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SCHENECTADY
Union/Broadway area to see improvements
BY BETHANY BUMP Gazette Reporter
Reach Gazette reporter Bethany Bump at 395-3107 or bbump@dailygazette.net.

    After years of efforts to spruce up downtown left lower Union Street and North Broadway in the dust, that area is fi nally beginning to see some tender loving care head its way.
    Plans for a restaurant at 308 Union St. are moving along with some new funding, while economic development officials are in the process of accepting a bid on sidewalk improvements in the area.
    The Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority sought bids on a downtown fi x-up project several months ago that would include new sidewalks and curbs along North Broadway. After bids came in higher than expected — partly because of some underground work that would need to be done — the board amended and approved a project plan Wednesday evening that would allow it to increase the project cost.
    Bids ranged from a low of $144,200 to a high of $196,466 on the project. Metroplex will retain the lowest bidder, Albany-based Hudson River Construction Co., Inc. The selection raises the project cost by $47,000 to a total investment of nearly $200,000.
    Other sidewalks in that area need work, as well, said several Metroplex board members. The ones nearest the railroad overpass are the worst off, they agreed.
    “We’re trying to put together a package that will fix all of the sidewalks under the bridges, but right now we have to be selective with only two of them,” said Metroplex Executive Director Jayme Lahut.
    The agency has long had three focuses when it comes to improving downtown: the Proctors block, Jay Street and Erie Boulevard. With the last of that work — the massive Erie Boulevard project — under way, the economic development arm is looking to bring renovations elsewhere.
    “Our principal focus is really connecting State and North Broadway down to Union,” said Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen at a June board meeting. “We have some bollards that we want painted and other things that will keep the downtown area in good repair. We’re really trying to get into the details of making sure downtown is clean, safe and secure 24/7.”
    Sidewalk upgrades are fairly effective in funneling visitors into a more welcoming downtown, offi cials agreed. Board member Bill Chapman noted the fl at sidewalks and handicapped curbs along Upper Union Street as helpful in fostering a pedestrian environment.
    The board also approved on Wednesday an additional $45,000 for an up-and-coming restaurant, banquet and wine bar that will border the North Broadway railroad overpass.
    The would-be owners of the site at 308 Union St. are still just as reluctant to identify themselves as they were when the project was first announced. But Rich Piedmont, an attorney for the holding company that purchased the property, said everything is still on track for a fall opening.
    And as the back lot is paved, lampposts installed, and a pavilion put in, the owners have fi nalized a name: Centre Street.
    The name is an homage to the site in the 1800s, when the Centre Street Brewery was housed inside the facility on what was then known as Centre Street (now Broadway).
    “There will be four different venues,” said Piedmont. “They’ve gone through several different iterations of what it’s going to be.”
    The venue will include a wine bar, outdoor garden seating, a banquet room and a restaurant with a variety of beers on tap.
    The additional funds bring the total Metroplex contribution to $105,000. In May, the board approved a $60,000 façade grant for the property, and on Wednesday it approved the $45,000 as a loan set for 10 years at a 3 percent interest rate.................................>>>>....................>>>>....................http://www.dailygazette.net/De.....r01001&AppName=1

Painting bollards ought to turn things around- ROTFLMAO!

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...said Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen at a June board meeting. “.... we want painted and other things that will keep the downtown area in good repair. We’re really trying to get into the details of making sure downtown is clean, safe and secure 24/7.”

What is Gillen, the county, and McC planning to keep the neighborhoods clean, save, and secure 24/7  ????   You know, those areas where the people who pay for downtown actually live?

What is Gillen, the county, and McC planning to keep the homes in good repair?????    You know, the homes of the people who pay for all this this downtown stuff????   You know, those people who have repairs that need to be made, those people that are being cited for code violations, but because they are paying for all of these stuff downtown, AND pay all the property & school taxes of the downtown millionaires and politically connected, do not have the money to make necessary repairs.  

Oh yeah, that's right, the people that live in the city, those that have been paying for all of this downtown, they don't matter.  

What's going to happen when the rest of them move out of the city?

GHOST TOWN!!!!!!!!!!!


  

Why is it Metroplex's responsibility to  keep downtown "safe and secure 24/7" ?  Isn't that what we pay SPD for?

It's a conspiracy I tell ya!

