ALBANY - The deadline to bid on the demolition of the Central Warehouse in downtown Albany was extended after the county's economic developer was flooded with bidders and questions.
Dylan Turek, senior vice president of development at Advance Albany County Alliance, said the agency was met with "overwhelming interest" from more than 40 potential respondents. The deadline was extended from Nov. 27 to Wednesday, Dec. 11.
At a board meeting on Nov. 20, Turek attributed the extended deadline to an influx of questions about the building and demolition. After weeding out repeated questions, they were left with over 65 individual questions. Turek said the most repeated question was: "Can I get more time?"
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The 11-story building built in 1927 is owned by CW Skyway LLC, a partnership between Redburn Development and Columbia Development, which bought the building for $50,000 in 2022. Estimates put the cost of rehabilitating the building at upward of $100 million, which led to scrapping the plan in favor of demolition.
During the AACA's meeting last month, the board established a projected deadline for securing a bid on the demolition, aiming to solidify a deal by the end of the year. The governor's office, Empire State Development and county executives have all expressed interest in the demolition of the warehouse, according to Kevin O'Connor, CEO of the Alliance. The goal is for demolition to happen around the second quarter of 2025.
Bidders were told by AACA that the maximum amount available to level the dilapidated building is $13 million - $10 million from Gov. Kathy Hochul's Restore NY Program and $3 million from Albany County and the federal American Rescue Plan Act.
"Overall, I think we're in really good shape," Turek said.
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O'Connor told the AACA board that nearly 30% to 40% of the estimated costs will be dedicated to removing asbestos and other environmental hazards. To avoid additional expenses, the demolition will most likely be stalled until it's warmer. If construction happens in winter, the Department of Labor would require the building to be heated.
Another complication comes from the location of the Central Warehouse's southern side, which borders Amtrak railroad tracks, requiring the AACA to coordinate with another company.
The Albany skyline eyesore was once a shipping and cold storage facility that began receiving goods in the late 1920s. The city paid $462,000 in 2023 for protective netting to keep crumbling chunks of the building from creating further damage.
The dilapidated building almost made it to its 100-year anniversary - if things go as planned, it should be rubble before then.