160)

Sandra Fox, Councilman, 15th Ward
(ward15fox@aol.com, 438-8085 or 489-1675)

Frank Commisso Jr., Councilman Elect, 15th Ward
(commisso.frank@gmail.com, 429-8089)

Jennings elected to fifth term as mayor

2009-11-04T09:18:00.000-05:00

Albany mayor defeats foes after withstanding primary challenge

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST AND TIM O'BRIEN, Staff writers

Direct Link

First published: Wednesday, November 4, 2009

ALBANY -- If Mayor Jerry Jennings is to forge his legacy in the coming four years, he will do it surrounded by new faces in City Hall.
Jennings, 60, rolled to re-election Tuesday night, two months after having survived his most serious Democratic primary challenge from Councilman Corey Ellis, who continued in the general election on the Working Families Party line.

With 98 percent of precincts reporting, Jennings had 63 percent of the vote to Ellis' 29 percent and Republican Nathan Lebron's 7 percent.

Jennings won his fifth term as voters tapped two political newcomers and fellow Democrats to serve alongside him in citywide office: Kathy Sheehan as treasurer and Leif Engstrom as chief city auditor.

Sheehan will assume broad control of city finances after trouncing Treasurer Betty Barnette -- a Jennings ally -- in the Democratic primary, and Republican Mary Ann McGinn on Tuesday night.

Barnette, in her own estimation, became a victim of the controversy surrounding the revelations that some in the city were allowed to dodge parking fines -- the so-called "ghost ticket" scandal -- which despite Ellis' efforts never stuck to Jennings.

Engstrom -- who will shape the new office of audit and control charged with critiquing the efficiency of city government -- was all but assured of election, having won the Democratic primary and having no general election opponent.

Jennings' re-election comes as the Common Council is parsing his proposed 2010 budget, which administration officials describe as having walked a fine line to avoid layoffs in the nation and state's still-struggling economies.

Jennings' fiscal nimbleness will be tested as the state's payments in lieu of taxes on the South Mall are due to plummet some $7.8 million in 2011, even as Jennings contends the state should be paying more for its tax-exempt land inside city limits.

Jennings also has pledged to seek a similar PILOT payment for the Harriman State Office Campus, as well as to continue to lobby the state to release that prime land for private development that would put it back on the tax rolls.

The next four years will also figure largely in the future of the city's expanding Rapp Road landfill -- a fiscal and environmental flash point -- and the much-debated downtown convention center, of which Jennings has been a strong supporter.

Last week, Jennings convened a committee to help him pick his sixth police chief in his 16 years as mayor.

"We've had a lot of successes here, and there are challenges no doubt about it," Jennings told reporters.

With the current economy impacting municipal finances throughout the country, "we have to start getting real creative," Jennings said.

Asked how he would get along with Sheehan, he replied: "This has to be a team effort. I'm looking forward to it."

He later told supporters: "Shame on us if we don't work together for the benefit of the people of the city of Albany."

Jennings is poised to become the city's second-longest tenured mayor in its history, behind only Erastus Corning 2nd, who died in 1983 after 41 years in office.

Jennings defeated Ellis in September's the Democratic primary with 56 percent of the vote. But even in falling about 1,800 votes short on primary night, Ellis forced Jennings into the closest mayoral race since he first won in 1993, winning seven of the city's 15 wards as he assailed Jennings' record on blight and crime.

Ellis, 38, was elected to represent Arbor Hill's 3rd Ward in 2005. In January, he will leave public office.

Ellis' primary victories strayed beyond his home territory of the city's lower inner-city wards, spreading into Center Square and two midtown wards that make up Pine Hills.

Jennings spent more than $500,000 on his re-election, which according to a recent snapshot from the state Board of Elections accounted for 86 percent of all spending in the race.

Sheehan, backed by the some of the same forces that backed Ellis, said she plans to work "cooperatively and collaboratively" with Jennings.

Jennings, in an interview, also stressed a message of unity. "I've had discussions with Leif and Kathy, and I'm very confident that they want to do what's best for the people of the city of Albany," he said. These are no times for us to play petty politics and divide this city."

Councilwoman Carolyn McLaughlin was elected Common Council president.

McLaughlin, who for 12 years has represented the South End's 2nd Ward, handily won her Democratic primary over Leonard Ricchiuti in September.

McLaughlin, a veteran of Albany politics, has talked to Jennings about improving communication with the council -- a sore point with some members who complain Jennings' office does not share information.

"That's something he committed to next year," McLaughlin said. "It's really important we have direct communication with the mayor and the council works together to face some of the challenges."

Reach Carleo-Evangelist at 454-5445 or jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.

Get on our Blog Update List

2009-11-03T14:58:00.000-05:00

Many of the neighbors in Eagle Hill currently exchange e-mails, and I use this list to send out blog update notices.

If you want to receive blog update notices, drop me a note at stevensokal@gmail.com.

GE, UAlbany share $14M in stimulus funding for geothermal

2009-11-03T14:55:00.000-05:00

Friday, October 30, 2009

The Business Review (Albany)

Direct Link

GE Global Research and the University at Albany will share about $13.7 million in federal stimulus money for geothermal energy technologies.

UAlbany will get $2.77 million to install a large geothermal heat pump system that will serve campus facilities.

GE’s grants are:

•$2.4 million to develop high-temperature components for a pumping system that can access deeper geothermal wells •$3 million to develop new technologies that would enable recovery of geothermal energy from lower temperature heat sources using alternative fluids

•$3.4 million to develop a high-tech sensor that can operate at the high temperatures and pressures needed for enhanced geothermal systems. The technology could lead to more cost-effective ways to drill new wells.

$2.08 million to develop an enhanced geothermal system-specific cable capable of accurate, real-time temperature, pressure, strain and vibration sensing in high temperature geothermal environments.

The grants will be matched with a $353 million in private and non-federal cost-share funds.

Note:
The Department of Energy describes this project as "The University at Albany will install a large GHPsystem serving 200,000 sq. ft. of dorm and apartment housing, and will leverage additional incentives from the State of NY."

Thanks all for your support

2009-10-31T16:25:00.000-04:00

Your calls, letters, and petitions in support of our neighborhood produced results!

We had Councilmen Herring and O'Brien, County Legislator Commisso, Assemblyman Jack McEneny, a representative from Senator Breslin and Michael Yevoli of the Mayor's Office in attendance.

In addition, Jordan Carleo-Evangelist of the Times Union mentioned, before the announcement placing the project on hold, that the paper would publish a report of the meeting due to the high interest, as evidenced by your letters.

Thank you for all of your efforts!

Steve Sokal

Leter to Peter Wohl from Frank Commisso

2009-10-31T16:19:00.001-04:00

Frank J. Commisso, Majority Leader
Albany County Legislature
130 Cottage Avenue
Albany, New York 122203

October 30, 2009

Peter Wohl, President
Harriman Research and Technology Development Corporation
7A Harriman Campus Road
Albany, NY 12206

Dear Mr. Wohl:

I represent the 12th Legislative District in the City of Albany also known as the Eagle Hill area and in particular those residing on Tudor, Clarendon, Cambridge and Oxford Roads.

