Nanocollege to give Albany $1.9M

PHOTOGRAPHER: Haley Viccaro

The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering is giving back to Albany, with a $1.9 million economic development grant to the city as part of its financing plan for a new building on campus.

The college recently struck a deal to receive $186 million in bonds through the Albany County Industrial Development Agency for its $191 million Zero Energy Nanotechnology Building.

The agreement comes with a $1.9 million project fee, which the county agency can use for economic development purposes. On top of that, the college will provide a matching $1.9 million grant — through private funds — to the city.

“We explored many avenues to finance ZEN, and it quickly became clear that this was not only the best financial arrangement for CNSE, it was also a tremendous opportunity to support the communities where we live and work,” Alain Kaloyeros, CEO of CNSE, said in a statement.

That grant comes after the nanocollege pulled out of its original plan last week to finance its expansion through the Capital Resource Corporation. The backpedaling appears to be due to a misunderstanding about the project fee.

The nanocollege declined to provide further comment.

“The [news] release speaks for itself,” said Jerry Gretzinger, nanocollege spokesman.

But with the announcement of $1.9 million for the city, the college seems to have solved the disagreement.

“It is a good partnership between the college, the city of Albany and the county. It’s a win situation for all three of us,” said Albany County Executive Dan McCoy.

In a news release, the nanocollege says the agreement “marks the first of a number of planned joint business and educational partnerships” between the college and the city and county.

The ZEN building, which will support research and development of green technologies, is scheduled for completion in 2015. The new space will be used to house Tech Valley High School, a data center and several private tech companies.