Old Schenectady YMCA might get historic status

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

The former YMCA building on lower State Street in Schenectady, Sept. 15, 2015.

The state is considering listing the old YMCA building at 13 State St. on the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

Buffalo-based Norstar Development USA is planning to invest $18 million to renovate the 104,000-square-foot building on lower State Street into 61 senior housing units with common space, offices and a gym.

The Schenectady Historic District Commission approved Norstar’s project during a meeting Monday evening. Norstar’s plans for development will now be reviewed by the state office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation and the National Park Service to officially name the 1926 building as historic.

“It is a very prominent building in the gateway of Schenectady, so restoring it and maintaining it is important,” said Ray Gillen, chairman of the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority. “The building is going to be a careful renovation and restoration, keeping the exterior the way it is.”

Gillen said Norstar plans to restore the building’s facade and is also required to follow historic guidelines to preserve the inside of the building.

Norstar is seeking historic tax credits and senior housing tax credits for the project. The developer estimates the historic tax credits alone would cut about $5 million off the total price tag.

Work inside the building will start in January, Gillen said. The project is expected to take at least a year to complete.

In addition to senior housing, plans for the vacant four-story building include a fitness facility, library, community room and entertainment room. Metroplex will help market 8,650 square feet on the first floor of the building for commercial use, Gillen said.

“The housing units are on all of the upper floors, and then there is common space and services for the senior apartments on the first floor,” Gillen said. “There are two entrances facing State Street and it is a good mixed-use building.”

The commercial space will have a separate entrance on State Street and was approved for the state’s START-UP NY program in partnership with Schenectady County Community College. The state program allows new, expanding or out-of-state businesses to locate in New York and pay no taxes for up to 10 years.

The move will put the building on the tax rolls, Gillen said. He plans to negotiate a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with Norstar so the city can start collecting money on the property for the first time.

“I think it will be an anchor project on lower State Street,” he said.

The building used to house more than 150 YMCA residents until they moved into a new facility at 845 Broadway. The building’s fitness facility and gym were previously relocated to Center City, farther up State Street.

Reach Gazette reporter Haley Viccaro at 395-3114, [email protected] or @HRViccaro or Twitter.