By LAUREN HALLIGAN
Contributing Writer
The College of Saint Rose is opening its new guesthouse, located at 8 South Main Ave. as of Monday, Feb. 13. John Bryant, assistant vice president of facilities, said that the purpose of the guesthouse is to provide “short term lodging for certain visitors to the campus including speakers, visiting dignitaries, trustees, faculty or other employment candidates, etc.”
The property at 8 South Main has a full market value of $159,314, according to a 2011 city of Albany assessment listing. Prior to acquisition by the College it was listed under the names of Thomas Hunt and Steven Ostroff.
An open house and tours of the new guesthouse will be offered from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 13, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16 for college administration, faculty, staff, and any students that are interested to stop by. No appointment is necessary.
Tours are being offered by Mike D’Attilio, executive director of government and community affairs, Kim Lynch, director of events scheduling and administration and Ashley Dwyer, graduate assistant.
Lynch invites all interested to follow their curiosity and tour the new facility as “an opportunity for people to see what the guesthouse looks like and if they will find it suitable for their guests.”
Bryant said that the preparation of this building to serve as the college’s guesthouse consisted of “very modest maintenance and improvement work.” This included the installation of front concrete stairs with a handrail, the stripping of wallpaper and fresh interior painting, window treatments, new bathroom fixtures, and considerable landscaping. In addition to this was the necessary installation of card access, internet access, fire alarms and security systems. Overall, there were several months of labor involved in perfecting the establishment for this week’s grand opening.
The College’s former guesthouse was located at 932 Madison Ave., until it was torn down during the summer of 2011 in order to make room for Centennial Hall, the College’s new residence hall, which will be completed this summer.
Bryant reported that the new guesthouse was “one of the few properties on South Main within the College’s desired campus perimeter.”
Of the many Saint Rose guests that temporarily inhabited the now demolished 932 Madison guesthouse, Lynch reported the most well-known being John Zogby, current chairman of the board and chief insights officer of IBOPE Zogby International, who was one of two commencement speakers in May 2009.
The new guesthouse was acquired by the ever-expanding Saint Rose in 2011, along with other recent purchases, such as 962 Madison, which is to be used as additional student housing and 994 Madison, the future Huether School of Business.
The recent college acquisition, 962 Madison Ave., is a house currently rented to students by a local landlord. Jackson Wang, who has lived in the building since August of 2011, said that he and his roommates “will not be living there [next semester] because Saint Rose has bought the property from our landlord.” 962 Madison will most likely serve as student housing next semester.
Because their lease will soon expire and the property has been sold, Wang and his roommates, who were content with their building, the rental price, and their estimated three minute commute to campus, are currently in the process of finding another off-campus apartment. Wang reported that he likes living off campus because it saves him money, and allows him to “just have my own place,” a desire that is shared by many other Saint Rose students.
The two family residence at 962 Madison Ave. was valued at $213,333 according to a 2011 city of Albany assessment listing. It was listed under the title of “Joseph Messian Trust.”
In other facilities related projects, Bryant affirmed that construction work on The Huether School of Business is scheduled to continue through June of 2012, and the building will be open and functioning for the fall semester of 2012. The new structure is named after long-time trustee of the college, Richard Huether, who made the undertaking possible through a donation for the college’s school of business.
Bryant said that, “When construction work is completed, the building will feature a new two story addition at the rear of the existing building. The building will contain two large classrooms, three seminar rooms, an Executive Outreach Center, an Internship/Field Study Center, two study lounges, a new elevator and offices.”
All three of these properties are a part of Saint Rose’s need for more space in the ongoing expansion of the college.
