State moves forward, could break ground by early 2026
ALBANY COUNTY—The former Heritage Park site in the Town of Colonie is on deck to become home to a new National Guard division headquarters, marking the first time the open field may be repurposed in nearly two decades.
The approximately $120 million project would establish a 150,000-square-foot headquarters for the New York Army National Guard’s 42nd Infantry Division, featuring video conferencing centers, modernized equipment, and expanded spaces for office work and training.
Eric Durr, Director of Public Affairs for the Division of Military and Naval Affairs, said the proposed state-of-the-art facility is essential to sustain a modern military division headquarters. The 42nd Infantry Division, one of eight divisions in the Army National Guard, is currently headquartered at the Glenmore Road Armory in Troy, which was built in 1971. Durr said that facility was not designed to accommodate a modern division headquarters and is too small to host the 60-70 full-time soldiers expected at the new site, in addition to 500 soldiers who would attend monthly drill assemblies.
Durr added that the federal government would cover approximately 75 percent of the facility’s cost, with the state covering the remainder.
Last month, the Albany County Legislature authorized the sale of the 21.5-acre property, located at 770 Albany Shaker Road, to the state after Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy requested the move.
McCoy said the county had been interested in selling the property since Heritage Park was demolished in 2009 but struggled to find a development suited to the area, which encompasses landmarks like the Albany International Airport, the Shaker Heritage Society and Shaker Cemetery, and the county-owned Shaker Place Nursing Home. The county has owned the site since 1925.
The county was ultimately able to sell the land, appraised at $3.7 million, for over $4.5 million.
“It’s going to be a showpiece,” McCoy said of the proposed facility, noting it will resemble West Point Military Academy.
In addition to developing the vacant land, McCoy said the project would benefit Colonie’s economy as the state Division of Military and Naval Affairs would contract with local hotels and food vendors to accommodate the hundreds of soldiers attending monthly training.
Republican State Senator Jake Ashby echoed McCoy’s support for the new facility, calling the project “a huge win” for Colonie, Albany County, and New York state. He noted that creating a new division headquarters aligns with broader efforts to modernize the U.S. Army in New York, citing military investments like Watervliet Arsenal’s inclusion in the U.S. Army Materiel Command’s 15-year, $1.7 billion modernization plan to improve mortar and cannon production, which began last year.
“For a long time, we haven’t seen an improvement like this within our National Guard in the state of New York, and it’s about time,” Ashby said of the proposed division headquarters.
On the other hand, Colonie Supervisor Peter Crummey expressed concern about what he described as a lack of transparency from different levels of government, noting that the county first informed him of the project early last month. While Crummey said he is not opposed to building a National Guard headquarters in Colonie, he referred to the project’s development as “high-handed government at its worst.”
“I’ve come to learn that this project has been in development for at least a year, and no one thought they should talk to the town,” Crummey said. “I’m disappointed, to say the least.”
Crummey said he has since spoken with McCoy and Major General Raymond F. Shields Jr. to discuss his concerns about the project, including its potential impacts on the town’s water and sewer systems and the possibility of exacerbating traffic in an already busy area.
However, McCoy predicted that, given the number of full-time soldiers expected at the site, the project would have a “minimal impact” on the town’s water and sewer infrastructure and would not substantially increase traffic.
“There won’t be much traffic other than one weekend a month,” he said.
Johanna Batman, Executive Director of the Shaker Heritage Society, located across the street from the proposed facility, said representatives from the National Guard first contacted the society about the project in mid-August and have maintained consistent communication regarding its development.
Although the society’s preference would be to keep the site as open green space or “community space,” Batman said this project is preferable to a previous proposal to build a light industrial manufacturing facility on the grounds.
Durr stated that the Office of General Services, the state agency responsible for constructing state buildings, has begun design work. The state Division of Military and Naval Affairs hopes to include the project in the 2025 fiscal year’s construction budget.