In the past few months there have been meetings between UAlbany Officials and the residents of the Eagle Hill community concerning UAlbany's Dormitory Project. There has been a growing alarm among the residents about the site that UAlbany has chosen for this project, which is directly behind the houses on the west side of Tudor Road.

Numerous issues have been brought up by these residents such as: water runoff, noise pollution, visual impact and the additional traffic that these extra 500 students will have in the area. Notwithstanding the quality of life issues associated with a project of this magnitude.

Since the Harriman Campus is located directly adjacent to the UAlbany Campus many residents in attendance of the abovementioned meetings believe one of the solutions for this project may be to modify UAlbany's plan and to relocate this project to somewhere on the Harriman Campus.

At this point since this project is still in its conceptual stages, I feel that there needs to be a meeting scheduled between Harriman Research and Technology Development Corporation Team, Ualbany Officials and those in the City of Albany elected to represent these citizens. I believe that we can address the concerns of the residents of Eagle Hill, the current and future needs of Ualbany and come up with solutions that can benefit the City of Albany, Ualbany and the development of the Harriman Campus.

Given that time is of the essence please get back to me as soon as possible with possible dates for a meeting so we can work together to find solutions to rectify these issues. Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely yours,
(Signed)
Frank J. Commisso
Majority Leader
Albany County Legislature

FJC:pl
cc: Mayor Gerald Jennings, City of Albany
Senator Neil Breslin, 46th Senate District
Assemblyman Jack McEneny, 104th Assembly District
Commissioner John Egan, NYS OGS
Daniel Herring, Common Council Member 13th Ward
Michael O'Brien, Common Council Member 12th Ward

Why not tone down second guessing?

2009-10-31T16:18:00.000-04:00

First published in print: Saturday, October 31, 2009

Direct Link

The Times Union's recent critique of the Harriman state office campus development plan "(With no vision, Harriman lags," editorial, Oct. 26) ignores its ill-conceived origin.

At the beginning, Gov. George Pataki wanted something for nothing. Faced with aging buildings that had not kept pace with electrical and communications demands of an increasingly computerized work force, Pataki sought to sell off the land -- to generate one-shot revenues, then wash his hands of responsibility for maintaining the existing structures and move all state workers to rented space.

Pataki also hoped to reduce the state's payment in lieu of taxes to Albany, once the Harriman land was returned to the tax rolls. Great minds like perennial commissioner John Egan have struggled to make Pataki's pipe dream work.

Now it seems that only the University at Albany covets this land, wanting to erect monstrosities that would loom over the sedate Eagle Hill neighborhood.

Kudos to the Times Union for writing about UAlbany's dorm plan, but it's time to tone down the second-guessing, especially at a time when there are no deep pockets – private or public – to make Pataki's delusion a reality.

Tim O'Toole

UAlbany puts dorms on hold

2009-10-31T16:14:00.000-04:00

Site of $55M project gets review after uproar from neighbors, officials

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
First published in print: Saturday, October 31, 2009

Direct Link

ALBANY -- The University at Albany has agreed to re-examine alternate locations for a new 500-bed dorm proposed for 12 wooded acres on the school's uptown campus.

UAlbany and Mayor Jerry Jennings revealed the development Friday, less than 24 hours after university officials unveiled a tentative layout for the site near Indian Pond, which featured two 55-foot buildings and was designed to make the proposal more palatable to neighbors on nearby Tudor Road and beyond.

The plans included moving the university's ring road several hundred feet closer to the homes in the Eagle Hill neighborhood, in order to move the dorm buildings further away. The move would also include flanking the ring road with an earthen barrier that would deaden noise and impede storm water runoff.

Despite efforts to answer residents' concerns, the university found itself facing a wall of opposition from citizens and elected officials who contend the university has failed to justify why the complex can't be built somewhere else.

"We're spending a lot of time here trying to make a bad decision good -- and it's a frustrating process," Assemblyman Jack McEneny told UAlbany officials at crowded community meeting Thursday night.

On Friday, UAlbany President George Philip said he was willing to reconsider, according to the to the mayor and a university spokesman.

"Based on numerous conversations with Mayor Jennings and on discussions with Senator (Neil) Breslin and Assemblyman McEneny regarding the concerns expressed by our Albany neighbors and others, President Philip will be reaching out to elected and community leaders to explore viable options, which we hope will be in the best interests of all concerned," said university spokesman Karl Luntta.

Minutes earlier, Jennings had told the Times Union that he discussed the matter with Philip and both agreed it was best to slow the process down.

"I appreciate the president for taking a step back and saying, 'OK, let's look at some other options,'" Jennings said.

While there is no commitment not to build to the dorm on the land just southeast of the Boor Sculpture Studio, the agreement would appear to give critics some breathing room.

Chief among their grievances is their belief that the UAlbany has yet to adequately explain why it chose that site over six others included in a feasibility study it commissioned -- and only involved the public after that key choice had been made.

"I don't understand why the university waited so long to reach out to us," Michael Weisberg, who has lived on Tudor Road for more than 12 years, told UAlbany officials Thursday. "Why are you alienating people who want to work with you?"

Luntta said he could not speculate what options the university would explore or whether they would include revisiting those already examined in the feasibility study. The university rejected other on-campus options, in part, because they would have meant a loss of parking spaces -- an excuse that neighbors and others said was unacceptable.

Residents have beseeched university officials to look at alternatives, including the possibility of building a privately run dorm on the adjacent Harriman State Office Campus, which would help meet the university's housing needs while also putting some of that coveted public land back on the city's tax rolls.

Tudor Road resident Steve Sokal, who helped organize neighborhood resistance to the estimated $60 million project, praised the university's decision. "It's more than breathing room, it's just what we asked for," said Sokal, who started a blog at http://albanyeaglehill.blogspot.com to chronicle the fight.

Given the neighbors' detailed arguments against the proposal, 13th Ward Councilman Daniel Herring, who represents Tudor Road, said he wasn't surprised the university chose to stand down but was surprised it happened so quickly.

The neighbors had "some very strong arguments based on some pretty good research," Herring said. "It gave it a greater dimension than just anger."

Councilman Michael O'Brien, who represents the 12th Ward and also opposes the project, had another take on the sudden reversal.

"Isn't it amazing," O'Brien said, "what can happen in private discussions when an angry mob is standing outside."

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.

UAlbany Press Release on Project

2009-10-31T16:11:00.000-04:00

UAlbany issued a press release dated October 23, 2009 that describes their intended project.

Most notably, UAlbany intended that project would be constructed to be environmentally sustainable, with a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver rating, at a minimum, and that an additional 3.3 acres from the Harriman State Office Campus would be used to help address neighborhood concerns about visual impacts, noise, and storm water.

The press release concludes: "We are your neighbors and we want to be good neighbors," said Philip at a public hearing in September.

Video of UAlbany Eagle Hill October 29, 2009 Meeting

2009-10-31T16:05:00.000-04:00

Elise Van Allen of Albany Community Television (The Unblinking Eye of Public Access Television by and for Citizens) was kind enough to send Joseph Cunniff, Volunteer Videographer to video our meeting.

Here is the link.

You can also view other important meetings at http://www.albanycommunitytelevision.com.

