SCHENECTADY -- A house in the famed General Electric Realty Plot is being auctioned off Friday morning, a rambling 106-year-old structure that is another victim of the economic downturn.
The 6,400-square-foot Colonial at 1273 Stratford Road, which boasts four fireplaces and sits on a rare one-acre city plot, was on the market for a number of years but got no bites.
A bank took over the property in October 2009 and attempted to sell it, at one point asking $379,000 earlier this year. But the home, originally the residence of General Electric employee and National Guard Col. James Andrews, reverted to an auction that will be held at the house at 11 a.m. Friday. City Zoning Officer Steve Strichman said it is likely the first time a home in the historic neighborhood has gone into foreclosure.
"That's such a shock to have that happen in this neighborhood," said Sally Quinn, former president of the GE Realty Plot Association. "You figured there would be someone who would love an old house enough to pay for it."
General Electric purchased property from Union College in the late 19th century and designed its streets and property layout as if the homes would be sitting in a park, according to Chris Hunter, curator at the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium. GE also wanted to ensure the pedigree of the neighborhood by requiring that all the homes built at the time be worth at least $5,000, Hunter said. Many of the company's top engineers and executives built their homes there.
This particular house was built by Andrews in 1904, about a year after water, sewers and roads were completed. A wing was added around 1911. Andrews was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal of Valor serving under General "Black Jack" Pershing in Mexico (the general charged with attempting to capture the revolutionary Pancho Villa) and Andrews also served in France during World War I, Hunter said. In 1910, Andrews, also a GE electrical engineer, lived there with his wife, Nellie, and his two children, ages 4 and 2, and three servants, according to research of the Census done Wednesday by the Schenectady County Historical Society.
The founder of the SI Group, William Howard Wright, took over the house by 1919 and lived there until the 1950s.
The most recent occupant, Frederic Ohara, had owned the house since about 1983, according to city records, and ran an independent business out of an office above the home's four-car garage. It appears, however, Ohara couldn't sell the house once he decided to move. A call to what appears to be his new office number in Florida was not returned.
Owning such a large residence in Schenectady is costly, and not just in heating costs. Property taxes on the home, not including the STAR exemption, are around $18,000 a year. Those who have been in the house say that it could be moved in to immediately, but needs many updates -- like peeling away layers of wallpaper or sprucing up any one of its five bathrooms.
While many large, historic properties in urban areas often revert to professional offices, that is not a likely option with this home. City zoning is strict in this historic neighborhood, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, and requires the house be used for what it was built for -- a single-family residence.
DV, you should buy it, don't you want to live in "the miracle" city?
Optimists close their eyes and pretend problems are non existent. Better to have open eyes, see the truths, acknowledge the negatives, and speak up for the people rather than the politicos and their rich cronies.
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