ALBANY — The city of Albany’s Industrial Development Agency on Thursday approved nearly $7.4 million in tax breaks for developers of three real estate projects that are expected to add a total of 204 new apartment units to the city, including some at the former Union Station on Broadway. 

The projects, which have a total investment figure of nearly $50 million, were granted state sales and use tax and mortgage recording exemptions valued at $2.57 million. The Albany IDA also negotiated long-term property tax deals with the projects’ owners that will save them an additional $4.8 million over the next 20 to 30 years compared to existing property tax rates.

The most expensive of the projects is being undertaken by Ryan Jankow of Jankow Companies, which plans to convert a 10-story office building at 54 State St. into a mixed-use building with 120 apartments in a $26.5 million undertaking. The bottom floor will continue to house a bank and coffee shop.

Kiernan Plaza, Albany’s former train station, will be converted into a mix of residential and commercial space in an $18.6 million project undertaken by Redburn Development Partners of Troy. Over the past few decades, it’s mainly been used for commercial office and entertainment space.

The building will be renamed Union Station, the name of the building when it was completed in 1900 as Albany’s train station, and will include 50 new apartments.

Redburn, one of the region’s most active developers of urban downtown spaces, purchased Kiernan Plaza in 2023 for just $1 million from NY Creates, the entity that owns Albany NanoTech. The former train station was acquired by an affiliate of the high-tech nonprofit in 2013 for $3 million with plans to transform the building into a high-tech “test-bed,” which was supposed to include participation by IBM. The vision for the building never materialized.

The third project will turn a vacant one-story building on Ontario Street, just blocks from Albany High School, into a three-story apartment building. The property is located in a neighborhood that is considered by the city to be blighted and in need of more residential and commercial activity. Local developer Patrick Chiou, who has completed many innovative projects involving both commercial and residential spaces in key parts of the city in need of redevelopment, is spending nearly $4.8 million to convert the former social services building for children at 135 Ontario St. into 34 apartments. He will add two stories to the current one-story structure.

Ashley Mohl, CEO of the Albany IDA and president of Capitalize Albany Corp., the city’s economic development arm, said the three projects provide “critical” residential apartment units to the city.

“By bringing new housing to 135 Ontario St. and delivering major downtown conversions at Union Station and 54 State St., these projects reduce blight, reactivate underused space, and strengthen both our neighborhoods and our central business district,” Mohl said in a statement.

The IDA charges a 1% fee on the projects it approves for tax breaks. For the three projects, the IDA is set to receive nearly $500,000 in fees from the three developers.

The projects also help the city in its quest to triple the number of people living in downtown and draw 2,300 new residents by 2035 as part of a state-funded, $200 million initiative called the Downtown Albany Strategy.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the year when Albany’s Union Station was completed.