Letter from Senator Breslin to President George Philip

2009-10-31T15:59:00.000-04:00

New York State Senate
Albany, New York 12247

Neil D. Breslin. Senator 46th District
Room 502
State Capitol
Albany, New York 12247

October 14, 2009

Dear ~~President Philip~~: George

I have been contacted by several constituents who reside in the Eagle Hill neighborhood. As I'm sure you are aware, residents of this area are opposed to the construction of a 500 student dormitory in such close proximity to their homes.

On September 17th, residents met with representatives of the University and local legislators to discuss concerns which included:

Water drainage and soil erosion
The possibility of a buffer
Property values and tax implications
Increases in noise, traffic and pollution
Dormitory location alternatives

Residents expressed disappointment concerning the University's lack of openness and short attendance at the meeting. They did not feel their concerns and questions were heard. It is my hope that additional meetings to discuss construction plans can be scheduled.

I'd appreciate your taking the time to review this important issue, so that I may determine how to further assist the residents of the Eagle Hill neighborhood. Thank you for your time, and if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me directly.

Sincerely,
(Signed)
Neil D. Breslin
Member of Senate

ndb:alv

Lincoln Park UAlbany Dorm Connection

2009-10-30T07:40:00.000-04:00

Dan Van Riper recently wrote a post about Lincoln Park in autumn. He describes a fleeting moment on a warm sunny day in the South End at the end of October and has some beautiful photos.

He also observed that all was not quite right with the day -

"It had rained a few days ago so I could hear the Beaverkill roaring underground at the exposed grate and at the manhole cover in the middle of MLK Boulevard. As usual, it stank of sewage. As I wrote earlier this year, the Beaverkill is used today to transport raw untreated sewage from Albany Med and Park South directly into the Hudson River.

The other night I learned that the Beaverkill is effectively used as a sewage overflow as far uptown as the SUNY Albany campus, via a pumping station. SUNY is building several sprawl-style expansion projects that will probably dump all their toilets into this line. If that happens, SUNY's sewage will come up in Washington Park Lake before it arrives in Lincoln Park and overflows into the ravine."

This is a reminder that a major project in town, like the proposed dormitories, affects us all.

With no vision, Harriman lags

2009-10-29T09:42:00.000-04:00

First published in print: Monday, October 26, 2009
Direct Link

Back in the late 1990s, after years of delays, the modernization of Albany International Airport finally took off under the slogan, "getting it done." And done it got.

What, we wonder, might the slogan be for the long-stalled redevelopment of the Harriman State Office Campus, which we're now told is full of new energy, even if no one knows what to do next.

"Ready to figure out how to get it done"?

"All revved up, not sure where to go"?

Or perhaps simply, "This space available."

That last one's as true now as it was seven years ago. The Harriman campus remains 330 acres of unrealized potential.

And 330 acres of what one would think would be some of the most prime acreage in upstate New York -- utilities all in place, direct interstate access, a major university next door, state government a quick drive down the street, and a choice of urban, suburban and rural housing and lifestyles within less than an hour's drive.

Yes, we know the economy hasn't been particularly hot lately. But what about the last seven years?

Admittedly, the airport and Harriman are two different kinds of projects. The airport was a straightforward undertaking -- a site with a single use, a project with a clear design. Harriman, an aging office campus occupied by about 7,400 state workers, at this point has no blueprint.

Nor, it seems, a strong, clear vision. First there was Governor Pataki's idea to demolish all the state buildings and turn the campus into a high-tech hub. Four years later, a master plan emerged, for a mixed-used urban neighborhood of high-tech companies, stores, restaurants, residences, grand boulevards and a large park.

Then came Governor Spitzer and an entirely new plan -- keep state workers there and build four new office buildings. Now there's another governor in place and the possibility that, with the next gubernatorial election a little more than a year away, there could be yet another with a whole new opinion on the matter.

Last year, two developers submitted plans for the campus. The Harriman Research and Technology Corp., which was charged with overseeing the Harriman redevelopment, never responded. Its board didn't even meet for 15 months before gathering this week, only to adjourn for another month and a half.

A project on the fast track this isn't.

As for a vision, that appears to be gone. Harriman now seems to be consigned to piecemeal development -- a new state food lab here, a new SUNY dorm there. Over the last seven years, several dozen developers took a look at Harriman, and walked away.

Here then, perhaps, is what the Harriman planners should do next: Find out why. The answers seem all too apparent.

The issue:

Seven years after it was announced, the Harriman Campus redevelopment remains stalled.

The stakes:

The waste of time rivals the waste of prime land.

To comment: tuletters@timesunion.com

No dorms please - Times Union

2009-10-29T08:16:00.000-04:00

By SCOTT WALDMAN, Staff writer

Direct Link

Residents around the proposed new dorms at the University at Albany are not happy that a towering mass of students will be their new neighbors. The school has long been looking to increase the number of dorms it offers.

College students don't always make for the cheeriest neighbors. They tend to view their stay as temporary and leave trails of red Solo keg cups in their wake. In the case of the Eagle Hill neighborhood, near where construction of the new dormitory is proposed, that means they'll have less of buffer between the nearby woods and the school.

Enter state Assemblyman Jack McEneny.

He recently sent a letter to University at Albany President George Philip asking him to scrap the plan because it would intrude upon those who live near the school, some whose families have lived in the same homes for generations.

"I fear the University is about to plunge into a quagmire of Town-Gown hostility by encroaching on its nearby residential neighbors," McEneny wrote.

In the letter, McEneny -- longtime Albany politician and unofficial city historian -- warned Philip that the destruction of the "ecologically sensitive" pine forest during the construction of some buildings is still a painful memory.

"I urge you to get your tenure off on the correct foot by putting an end to this second plan to intrude on the neighbors," McEneny wrote.

Public Meeting at the University At Albany

2009-10-27T15:56:00.000-04:00

The planned construction of student housing is the subject of a meeting this Thursday, October 29, 2009, 7:00 PM in the Hall of Fame Room, SEFCU Arena on the University at Albany campus.

The University will show renderings of their planned development of the Southeast Corner site and collect comments on their designes.

As neighbors, we should show UAlbany our interest and concern! Please make every effort to attend!

Eagle Hill Neighborhood Association Meeting Tuesday at 7PM

2009-10-26T07:56:00.000-04:00

I've received the following announcement from Ray Moran -

There will be a meeting of the Eagle Hill Neighborhood Association on Tuesday night at 7pm at the Eagle Point Elementary School at Western Ave and Russsell Rd. We will have the monthly reports from Rick Romand, APD, on police matters and from Chris Kollias, AFD, on safety and code issues.

There is also the matter of the proposed dormitories on the southeast corner of the UAlbany campus. The resolution below is being prepared for the city's Common Council. As you will see, the proposed dorms should be a concern for all city tax payers. One has to wonder where all the conservationists are when SUNY proposes to build on an area that their own consultants have labelled as wetlands.

Please join us to offer your comments and your support for the resolution and the council persons presenting it.

DRAFT

A RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT ALBANY, THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, THE NEW YORK STATE DORMITORY AUTHORITY, AND OTHER INVOLVED AGENCIES OF GOVERNMENT TO REFRAIN FROM BUILDING STUDENT HOUSING ON AN APPROXIMATELY ELEVEN ACRE SITE ADJACENT TO TUDOR ROAD, ALBANY.

