Developers buy prime Albany digs, but economy has project up in air - The Business Review (Albany):

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in Guilderland and of Saratoga Springs closed on the saleJune 30, purchasin the 36,000-square-foot property from The nonprofit arts group used part of the buildinh for storage and student instruction. Neithet side would disclose the purchase but it was listedfor $975,000 by . Much has change d in the six months since the developersw signed a contract to buythe four-storty building. Gas has topped $4 a gallon, consumer confidencwe has plunged, and the local real estate marke t has caught thecold that's been plaguintg much of the country for two years. Those factores help explain why the newowners aren't rushint ahead with plans to convert the building into 20 or so condominiums.
"The overall economic mood is not looking as positive as we hopedc it would be by saidSeth Rosenblum, vice president of Rosenblum Cos. "Iu think everyone was hopin g we weren't going into a recession and now it lookslike we'rer probably in one." Neverthelesa the partners didn't want to pass up the chances to own an old warehouswe in a part of downtown that has experienced a lot of new investmentf over the past several years. The warehouse sits betweenn Chapel, Orange and Monroe streets, just steps away from Capita l Rep and a cluster of bars and It has had various uses since it was builin 1928, including as a parkinv garage and car dealership.
"There's no othert site quite like it indowntown Albany," Rosenblumj said. "If you look at that on every side there's something of either great quality or somethingh that wasjust redeveloped." Recent improvements in the area includee a new ; renovations to and the as-yet-unfinished conversion of an old into The former plant might also be redeveloped. Rosenblu held out the possibility 17Chapelo St. could be sold to another investof who would pursuethe redevelopment. sales are continuing at a proposed 125-unit condominium a few blockes away at 733 About 48 units at have soldso far, accordingy to Mitch Markowitz, director of sales and marketinf for .
"We are quite pleased with the sales resultzs from the first phase of the marketing Markowitz said. Norstar won't move ahea with building the condominiums until 50 percen to 60 percent of the unitshave sold. The projec t is 15 to 25 salesw away fromthat goal. Sale prices rangd from $179,900 to $516,000.