Troy IDA

Project

Site / Project Name	One Monument Square
Brownfield Site Address	1 Monument Square, Troy, NY 12180
Site Owner	City of Troy
Clear Title	Yes
Owner Contaminator	No
Former Use	City Hall, Warehouses, Manufacturing, unknown industrial
Land Use	One Monument Square is the only developable waterfront parcel in the heart of Troy’s historic central business district. The site offers a rare opportunity to build new construction on a large parcel that borders both the central square of the region’s most desirable downtown and the waterfront - offering unparalleled views of the beautiful Hudson River and direct access to Riverside Park and other amenities. Since the demolition of City Hall in 2011, numerous attempts at redevelopment have been initiated but have not come to fruition. In 2018, the City of Troy invited the public to participate in a multi-day planning workshop for One Monument Square. With help from the City’s Planning Department and consultants from Place Alliance NY and River Street Planning, Troy residents, business owners, visitors and other interested persons crafted a vision for the site. The resulting concept is a large, mixed-use project that includes two levels of parking covered by an open-air, all-season civic plaza that spills onto River Street and Monument Square. It features expansive views of the Hudson River and a grand staircase connection through a series of distinct outdoor spaces down to William D. Chamberlain Riverfront Park.
Infrastructure	The City of Troy is located within a 20-minute drive of the State Capitol Building in Albany, a key location within the larger Capital Region. Albany lies across the Hudson River to the southwest of Troy. The U.S. Census Bureau defines the area slightly more broadly as the five-county Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which also includes Saratoga and Schoharie counties. The Green Island Bridge and, Congress Street Bridge and Route 7 overpass are all within .5 miles of the site and all provide access to Interstate 787 which connects the City to the NYS Thruway and the cities of Boston, NYC, Montreal, Buffalo, etc. Additionally, CDTA maintains multiple regional and local bus routes with a main transfer station located on River St on the eastern edge of Riverside Park. The Albany International Airport is a 15 minute drive accessible by Route 7.
Assessment Level	Phase 2
Contaminants	No suspected contaminates
Cleanup Program	No
Remediation	Not Sure
Developer	No An RFQ for potential Public Private Partnership has been posted and responses are due May 10th.
Future Use	Mixed Use
Financing Tools: Federal Programs	Opportunity Zone Funding
Financing Tools: State Programs	NYS DOS Waterfront Redevelopment, NYS ESD Development Grants, NYS HCR Grants, Municipal Bonds,
Financing Tools: Funds Committed	NYS DOS and ESD are considering extending recently expired grants totaling almost $4 mil.
Challenges	Financing; Attracting Developer; Adopting a Redevelopment Plan for the site; Public support The fresh start visioning process just completed has helped to unite the community and generate public support for the project – something missing from prior attempts, Despite varying reasons for failure, past projects shared a common challenge: adequate funding to overcome difficult site conditions and engineering was not readily available at the expected income generated by the project. This caused developers to drop out, or to design projects that were not positively accepted by the community due to drastic cost-cutting measures to save feasibility. Because additional subsidies were therefore required and directed to the developer, there was less agreement over the public space and building aesthetics and greater resentment among community members. The most-recent failure was due, in part, to a law suit filed by a contiguous property/developer, who, coincidentally, tried and ultimately failed in an earlier attempt to develop the site. The lawsuit’s reasoning can be traced back to the limited parking the project would have created on only one level. The plaintiff felt this perceived parking deficiency would negatively impact his ability to develop his adjacent properties. Bow Tie Cinemas and the City were unable to satisfy the neighbor’s demands and the Theater Company backed out of the deal, fearing future delays.
Technical Assistance	Tax Increment Financing; Historic Tax Credits; New Markets Tax Credits; Bonds; EB-5 While no TIF district has ever been established in Troy (or NYS), we'd be open to being the first if it's a realistic possibility. The site is located within a designated Local, State and Federal Historic District, although no existing structures remain from prior uses. The site is also within an opportunity zone and we're exploring different options for a PPP to maximize utilization of potential economic development financing strategies and tools that may be available to the Troy Local Development Corporation. This project represents a new approach for the City centered around better utilization of it's economic development authorities and affiliated agencies. A second, equally important project, just south along the River will be the next to follow this strategy, so it is very important that we develop a capital stack and financing strategy optimized for our market.