Whereas, the University at Albany has a large student population and

Whereas, many of the students come to the University from outside of the Capital region therefore requiring local student housing and

Whereas, the University has a capital plan which calls for the building of a campus dorm to house five hundred students and

Whereas, one of the primary locations proposed for of this large student dorm is an approximately eleven acre plot of land located adjacent to Tudor Road in the City of Albany and

Whereas, the City of Albany is impacted in many ways by the University, providing to it fire and safety services, EMS services, streets and traffic services, water and sewer services, and other necessary services and

Whereas, the University is largely an autonomous operation, independent of the City of Albany regarding planning functions and tax support and

Whereas, the resident neighbors of the University have expressed serious concerns regarding the impact of such large proposed student dorm on their neighborhood and

Whereas, the section of Western Avenue in proximity to the proposed site for this student dorm, has been the location of numerous accidents in recent years, including three fatalities and

Whereas, the development of this currently wooded approximately eleven acre area would cause additional storm water runoff into an area of Western Avenue which is already prone to flooding and

Whereas, the closest sanitary sewer line to the proposed site is only a twelve inch diameter pipe and

Whereas, the combined downstream storm water capacity is already inadequate to handle the current overflow, causing sewer back ups even in down stream areas remote from the University Campus and

Whereas, the existing conditions already necessitate a SPEDES permit for the overflow discharge of sanitary sewerage into the Krumkill Creek at the City of Albany’s Woodville Pumping Station and

Whereas, the City of Albany must through property taxes bear an unfair burden of supporting the infrastructure and services to the disproportionate number of public and private institutions which pay no taxes and

Whereas, the University has already designated itself as its own lead agency in determining whether or not to conduct full SEQRA environmental review regarding the proposed construction project and

Whereas, the University is exempt from obtaining City of Albany permits for this development which will impact the City’s infrastructure and services and

Whereas, the ideal of a University is to foster cooperation and understanding between academia and its host community

NOW, therefore we call upon the State University of New York at Albany, the University of the State of New York, the New York State Dormitory Authority, and all other involved governmental agencies, to refrain from building the proposed student dorm on the approximately eleven acre site adjacent to Tudor Road in the City of Albany, and to consider other sites which will have less negative impact on the City of Albany and its neighborhoods.

--
Ray Moran, President
Eagle Hill Neighborhood Association
12 Glynn St
Albany, NY 12203
482-9336
eaglehillNA@gmail.com

Support from Jack McEneny

2009-10-25T10:22:00.000-04:00

Jack O'Connor and Leslie Knauf passed along Jack McEneny's letter to George Philip.

Many of you responded to JoEllen Gardner's call for letters to both Assemblyman McEneny and Senator Breslin - either by passing along her suggested letter or by offering your own.

Thanks to everyone who spoke up! Thanks to Jack McEneny for listening to us and offering his support!

Jack's letter appears below -

The Assembly - State of New York

JOHN J. MC ENENY- Member of Assembly

Oct. 21, 2009

George M. Philip
University at Albany
1400 Washington Ave. UNH #302
Albany, NY 12220

Dear ~~President Philip~~: George

Once again, let me congratulate you on your selection as president of the University at Albany, one of the economic engines in this area and a jewel among the SUNY system.

There are many challenges and opportunities ahead of you, and I am certain you will be very successful. Unfortunately, I fear the University is about to plunge into a quagmire of Town-Gown hostility by encroaching on its nearby residential neighbors. The campus is extensively scarred by surface-level parking lots, with proper environmental planning any one of which could be site for new dormitories. In the process, the parking-lot water runoff problem could be dealt with. Dormitories over parking lots would provide 'covered' parking, and something much appreciated when it snows and something students and faculty might be willing to subsidize with higher parking fees.

The Eagle Hill residents are mostly long-time supporters and backers of the University at Albany, especially since the academic podium plan promised wide barriers between university buildings and their homes. This is an area of substantial one-family homes, some occupied by the same family for two or three generations. These neighbors should be treated with respect and left alone on their quiet residential streets.

I urge you to get your tenure off on the correct foot by putting an end to this second plan to intrude on the neighbors. The destruction of the ecologically valuable pine forest is still a painful memory for many people. I strongly urge you to change direction on this very sensitive issue.

Sincerely,
(signed)
John J. McEneny
Member of Assembly
cc: Neighborhood Associations

Comments from Ray Moran and Housing Options

2009-10-23T18:11:00.000-04:00

I also received today some messages from Ray Moran concerning today's news about the Harriman developments.

"As you know, I've been talking with a number of city officials lately about the campus development. Coincidentally, I have also spoken with old friends who are in the commercial real estate and/or construction fields.

Leslie Knauf, among others, points out that the two sites mentioned for the proposed dorms are too near the Clarendon Rd/Tudor Rd area. Most people would agree with that.

One alternative suggestion is to build over the parking lot/s on the campus. I believe it is the State Quad at the northeast corner of the campus. That land is far more stable than the area along Tudor Rd. It is also closer to the academic podium. From just about every perspective, it makes more sense to have a high-rise dorm with parking below. If they wanted to get fancier they could have parking in the center like The Alexander Apartments on Washington Ave.

As taxpayers, we should all urge Mayor Jennings to continue his plan to get more of the Harriman Campus back onto the tax rolls."

Ray and Don's suggestions are good. It shows that at least the neighbors are thinking about options for student housing. We would only ask that whoever ends up providing student housing on either the UAlbany or Harriman Campuses consider any reasonable option and chose an option that enhances the quality of life for students and neighbors.

Private Dormitories for UAlbany

2009-10-23T17:57:00.000-04:00

I received the following e-mails from Don Reeb. He proposes that private dormitories be considered as an option in meeting the housing needs of UAlbany students.

"I am a great fan of building private dorms along the Washington Avenue side of the Harriman campus--this yields taxes, more security, fewer cars on the university campus (assuming that shuttles are provided from the dorms to the classroom buildings), will look like the motels already built along Washington Avenue, and no increased demand for City services like schools, which other uses of the Harriman campus might create. Since the private dorms would house students presently living elsewhere in the City, traffic on Washington Avenue would be less, again assuming shuttle service.

If you want to see what we could have on the Harriman campus--google "private dormitories" and look at the sites--especially the one for "Austin Private Dormitory Association".

It's pretty awesome in comparison to anything we have in the Capital District.

The Austin Texas state university (University of Texas) is a lot bigger than the University at Albany but still........"

Don Reeb, president, McKownville Improvement Association.

Here are the links that Don had recommended:

Members of the Austin Private Dormitory Association
http://www.thecastilian.com/
http://www.dobiecenter.com/
http://www.goodallwooten.com/
http://www.hardinhouse.com/web222/
http://www.srd.org/
http://www.universitytowers.com/fairfield/main.htm

Harriman board says developer may be picked within 6 weeks

2009-10-23T15:13:00.000-04:00

The Business Review (Albany) - by Adam Sichko

The board overseeing the state’s Harriman office campus in Albany, N.Y., said it could select a developer for the campus within the next six weeks.

