The Hearst Center on the former College of Saint Rose campus, seen in July in Albany, is one of the buildings the Pine Hills Land Authority voted to sell to Albany County this week.
Lori Van Buren/Times Union
ALBANY — The Albany County-backed body that owns the former College of Saint Rose campus voted Thursday to sell five of the former school’s buildings to Albany County for $6 million.
The buildings are the former events and athletics center at 420 Western Ave., Neil Hellman Library at 392 Western Ave., Hearst Communications Center at 996 Madison Ave., Huether School of Business building at 994 Madison Ave. and the administration building at 1000 Madison Ave.
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After the college closed in 2024, Albany County bought the campus, a complex of 72 properties with 92 buildings, for $35 million through a bond issue and turned the properties over to the Albany County Pine Hills Land Authority.
The Land Authority voted in July to begin negotiations with the county for the transaction and start a legally required 90-day waiting period before any sale can be approved. An appraisal of the buildings was conducted during that time and found the buildings were worth $9.4 million.
“This is all house money, so to speak,” said Land Authority CEO Kevin O’Connor on Friday. “If we’d sold the buildings for $9 million it would have just brought down the bonded amount by $9 million, and (the county) just chose to bring down the bonded amount by $6 million, so they’ll just have to continue to pay the interest and principal on that money.”
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O’Connor, who was appointed to his position by County Executive Dan McCoy, said he expects the deal to close “imminently.”
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In total, the county has backed $40 million in bonds for the former campus, with the additional $5 million going toward maintenance and upkeep of the property.
The county is already using much of the space it will purchase under a temporary use agreement. The county executive’s office space and the Albany County Sheriff’s Office are among those already located on the campus.
The Pine Hills Neighborhood Association supported the sale of the buildings on Western Avenue but not those on Madison Avenue. The county’s “early expression of interest has made it nearly impossible for any other potential buyers to consider purchasing these highly marketable buildings,” the group said in a statement before the vote.
The group had called for a “a pause” on the sale of the three Madison Avenue buildings.
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Members of the group hoped the former library and Hearst center could have formed the basis of a larger arts complex.
McCoy, in a statement heralding the purchase, said the deal “(opens) the door to new opportunities for housing, innovation and public use” on the old campus. Both Sheriff Craig Apple and McCoy have said they would keep the spaces in the Hearst Center “accessible to the public,” neighborhood association board member Carolyn Keefe told the Times Union Friday. The building once housed Saint Rose’s music production program and contains sophisticated recording equipment.
“Theoretically, they will develop a process for that and make it so you can do that,” Keefe said. “I do know that at least one of the recording studios is currently in use because the county executive uses it to record his podcast.”
“We support temporary uses by Albany County, yet believe there would be greater value to all if these distinctive buildings were put on the market, potentially contributing to our tax base and reducing the burden on City and County residents,” the group said in their statement. “This could diversify the uses of campus buildings and contribute more to neighborhood vitality.”
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A spokesperson for McCoy confirmed he does use space in the building to record his show, “Albany County Direct,” but said efforts to make the space available to the public were a “work in progress,” and noted that much of the equipment had fallen into disrepair since the college closed last year.
The purchase was approved unanimously by the Land Authority’s board. Among the yes votes was board member Dannielle Melendez, who also serves as president of the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association.
“We respect Dannielle Melendez’s role as an authority board member, which is separate and independent from her role as (Pine Hills Neighborhood Association) president, and we trust her judgment in both roles,” Keefe said in a message Friday afternoon.
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