ALBANY — Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy is considering moving some or all of the county’s 600 employees from downtown offices to the former College of Saint Rose campus in the Pine Hills neighborhood.
The move is one of several options under review following the county-backed Pine Hills Land Authority’s $35 million purchase of the campus. The authority was the winning bidder in December and is expected to close on the purchase in March.
“I want to move there pretty quick so we have a presence on the property,” McCoy said, according to the Albany Business Review.
The county has not made final decisions about which departments might relocate. McCoy has said offices such as the Veterans Service Bureau and the Department for Aging, currently based at the county nursing home in Colonie, are likely candidates. Moving the Department for Aging aligns with McCoy’s proposal to create a senior center at the campus.
McCoy, along with county commissioners and deputy commissioners, toured the campus recently to assess which buildings could accommodate government operations. The library, with four floors at 45,000 square feet per floor, is one possible location under consideration.
A sale of county buildings could help place them back on the tax roll. McCoy said has received inquiries from developers. One proposal calls for converting the Department of Social Services building at 162 Washington Ave. into condominiums. Another involves repurposing 112 State St., the 13-story, 200,000-square-foot county office building at State and Lodge streets, for a mix of offices and residences.
McCoy said he will keep an office on the Saint Rose campus while maintaining his existing space at 112 State St.
The county’s Board of Elections and Department of Mental Health offices, currently at 260 South Pearl St., are also among the properties for sale. The county is under contract to sell the Department of Probation building at 60 S. Pearl St. for $1.4 million, but McCoy said there are no plans to move that department to the Saint Rose campus.
McCoy has suggested that Albany City Hall consider moving its finance office to the site as well.