The board for the W. Averell Harriman State Office Campus met Oct. 20, for the first time in 15 months. The board is attempting to revive dormant plans to redevelop almost half of the 330-acre campus—an initiative that stalled amid the recession, changing leadership and the state’s problems with record-high deficits.

Throughout this decade, the state has pursued an ambitious plan to renovate the campus to lure high-tech companies to the site, and build retail shops and residential units. Three developers submitted bids to redevelop the campus in 2006, but former Gov. Eliot Spitzer decided to start over. The ongoing credit crunch and the state’s dire fiscal condition have further stalled progress.

Two developers submitted plans in September 2008. One team is led by Howard Carr, president of The Howard Group, in Colonie. The second team is headed by Columbia Development Cos. of Albany.

Board members now say they could pick a winning plan as early as the next board meeting, which will occur no more than six weeks from now.

“We want a resolution on it. We must act one way or the other,” said Peter Wohl, the president of the Harriman Research and Technology Corp. “They [developers] deserve to know.”

Wohl said the meeting should be viewed as a positive step toward “reinvigorating” the Harriman plans. The previous board meeting was held July 2008, under different leadership at both the Harriman board and Empire State Development Corp., the state’s economic agency.

“We will not go another 13, 14, 15 months without a board meeting,” vowed Dennis Mullen, the chairman, president and CEO of Empire State Development. The Harriman board and campus development falls under the state agency’s jurisdiction.

Mullen said credit markets will largely dictate the pace of development at Harriman. He said the tight credit markets, a by-product of the recession, have hit developers and small businesses the hardest.

“When the markets turn, there will be a flood of interest in developing this property at this value,” Mullen said. “The challenge is simple: Get this back on track, understand we’re in a challenging market, and prepare a go-to-market strategy for when cash starts flowing again in the development community.”

Little action occurred at the meeting. The board voted to confirm Wohl as the board’s president, following his appointment to the post in late May. Wohl also oversees the Capital Region and the North Country for Empire State Development.

The board went into closed session to discuss what a meeting agenda referred to as “campus development strategy.” The closed session was legal under a provision of state law allowing such sessions for boards to discuss “proposed acquisition, sale or lease of real property,” according to attorneys with Empire State Development.

No votes were taken during the closed session, said John Egan, a Harriman board member and commissioner of the state Office of General Services. He and others would not say what was discussed during the executive session.

“This is still viable. Harriman still has tremendous value,” Egan said of Harriman. “We’re just waiting for the economy to turn around.”

asichko@bizjournals.com

Harriman state office campus back on track

2009-10-23T07:07:00.000-04:00

Energy is there, says chief of planned redevelopment, but next step remains unclear

By CHRIS CHURCHILL, Business writer
First published in print: Friday, October 23, 2009

ALBANY -- The new head of the Harriman Research and Technology Corp. says the planned redevelopment of the state office campus in Albany is back on track, with a renewed energy and focus.

But Peter Wohl also indicated the next step in the long-stalled redevelopment effort is unclear.

The board overseeing the Harriman redevelopment might decide to award development rights to either of the local firms vying to build on the 330-acre campus near the University at Albany, he said.

But the board might also scrap those plans and issue yet another request for development proposals.

"The next big hurdle here is deciding on the development approach," said Wohl, who in June was selected for the Harriman post.

Last year, two development teams, one led by Columbia Development of Albany and the other by The Howard Cos. of Colonie, submitted detailed plans for campus development -- but the Harriman board never responded.

The board, in fact, this week met for the first time in 15 months, a long delay that again stalled the plan, first announced in 2003, to turn the Harriman State Office Campus into a hub for private and high-technology development.

Wohl conceded the delay was not productive, adding the board will meet again in about six weeks.

A subject likely to be discussed at that meeting is a proposal, unpopular with some Albany neighbors, to build a 500-bed University at Albany dormitory on the property.

Wohl said the project might fit into plans to turn the campus into a "live, work, play" area with round-the-clock activity. It might also provide a long hoped-for link between the two campuses.

"It's an interesting proposal," Wohl said, adding that "it's something the board is now discussing."

UAlbany must consider impact

2009-10-21T08:01:00.001-04:00

First published in print: Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Paul Bray's Oct. 11 article, "UAlbany needs to turn its vision outward," underestimates the University at Albany's failure to consider the environmental consequences of its actions.

The 500-bed dormitory UAlbany is planning to build will not consume a mere three acres as Mr. Bray reports, but rather will be a 15-acre project.

Even if 3.3 acres are obtained from the Harriman Office Campus, the bulk of the project will consist of five-story buildings on a site that could come within as little as 100 feet of the adjoining neighborhood of one- and two-story houses. Since the houses are at a lower elevation than the dormitory site, the 15 acres with impervious surfaces (buildings, parking lots and sidewalks) will displace rainwater into a neighborhood that already struggles with inadequate drainage.

UAlbany has given no consideration to the aesthetic and physical impacts that this project will have on the neighborhood. If the university had reached out to its neighbors before it began work on this project, they would have told the university that a dormitory is the wrong project for this site.

As Mr. Bray correctly points out, however, the university's inward focus disrespects the surrounding community and ultimately undermines its own stated goals.

Michael Weisberg
Albany

UAlbany needs to turn its vision outward

2009-10-13T09:46:00.000-04:00

Here is an editorial by Paul Bray, as published in the Times Union on Sunday, October 11, 2009 -

I was surprised and delighted to learn about the University at Albany going green.

About a month after the late UAlbany President Kermit Hall arrived in Albany in 2005, I had an opportunity to talk with him. He told me the last major effort he made as president of Utah State University was a environmental sustainability audit.

When Hall proposed doing this in Albany, the response from leaders on and off campus was not positive. He didn't find much interest in environmental matters, but he told me that UAlbany was going to have a strong environmental program.

Taking a quick look at what other colleges and universities are doing, I see UAlbany is riding an environmental wave. As Auden Schendler, an environmental writer and executive director of sustainability at Aspen Skiing Co., declared, "Colleges without rocking enviro programs are failed businesses."

On the Sierra Club's Cool Schools survey of top green colleges, UAlbany ranked 55th with a B-. There is room for improvement, but at least UAlbany is in the middle of more than 100 schools considered.

Congress, in continuing to support dirty coal and industrial agriculture, seems unable to find the overall benefits to our economy and welfare in the interface between climate and business. But students realize their future success will depend on how they take advantage of emerging climate- and green-focused economies.

In the early 1970s, UAlbany had an environmental studies program under Lou Ismay. He and his enthusiastic students were among the earliest advocates for protecting the Albany Pine Bush. Their advocacy helped lead to the creation of the now more than 3,000-acre Pine Bush Preserve.

UAlbany's new era of environmental engagement was the subject of a recent press event with State University Chancellor Nancy Zimpher and UAlbany President George Philip. They announced sustainability initiatives "that aim to reduce harmful carbon emissions on the nation's roadways and across the campus."

One initiative will aim to cut wait-time at intersections "to reduce automobile engine idling time and greenhouse gas emissions." The other project will increase transportation options for commuting students, faculty and staff -- including hybrid buses, improved transit and bike and ride-share programs.