Quoted from 1975

Why is it Metroplex's responsibility to  keep downtown "safe and secure 24/7" ?  Isn't that what we pay SPD for?

It's a conspiracy I tell ya!

Ah, good catch!

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   After years of efforts to spruce up downtown left lower Union Street and North Broadway in the dust, that area is fi nally beginning to see some tender loving care head its way.

Isn't this the corner that Pinhead Susan's is on?  I guess they're doing too well, as a non-government sponsored business, so it's time to spend lots of money to give them a run for their money.

Not enough revenue from the plex parking lot?

Now that they've forced Goldstocks out of the city and into Scotia, time to REALLY ruin the area.

Instead of another bar / restaurant competing down there, how about expanding the train station / public transit in Schenectady.  Putting the station itself in the plex parking lot, opening the other lot completely and building a walkover to another passenger center (bus?) where Goldstock's and SACCTV used to be would be a great use of the area.  Of course, some work would need to be done on the overpass, but hey, why worry about infastructure first?

Quoted from Admin

Our principal focus is really connecting State and North Broadway down to Union,” said Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen

State and North Broadway already connect with Union.

What am I missing?

Does Metroplex have a monopoly board with downtown streets on it?

I guess they just want to make an avenue for the college crowd to browse as they head from Union St row of bars to the Pinhead Susan's/Clinton's Ditch/Katie O'Byrne's/Thai Bistro district.

The entire 2 block area they are planning on sprucing up is 50 vacant unkempt businesses.

Obviously they will dump millions into these properties and donate them to large corporations.

Well I'll predict that the resturant at 308 Union will go belly up.  first of all they arent sure what they want to be.....not a good sign, also the (WOULD-BE ?????? )owners are "reluctant to identify themselves".  Most well ran resturants that I know are owned by people who want to be recognized.....better have good food.  

Perhaps that Dolce Vita will move in there, he'd probably have a better chance of getting his business open; the place would do lots of business with DV having dinner there every day after he buys that condo in the Stockade.

Quoted from mikechristine1

Perhaps that Dolce Vita will move in there, he'd probably have a better chance of getting his business open; the place would do lots of business with DV having dinner there every day after he buys that condo in the Stockade.

I just drove down the 2 blocks they want to remodel.

The first block in from Union has on the left side, Parenzo's Italiano restuarant and a building next to it, with a business named Umbrella.

Parenzo's for sale sign is gone. This would suggest a new owner is moving in.

On the other side is a long warehouse, the 20 North Broadway Tavern and the Swift Building attached to Pinhead Susan's.

The next block contains the old channel 16 public access cable building/Goldstocks on the left with a parking lot behind the State St building. Habitat for humanity currently occupies the entire block.

On the right is the Metroplex parking lot across from pinhead Susan's, the old Gazette building,(also metroplex owned) and a double entranced building housing the Edison junkyard.

So the only actual operational businesses on the 2 blocks are the tavern and the umbrella store.

The sidewalks are actually in need of repair, the bollards definitely must be painted. You never know who will want to moor their cabin cruiser there. We wouldn't want anyone mooring to an unsightly bollard.

Beyond sidewalk maintenance, I don't see the need for any other work.

That area and the city/county  in general does not need another bar/restaurant.  North Center Street/North Broadway was once lined with commercial and light industrial buildings which used the New York Central railroad and the Erie Canal to receive and ship out goods/products/supplies.   It also included some residential units such as they were in that time period.   The city/county needs to take a clue from the past ---- #1) you need more than bar/restaurants to make a city/county thrive  and #2) you need a good MIXTURE of residential, retail, office and industry.

Quoted from DemocraticVoiceOfReason

That area and the city/county  in general does not need another bar/restaurant.  North Center Street/North Broadway was once lined with commercial and light industrial buildings which used the New York Central railroad and the Erie Canal to receive and ship out goods/products/supplies.   It also included some residential units such as they were in that time period.   The city/county needs to take a clue from the past ---- #1) you need more than bar/restaurants to make a city/county thrive  and #2) you need a good MIXTURE of residential, retail, office and industry.

You are a genius.  Any more tips?  DVR for mayor!

Quoted from TakingItBack

You are a genius.  Any more tips?  DVR for mayor!

He'd have to live in the city first, and you don't see that happening, do you?