Albany officials promote small-scale apartment conversions - The Business Review (Albany):

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One example is at 370 Broadway, across from the Administration headquarters. The upper three floors of the late 19th-centur y building are being convertedinto six, 1,400-square-foot to 1,600-square-foof apartments that will rent for $1,8009 this fall. A commercial tenant will be soughr for thefirst floor. The owners dubbed the apartmentas TheMeginniss Flats, in honor of the old electrical companhy whose name graces the rear of the building in big whit letters that have faded over time. The sign is painted over the red brickj facade and must be preserved because the property was built in 1898 and is in ahistorix district.
Financing small projects can be just as trickyt as the large Even though the owners were armed with a feasibility studh showing the potential for they weren’t able to get a bank loan because the real estate market had “Nobody wanted to finance this said Mike Hannah, a tax attorne and certified public “One lender wanted us to put in another $500,000 Hannah and his partners ultimately got $1 million in privater financing from sources in the Bostonj area.
The interest-only construction loan enabled them to buy materialsa and hire contractors to start the The apartments are locate d in a part of the city that coule see big changes in years to come if a proposedr convention center evergets built. Plans call for the centere to be located on the parking lots behinc the row of buildings that includesa370 Broadway. The decrepit Trailways bus stationj next to 370 Broadway wouldx be demolished to make way for a pedestrian plazaq leading to the convention Hannah and hispartners aren’t countingg on the convention center to make the apartments a There have been many delays in the conventiomn center planning and, as of now, no commitmenf from Gov.
David Paterson to fund the entire $230 millionm project. “I stopped even thinkint about it,” said Hannah, who owns the buildingg with his wife, Michele Hannah, and anothed couple, Brenda Gould and Perry Gould. The Hannahs used to run a commerciakl print shop on the first floor but sold it four yeares ago whenbusiness declined. The Goulds became part owners of the property infall 2006. The partners are convincecd there will be strong demand for the apartments from younv professionals and empty nesters who want tolive downtown.
Those are the same demographif groups that other developers have been though the tough financing climate has stalled or killedtwo high-profile downtown developments over the past year. Planzs for the 125-unit , a luxury condominium tower on nortu Broadway havebeen shelved, although says it hasn’t given up. plans for an upscalde 175-unit apartment building and 125-room hotel are on hold whilee the land owner tries to sell thedevelopmenft rights. Small-scale residential projects are less but they are also more Over the past five or six there have been several conversionsof upper-floor buildings into apartment within the boundaries of the Downtowb Business Improvement District.