This is great but for one thing: the same old problem of UAlbany looking inward in its development.

While Syracuse University moved its architecture school downtown, UAlbany plans to build its new business school on campus. While other universities leverage their student residence development to support mixed-use development in their city centers, UAlbany is planning 500 dorm units either isolated on the northeast wooded corner of the campus or on 3.3 acres of the adjacent Harriman Office Campus, if a land transfer can be made. Goodbye trees, hello parking lots. UAlbany remains campus-bound and suburban.

The project includes 300 to 350 parking spaces for a university seeking to reduce its carbon foot print. Racks for 500 bicycles and walkways would be good; more parking is not good.

The key to sustainability is walkable communities for work, study, home, shopping and recreation. Universities should be the leaders in fostering these communities by their example and participation.

The State University's mission is to encourage and support local economies. Isolated dorms and new facilities on campus do not serve this mission.

I believe in Chancellor Zimpher's good intentions when she said with President Philips, "One of the highest priorities throughout the SUNY system is emphasis on sustainability research and practice." But the chancellor needs to keep in mind that the real practice of sustainability will require universities and colleges to be fully connected to their communities.

Paul M. Bray is founding president of the Albany Roundtable civic lunch forum. His e-mail address is secsunday@aol.com.

UAlbany Dormitory Meeting Announcement

2009-10-10T08:25:00.000-04:00

We received the following letter yesterday -

University At Albany
State University of New York

October 6, 2009

Dear Neighbor:

We are writing to invite you to a follow-up meeting with the University regarding the planned new construction of apartment style, student housing on the southeast portion of the University campus.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, October 29, at 7 pm in the Hall of Fame Room in the SEFCU Arena, located just off the Western Avenue entrance to the Campus. This is the same location as the September 17 forum. Parking will be available in the SEFCU lot at no charge.

As discussed at the September 17 forum, the purpose of this follow-up meeting is to share a concept rendering(s) of the planned development, incorporating your collective comments in the design of the site and buildings, as best we can.

This letter is coming to you based on information provided in the sign-in sheet at the September 17 forum. We also plan to advertise once again in the Times Union community events pages (print and on-line) and in the University's on-line events calendar.

Should you have any comments or questions prior to the meeting, please register them at the following website: http://www.albany.edu/facilities/feedback.html or by calling 956-8090.

We look forward to meeting with you on the 29th.

Sincerely,
Stephen J. Beditz
Interim Vice President
for Finance and Business

Neighborhood Buzz

2009-09-30T07:28:00.000-04:00

Kim Baker has prepared a petition, has gotten helpers, and is circulating it throughout Eagle Hill and adjacent neighborhoods. Please sign on to show your support!

Greg Dahlman from All over Albany sent me a report-

Hi Steve:
Thanks for reaching out to us. We'll definitely follow the blog.
I was driving through that part of campus today and there were
surveyors out working...
Thanks again...
Greg

Leslie Knauf says -
Steve,
As a 12-year alumna of NYS government (former press officer and director of business development for the NYS Thruway Authority), I would add that it's vitally important that neighbors also contact Assemblyman John McEneny and State Senator Neil Breslin, respectively, whether via phone, online (web contact info below) or snail mail.

SUNY is an entity of NYS government and our neighborhood is in their respective legislative districts. The more constituents who contact them to express opposition to SUNY's siting of this project at this stage in its development, the better. These two elected representatives need to be made aware that there is little, if any, support for the siting of this project in the vicinity of this neighborhood, and that the consideration of options has been less than ideal.

At the very least, we should keep them in the loop, especially if other elected officials at the local level are not adequately responsive to our concerns.

Assemblyman John J. McEneny
LOB 648
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-4178
http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/?ad=104&sh=con

Senator Neil D. Breslin
502 Capitol
Albany, NY 12247
518-455-2225
http://www.nysenate.gov/senator/neil-d-breslin/contact

JoEllen Gardner and Margaret Roberts have been putting together draft letters for this purpose.

Please! Do support your neighbors and write these officials!

We are now covered by All Over Albany!

2009-09-30T07:23:00.000-04:00

All Over Albany is a wonderful blog that covers all of the really local news in town.

They said the following:

Jerry Jennings has proposed using land from the Harriman State Office Campus to allow a buffer zone between the dorm UAlbany wants to build on the east side of its campus and the residential neighborhood next door. Many of the residents of the neighborhood are not happy about the proposed dorm and have been posting developments about the project to a blog. [TU]

They also take comments, and some of the discussion are interesting. Check them out!

Can a buffer zone appease neighbors?

2009-09-30T07:22:00.000-04:00

Jennings floats land deal to ease concerns about UAlbany dorm site plan

By JORDAN CARLEO-EVANGELIST, Staff writer
Click byline for more stories by writer.
First published: Monday, September 28, 2009

ALBANY -- Mayor Jerry Jennings is trying to broker a land transfer from the Harriman State Office Campus to the University at Albany in a bid to ease neighbors' concerns about a proposal for a new 500-bed dorm off Tudor Road.

If approved by the state Office of General Services, which runs the sprawling office campus, and SUNY trustees, the 3.3-acre exchange might help put the proposed student housing farther from nearby homes near the southeastern corner of UAlbany's campus.

OGS has just begun reviewing the proposal, agency spokesman Brad Maione said.

The idea was floated by Jennings in a Sept. 17 meeting at the SEFCU Arena with at least 85 local neighbors, many of whom were hostile to the project because they fear it will increase noise, traffic and flooding problems around their homes.

UAlbany President George Philip told community members the university hopes to get the acreage to soften the project's impact.

"We are your neighbors, and we want to be good neighbors," Philip said.

But homeowners countered that any mass cutting of trees in the area, which is almost entirely wooded, will send more storm runoff their way, and they accused the university of choosing the site -- one of seven considered -- before conducting a proper environmental review.

UAlbany only recently hired architecture firm PS&S to design the project -- so much of the details about how it will look and sit on the site just southeast of the university's Boor Sculpture Studio remain unknown.

Steve Sokal, who lives on Tudor Road and has started a blog to keep neighbors informed about the project, questioned why the university has hired an architect before determining that the site is environmentally appropriate.

John Giarrusso, the university's associate vice president for facilities management, said the project could require 300 to 350 parking spaces but stressed it is still "basically a blank slate."

Site maps shown to the crowd showed a 100-foot buffer for the nearest homes on Tudor Road -- but Giarrusso said the university cannot commit to keeping the buffer at 100 feet in all areas until it knows how the buildings will be oriented on the site.

County Legislator Frank Commisso said the buffer should be at least twice that. He also called on the university to study potential flooding and sewer overflow impacts about a mile downstream in the city's sewer system around Wellington, Woodville and Fountain avenues, near the Bethlehem town line.

On Friday, Commisso, like several others, said the prospect of the land deal was news to him.

Common Councilman Michael O'Brien, who represents to the 12th Ward to the north of the Harriman campus, questioned whether the proposal signals the fraying of a detailed plan to redevelop the office campus.

Jennings has publicly expressed frustration that the plan seems to have stalled. The board of the Harriman Research and Technology Development Corp., a state entity that is redeveloping the 330-acre campus into a technology park, has not met since July 2008.

