Schenectady building demolished to make way for park improvements

Another vacant building came down in Schenectady Wednesday morning, this one to make room for a new entrance to a soon-to-be revitalized park.

Elected officials gathered outside the dilapidated property at 720 Crane St., with its broken windows and a fading sign for O’Connor & O’Connor Land Surveyors, while Mayor Gary McCarthy spoke about the demolition as a step toward improving the Mont Pleasant neighborhood, which is riddled with similarly blighted properties.

The structure was the fifth and final one to come down as part of the planned expansion of Orchard Park. Only two entrances exist for the park, a green space that many residents either don’t know about or don’t use much. One entrance is a narrow walking path on Second Avenue; the other is an alley off of Orchard Street.

An excavator tore into the roof of the building shortly after 10 a.m. Demolition was expected to be complete by the end of the day.

The other four demolitions aimed at improving Orchard Park have happened over the course of the past year. The work was funded with a mix of money from the city, state, the Capital Region Land Bank and a Community Development Block Grant through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The city received $354,735 through a New York State Parks grant to add new playground equipment to the park, as well as improving the lighting for public safety and enhancing accessibility.

With the first phase of the Orchard Park redevelopment complete, the city will begin developing a work plan for the park’s future. That includes establishing a steering committee and conducting neighborhood workshops, starting in the fall, to come up with a final design.

The planning process is expected to be finished by next spring, and the park redesign should be completed by the end of next year.

McCarthy said the project is part of a broader effort to improve property values and quality of life in the neighborhood.

“I want a commercial corridor that reflects what was here 20 years ago,” he said. “And that’s not going to happen overnight.”

Meanwhile, the Land Bank, in meetings with Mont Pleasant residents, has said the neighborhood will be the focus of its efforts later this year. In addition to demolishing blighted buildings, the city Industrial Development Agency and Schenectady County are working to rebuild the library branch on Crane Street.

That project, which neighborhood leaders have touted as a major step toward remaking Crane Street into a more business and family friendly corridor, is on hold while the IDA attempts to acquire the building at 1036 Crane St. through eminent domain.

That structure, and the one at 1032 Crane St., would be demolished to make way for the new library. The current branch would then be knocked down to allow for additional parking.

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