The Albany County Land Bank is seeking responses from qualified and experienced parties for the purchase and redevelopment of four properties totaling approximately 1.86 acres in Albany’s Beverwyck neighborhood.
Today, the Land Bank issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to select a qualified and experienced development team or partnership to plan, finance and redevelop the project site into a high-quality, mixed-use development that includes the creation of new, mixed-income affordable housing and a multi-purpose Community Hub space to accommodate the location and operation or co-location and operation of one or more nonprofits, community-based organizations, services, amenities, small/local businesses, or related uses that serve residents and surrounding community.
“Before us is a rare opportunity to transform a large assemblage of vacant properties into something that benefits the surrounding community,” said Adam Zaranko, Executive Director of the Albany County Land Bank Corporation. “Through this unique approach we hope to bring together qualified developers and local organizations to facilitate the type of creative collaborations that make for really impactful projects.”
The project site is located between Central Avenue and Washington Avenue in Albany’s Beverwyck neighborhood and comprised of four tax-foreclosed properties totaling approximately 81,021 square feet (1.86 acres). The properties, which were acquired by the Land Bank from Albany County through tax-foreclosure, include:
130 Ontario Street (single-story vacant building, 23,600 sf / lot 0.90 acres)
135 Ontario Street (two-story vacant building, 13,376 sf / lot 0.31 acres)
134 West Street (vacant lot, 0.11 acres)
154 west Street (vacant lot, 0.54 acres)
The vision for this Site emerged through the Land Bank’s extensive community outreach and engagement regarding the challenges and opportunities of redeveloping the site, which included a series of public meetings and numerous discussions with a wide variety of community stakeholders including residents, neighborhood groups, community organizations, local elected officials, nonprofit organizations, and businesses. Through this outreach it was determined the project site was conducive to a mixed-use development that consisted of mixed income housing and could serve as a central location, or hub for a mixture of amenities, services and/or uses that would serve the needs of nearby residents and benefit the surrounding community.
"What an exciting opportunity this RFQ presents in the Capital City of Albany, led by the Albany County Land Bank,” said Assemblymember John T. McDonald III, RPh. “Remediation of blight and providing strong opportunities for workforce housing and partnerships with the many nonprofits in the community have great potential here. I am pleased to see yet another sign that the impacts from the pandemic are receding and redevelopment is underway in the Capital City."
The Community Hub component of the Project is intended harness the unique opportunity presented by the site combined with the neighborhood characteristics and needs, existing zoning and wealth of businesses, nonprofits and other organizations that exist in the Capital District. Community Hub concepts and models can range from “one-stop shops” that provide several complementary uses (e.g. one location for medical, dental and pharmacy services) or several uses co-existing at the same location and that may benefit from sharing aspects of the space and/or respective services, such as a nonprofit that offers youth programming operating alongside an organization that provides indoor recreation space and fitness facilities; shared classroom facilities for educational, workforce development and job training organizations, or; an indoor/outdoor marketplace that provides space for a mixture of local food and retail vendors.
“There is so much untapped potential in the Beverwyck and West Hill neighborhoods and this is an exciting opportunity for a developer to leave their mark on a city that continues to recover, grow, and thrive like never before, said Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy. “Projects like this that combine multiple tax-foreclosed properties are examples of how our Land Bank is helping us revitalize entire swaths of Albany County at a time, and the inclusion of mixed-income housing and a Community Hub space will have an important impact on the surrounding community.”
"The City of Albany's Beverwyck neighborhood is just one of many communities in Albany County that is ready for transformation, while sustaining its unique blend of businesses, renters, off-site owners and families that have lived in the neighborhood for decades," said Albany County Legislature Chairman Andrew Joyce. "This most recent effort and RFQ by the Albany County Land Bank encourages collaboration and will give an individual or developer with a vision an opportunity to increase quality housing options, stimulate the local economy and create a new community hub for the Beverwyck neighborhood and the surrounding community."
The Land Bank has received multiple inquiries from community-based, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and other entities interested in the properties since they were acquired. While these organizations and entities may provide services and programming that benefit the surrounding neighborhoods and advance community priorities, they typically lack the financial capacity, expertise, and experience necessary to redevelop the site.
The Land Bank also recognizes the challenges that developers and other parties capable of redeveloping and programming the site as envisioned may encounter in identifying local organizations and businesses that provide the uses and programming desired by the community and that may be interested in participating as a tenant in the Community Hub.
“Since taking office, I have been laser-focused on revitalizing our neighborhoods and working with partners such as the Albany County Land Bank to create a city where every neighborhood works,” said Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan. “I am encouraged by the Land Bank’s request to seek qualifications from developers on the potential redevelopment of this cluster of properties in the Beverwyck Neighborhood and look forward to working with the Land Bank and the community to develop a plan to transform these properties into mixed-use opportunities for both quality housing and space for non-profits and small businesses to thrive.”
“We are looking forward to an exciting project that will transform this underutilized real estate into new affordable housing and a dynamic asset for the community,” said Sarah Reginelli, President of Capitalize Albany Corporation and CEO of the City’s Industrial Development Agency. “By strategically assembling the site, thoughtfully crafting the RFQ with the community’s input, and working with local partners to support redevelopment, the Land Bank is presenting a tremendous opportunity both for the right development team and for the surrounding neighborhood.”
Through this RFQ the Land Bank seeks to bridge these considerations and facilitate connections between local organizations and businesses and developers willing to partner and collaborate by inviting and encouraging organizations, businesses, or other entities interested in collaborating with prospective respondents to develop responses consistent with the project vision to express that interest through the process described in the RFQ.
Collaboration with local nonprofits, businesses, institutions, community-based organizations and/or service providers and/or establishing partnerships with organizations or entities capable of providing services, activities and/or uses that serve residents and the surrounding community are highly encouraged.
The deadline for Expressions of Interest in the Community Hub is June 3, 2022, and responses to the RFQ are due by July 22, 2022. To learn more about the project, how local organizations can express interest in the Community Hub and to view the full Request for Qualifications please visit www.albanycountylandbank.org/ontariost.