Peter Wohl, president of the corporation, said the board was to have met Sept, 21 and likely would have discussed the land proposal, but that meeting was postponed until next month because of President Barack Obama's visit.

He said it's too soon to tell what position the board might take on the proposal. But Jennings, a member of the board, supports it and said he thinks OGS also will.

OGS Commissioner John Egan and Philip are also on the board.

The goal, O'Brien noted, is to get much of the campus land back on the tax rolls, which becomes more difficult if UAlbany begins to encroach.

"They let a good plan drop into oblivion, and it's SUNY just constantly chipping away at this prize," O'Brien said. "Albany deserves the prize."

Jordan Carleo-Evangelist can be reached at 454-5445 or by e-mail at jcarleo-evangelist@timesunion.com.

Who will build the dormitories?

2009-09-30T07:04:00.000-04:00

UAlbany will be using Paulus, Sokolowski & Sartor Engineering as the architect for the dormitory project. Information about the company can be found here.

The Dormitory Authority expects to issue a request for bids from construction companies in around Christmas, 2010! (The DASNY schedule can be found here. A legal notice will appear in the Times Union when the request is ready. Keep you eyes open! The contract award is expected in February, 2010.

Any qualified construction company that is interested in the project can bid for the project. One of Mayor Jennings favorite contractors, BBL, could be in line for this job. Is this why the Mayor is not defending our Eagle Hill neighborhood? Share your views here.

Important Review and Construction Dates!

2009-09-30T06:27:00.000-04:00

State Environmental Quality Review

New York's State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQR) requires all state and local government agencies to consider environmental impacts equally with social and economic factors during discretionary decision-making. More information about SEQR can be found here and here

UAlbany is currently preparing a Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement. It will describe the twenty construction projects that are being planned, including the construction 500 bed dormitories. It will also describe the impacts from this project. The University has stated that it will address the following impacts:
Impact on Land
• Impact on Water
• Impact of Drainage
• Impact on Air
• Impact on Climate Change
• Impact on Plants and Animals
• Impact on Aesthetic Resources
• Impact on Historical and Archeological Resources
• Impact on Open Space and Recreation
• Impact on Transportation
• Impact on Energy
• Impact on Noise and Odors
• Impact on Public Health and Safety
• Impact on Community Character and Land Use

The public release of the Draft Generic Environmental Impact Statement was scheduled for the end of September 2009. (The full schedule of the environmental review can be found here. As we know all too well, the University had not heard our views on these impacts until the September 17, 2009 meeting. I have asked John Giarrusso for a copy of any notes taken at that meeting. He said that he had none, and that none were taken. Perhaps you would like to remind him of the issues in writing!

After the Environmental Impact Statement is released, a public hearing has to be held. This was scheduled for the end of October 2009.

The preparation of a Final GEIS Completion notice is to be issued within 45 days of hearing.

Finally a Complete Findings Statement should be publicly available approximately 30 days after the issuance of FGEIS.

At the end of this process, the project can start if UAlbany makes a Negative Declaration, or a document that shows, in writing,the reasons why the identified environmental impacts will not be significant. If the University makes this decision, construction could start next February!

Let UAlbany know that Eagle Hill residents feel that construction of dormitories next to our homes will certainly have environmental impacts!

From Metroland - Volume 32 - Number 39 - September 24, 2009

2009-09-24T18:16:00.000-04:00

The School on the Hill

Eagle Hill residents say there are alternatives to the proposed construction of student housing in their neighborhood

Last Thursday, more than 100 residents of the Eagle Hill neighborhood bordering the University at Albany uptown campus gathered at a public hearing to voice their concerns over the proposed construction of student housing for 500 college students. Although university President George Phillips and Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings left minutes into the meeting, the residents spent the next hour and a half expressing their concerns to John Giarrusso, the university’s vice president of physical facilities.

“We felt that we fairly represented ourselves to the University,” said Steven Sokal of 36 Tudor Street and a seven-year resident of Eagle Hill.

In addition to concerns over the environmental, financial and quality-of-life impact of the proposed construction, the residents also take issue with what they feel is a lack of honest communication between the university and the residents of Eagle Hill.

The proposed project would be constructed on the southeast end of the campus and would include two five-story dormitory buildings in addition to a 250-space parking lot. The construction would take place on a 13-acre piece of land that remains the only natural untouched environment on the uptown campus.

“On the plus side, the university will be allowed to take steps to enhance their position as a world-leading educational institution,” Sokal said. “There will be, for the duration of the project, some activity on Wall Street issuing bonds in order to fund the project, and there’ll be some construction jobs as the project is being done, but that’s about it for positives.”

Sokal and his neighbors are concerned with the quality-of-life issues that 500 additional college students will bring to the residential neighborhood, as well as the environmental impact regarding flooding in the area.

“There have been a number of underground streams that have been paved over in the immediate neighborhood,” Sokal said. “It’s a preexisting condition. On our property itself, we do have water lying on the back of the property, and the reason for that is the university’s property is about 15 feet higher in elevation than us, so it drains into our backyard. The university, in examining the water issue, took a look at their own property but they failed to acknowledge that if you start paving over 13 acres of land, which they probably will do in putting down 250 parking spaces, the water will have to go somewhere.”

In addition, Sokal expressed concern over the increased cost to the city with the construction of the student housing.

“The dormitories are going to be located in the city, so the fire and police departments will have to respond to emergency situations,” Sokal said. “The city will have to deal with the downstream storm-water sewage from the proposed project, and it seems as though the university has said that there will be absolutely no increase in their PILOT payments to the city nor will there be any taxes coming to the city for all the additional costs inflicted on the city.”

According to Sokal, the city may also lose tax revenue were the assessed property values of the homes in Eagle Hill to drop due to the proposed project.

In November 2008, S/L/A/M Architects P.C. prepared a “Feasibility Study and Options Analysis for New Student Housing,” in which they identified the three potential sites for new student-housing construction. While the southeast corner was designated as the ideal site, two other locations—Dutch Quad West and State Quad East—were classified as optimal sites.

There may also be a private alternative to new construction of student housing.

“We have heard from an attorney representing an owner of a very large building in the city of Albany,” Sokal said. “He said that he heard about our situation, and that he had a building space to offer that would be a very good alternative to the university constructing.” According to Sokal, the space would have twice the capacity, is currently available, has previously been used as dormitory space, and would be available for a fraction of the cost. He said that he does not know where this building is located, and that the attorney would not name his client. Sokal declined to name the attorney, saying that he did not want to jeopardize what he considers to be the best way out for the neighborhood and the university.

Communication between the residents and the university had been limited prior to the public hearing last Thursday. Thirteenth Ward Common Councilman Dan Herring sent a letter to the university president on behalf of the Eagle Hill neighborhood outlining concerns over the proposed project. Phillips responded with a letter saying that the university does intend to communicate with the residents of Eagle Hill, but that “at this point into the project, we are still evaluating site conditions and have not yet hired the architects to start the design process.”

“The draft generic environmental impact statement is due out at the end of October,” Sokal said, “and at that time the university would state their position concerning the proposed construction. It’s critical that any action that does occur takes place before that report is issued.”

