State to auction riverfront parcel in Schenectady

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

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Just over half an acre of riverfront land in Schenectady can be all yours for at least $49,000.

The state Canal Corporation owns the land, which is off Maxon Road Extension across from Benchemark Printing. It was part of the old Erie Canal and later used as an approach to Freemans Bridge before the bridge was torn down and rebuilt just to the west in 1981.

“It has been vacant ever since the new bridge was built,” said Shane Mahar, spokesman for the New York State Thruway Authority and Canal Corporation.

The 0.55-acre site will be sold at public auction at a minimum bid of $49,000, along with other properties the Canal Corporation has decided it no longer needs, he said. A date has yet to be set for the auction, which may be scheduled for sometime this fall.

“We have a vast inventory of property across the state and every so often there’s an evaluation done of needs and this parcel was deemed to no longer be needed,” Mahar said.

Anyone interested in the property should call the Canal Corporation’s Office of Real Property Management at 471-4357 to obtain an auction packet once one is available.

At least five auctions have been held over the past few years to sell off land and equipment owned by the Canal Corporation. The Thruway Authority holds auctions on a more regular basis, Mahar said, to release old or unused equipment the state no longer needs.

Riverfront land in this area has been a coveted grab at auctions in recent years as Schenectady works to revitalize its riverfront property, including the old American Locomotive Co. site off Erie Boulevard.

Pat Popolizio, who owns the thriving Water’s Edge property across the river in Glenville, snatched up an 850-foot stretch of riverfront property near the Canal Corp. site in 2010. The 21 acres of shoreline had previously been home to Dimension Fabricators. Popolizio bought it with the immediate plan to protect the view from his restaurant, and with the longer-term goal of further developing nearby riverfront.