By JOURNALISM II
The College is scaling back its building inventory beginning with the demolition of three campus buildings. The properties – for which the college paid $1.07 million in the last six years – will be valued at a mere $62,200 when each of the three buildings has been torn down, according to the city assessor’s office. The two buildings at 192 and 194 Partridge St. were demolished a few days ago and 962 Madison Ave. is slated for demolition soon. The date has shifted since students were first notified recently by a resident assistant.
The college obtained a permit to demolish the Madison Avenue building on Nov. 10, according to Rick LaJoy, director of the city’s Building and Regulatory Compliance Department. The work will be done by Cristo Demolition. After the building is leveled the lot will be backfilled with topsoil, LaJoy said. Both his department and the Planning Department review applications for future plans for a site before a request is approved, he said.
Initially, the college intended to use the two Partridge Street properties, for which they paid $677,000, for new housing, according to Debra Lee Polley, vice president for finance and administration for the college. The goal was to move students out of Brubacher Hall and keep all students on the main campus, however, it was too costly to renovate those two properties on Partridge Street and it would have taken 25 years to get a return on investment, she said. The College leases Brubacher Hall from UAlbany, and has done so since 2000. The demolitions are all part of an “internal mass facilities review,” Polley said.
“You have to think long term,” said Polley, “We’re trying to figure out what students needs are.” More renovations are planned for the summer, beginning the Monday after graduation until two weeks before the beginning of the fall term.
Data on the Partridge and Madison properties were provided to The Chronicle by Trey Kingston, commissioner of the city’s assessment offices. The College currently owns 87 or 88 buildings, according to Polley and Gary Goss, director of facilities operations.
The site on Madison Avenue was always going to be green space, according to Polley, who said the space could potentially become a garden like the Alumni Garden between Moran Hall and the Veterans Center.
The college is also making decisions about the future of a dormitory at 568 Morris St. called Morris Hall, that during the 2017-2018 school year still hosted student residents. This school year the building is vacant while the college decides its renovation and repurposing strategy for the property, Polley said. Both academic and extracurricular groups are interested in the location, she said, “everyone wants it.” The college is even considering whether another specialty-themed house might work like the wellness house and the LGBTQ+ house. One house idea would be a “green house” focusing specifically on sustainability and environmentally friendly living, a proposal that previously yielded no takers. The building could also become home to the Student Association which is now housed in the EAC.
Morris Hall, which once housed a convent, has not been renovated since the 1950s or 1960s and requires renovation to be made compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Overall, the college is looking at “what’s going to attract and retain students,” said Polley.
The moves at Saint Rose do have a ripple effect throughout the Pine Hills Neighborhood. When the demolition decisions were undertake, the college “assured us that there will be no parking lots built on this land and that they will become a green space with plantings,” said Virginia Hammer, president of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association. “The buildings were deemed unsafe and uninhabitable, so replacing them with greenery should have a positive effect on the community.
“Saint Rose has kept the neighborhood apprised of its plans every step of the way,” Hammer said. “They have sought our comments and sought to accommodate the neighbors. We appreciate their outreach and flexibility.”
No matter what happens with these properties, Polley’s message to the student body about these recent transactions is simple and a call to action to all students. “Tell me what you need. What are you looking for? What else can we do to make things easier?” Polley went on to say that student suggestions are encouraged but the ideas pitched to her or the college are not guaranteed.
“We’re here to make you succeed.”
Story researched and written by Denika Dixon, Ariel Gonzalez, Takora McIntyre, David Meister, and Julia Williams