A call to John Giarrusso was directed to Media Relations, who did not return a call as of press time.

—Cecelia Martinez

UAlbany Dorm Timeline

2009-09-20T10:37:00.000-04:00

April 2008 Facilities News, a newsletter issued by the Office of Facilities Management at UAlbany describes $123 million in new capital support for the uptown and downtown campuses from the 2008-2009 State Budget. Among the projects the University University was "New Bed Construction - the University is exploring the construction of perhaps 500 to 1,000 new residence hall beds. Partial funding is earmarked to initiate planning and design of apartment style beds on or near campus."
July 14, 2008 Kick-off of the Capital Plan Generic Environmental Impact Statement project with its consultant O'Brien and Gere.
September 4, 2008 UAlbany and O'Brien and Gere send a notification letter to officials. The letter states that UAlbany was proposing 17 projects, including "1. Student Housing Project - Construction of new student housing facilities with approximately 500 apartment-style beds. They also indicated that, unless they heard an objection, that they would assume responsibility for the preparation of the Impact Statement required by the State Environment Quality Review law.
Government officials that received this letter included:
Hon. Gerald Jennings, Mayor
Hon. Michael Breslin, County Executive
Robert Cross, Commissioner, Water Department
Michael Yevoli, Commissioner, Department of Development and Planning
Hon. Sandra Fox, Common Council 15th Ward
Hon. Shawn Morris, Common Council President
Frank J. Commisso, County Legislature – District 12
William M. Clay, County Legislature – District 13
Mary Lou B. Connolly, County Legislature – District 32

No objection from these officials were apparently received.

November 13, 2008 Meeting with the McKownville Improvement Association about the Capital Construction Plan. No other similar meetings were held.
November 28, 2008 Feasibility Study and Options Analysis for New Student Housing report prepared by S/L/A/M Architects P.C. For UAlbany
January 23, 2009 Legal announcement in the Times Union. It described a scoping meeting for development of the Environmental Impact Statement. The notice referred to "a listing of capital projects" as the topic of the meeting. There was no community outreach beyond this notice, and no mention of dormitories.
March 10, 2009 Public meeting held with four attendees, three of which were McKownville residents and the fourth was a student. There was no contact whatsoever with Eagle Hill residents - those most affected by the dormitory project.
May 2009 Appearance of surveyors from C. T. Male on Tudor Road properties in May, 2009. When asked who they were working for, they said “The University”. When we contacted Facilities Management, we were told that there were no plans for development of the parcel.
In viewing the UAlbany and Dormitory Authority websites, we found that UAlbany had already conducted a feasibility study for student housing, started its Generic Environmental Impact Statement Process, held public hearings without attendance from our neighborhood, and through the Dormitory Authority, was procuring architectural services for the construction of 2 five-story towers with 500 beds and 250 parking spaces.
We contacted Councilman Dan Herring about this appalling lack of communication from the University about a construction project that seriously harms the quiet, residential character of this neighborhood. He sent a letter to President Philip, and the response was that there were no firm plans, and that the neighbors would have an opportunity to comment in the fall.
September, 17, 2009 We are here at this public meeting today, after two days notice.

Press Release on Dormitories

2009-09-20T09:31:00.000-04:00

Albany Residents Oppose UAlbany’s Plans to Construct Large Dorms Near Their Neighborhood

UAlbany Plans Will Destroy Only Natural “Green Space” Environment on Campus

ALBANY, NY – Residents of Eagle Hill will meet on September 17^th, with the President of the University at Albany, Mayor Jennings and other officials at a Public Hearing to discuss plans to construct large 5-story dormitories and a 350 space parking lot on 13 acres of land which remains the only natural untouched environment on the uptown campus. This environment of woods and wetlands slopes down into the backyards of Tudor Road homeowners and is currently used by students, nearby residents and the general public for recreational purposes and to provide a natural buffer between the campus and the quiet residential neighborhood.

At the meeting Eagle Hill residents will share their concerns about the adverse environmental impacts of the construction project, as well as voice their disappointment concerning UAlbany’s lack of communication about their plans. Tudor Road residents discovered the University’s plans only through questioning surveyors who were working in their backyards and on their street during several weeks this past spring. As Steve Sokal, homeowner on Tudor Road points out, “We have had to spread the news ourselves, without assistance from the University or city officials. Many of us have contacted elected officials, and gotten little or no satisfactory response.”

At tonight’s hearing, neighborhood residents expect to learn more about the process by which UAlbany selected the Southeast Corner of the campus to be the construction site, over other proposed alternative sites, and about UAlbany’s preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which is required by New York’s Environmental Conservation Law. Neighbors at the hearing also plan to submit their comments about the adverse environmental impacts to UAlbany so they can be added to the EIS. Ira Bloom, another Tudor Road resident explains that he thought “SUNY was involved in the green and sustainable movement, so in the face of New York State's strict Environmental Conservation Law and regulations how can SUNY justify destroying 13 acres of the natural environment and degrading a residential neighborhood to build new dormitories when other reasonable alternative sites are available? It’s worse than paving paradise to put up a parking lot, because they’re also going to add dorms the size of a mid-sized hotel or hospital.”

Other residents are also concerned about the displacement of wildlife, wetland issues and the loss of vegetation that will result in soil erosion and a reduced natural buffer which acts as a visual and noise screen for the neighbors. Another Tudor Road homeowner states, “We occasionally hear fireworks, loud music and DJs’ voices, and sounds from athletic competitions. We are also used to cars zipping up and down our streets, looking for entrance to the University and the Harriman campus. Occasionally we find empty beer bottles thrown on our lawns. We fully realize that we do not live in the country, but adding another 500 students will magnify these disturbances.” Other neighbors are concerned about reduced property values which will result in reduced tax receipts, and the increase in the "service demand" from the City of Albany for Fire and Police, utilities, water, storm water and seasonal drainage, and sanitary sewage. Will city taxes have to be raised to provide for these services?

In the original Master Plan for the University, the intent was to have the Edward Durrell Stone architecture surrounded by University Drive, and bordered on the outside of the drive with green space that would set off the dramatic design of the buildings, and provide a balance of natural and man-made environments. That originally designed balance may now be in jeopardy, as are harmonious relationships with UAlbany’s surrounding neighbors.

Voices for Eagle Hill

2009-09-20T09:11:00.000-04:00

University At Albany (UAlbany) held its first public meeting concerning the construction of two dormitories with 500 beds and 350 parking spaces.

This project began in 2008, but wasn't was discovered by our neighbors until May, 2009 when surveyors from C.T. Male were mapping Tudor Road properties

UAlbany was not ready to talk with us then. After letters from Councilman Herring and the neighbors, they were not ready to talk. They said that they would have a meeting in September.

Well, we've had our meeting. UAlbany President George Phillip and Mayor Jennings left the room of over one hundred residents after expressing their support for the project, and did not listen to our concerns.

An hour and a half later, the audience had finished blasting Assistant Vice President John Giarrusso, who seemed overwhelmed with our opposition. The meeting was covered by a reporter from the Albany Times Union - but no article appeared.

This blog is intended to give us a voice, and to share information about this terrible project. Please share your thoughts here! We will know that we can count on each other!

Steve Sokal