State planning to put Schenectady Armory up for auction

The Schenectady Armory is going back on the auction block.

The state Office of General Services is seeking a minimum bid of $395,000 for the 75-year-old structure, which consists of 65,000 square feet of space. The price averages out to $5 per square foot.

The 21⁄2-story structure occupies nearly two acres of land along Washington Avenue and has a 75-space parking lot. The building is on the state and national registers of historic places.

The auction will be held at 10 a.m. May 26 at the state Department of Transportation, 50 Wolf Road.

State spokeswoman Heather Groll said the sale of the structure would help Schenectady and the state.

“It is good for community if it goes back on the tax rolls, and it is good for the state for someone to occupy the property,” she said.

The OGS took possession of the structure after the New York National Guard moved to its new headquarters in Latham in 2008.

Built in 1936, the Schenectady Armory served for years as home base for the 105th Infantry Division. The division ceased to exist as a unit several years ago. Three New York National Guard units then made use of it, but two moved to the new Armed Forces Reserve Center at the Schenectady County Airport. The third unit moved to a facility constructed adjacent to New York National Guard headquarters in Latham.

The OGS had planned to auction the building in 2009 but cancelled the auction after the Schenectady Museum and Suits-Bueche Planetarium expressed an interest in the building as a site for a future science center. The museum has since abandoned the science center concept, choosing instead to focus on its Nott Terrace facility.

Schenectady County Community College, which had played its basketball games there, also expressed an interest in the structure. College officials had considered the space for its athletic programs but found it prohibitively expensive to renovate. The basketball teams are now playing and practicing at Center City.

At one point, the state had more than 100 armories, almost all built after the Civil War and before World War I. Only 30 are left in operation, according to the OGS. The structures were closed because they were cost-prohibitive to operate and were not secure sites, as most were built next to streets with no setbacks.