ARMORY DEAL BOOSTS UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS

                 Albany - State OKs sale of New Scotland Avenue
                      facility for $2M to colleges planning redevelopment

                      By JAMES M. ODATO Capitol Bureau

                      The state has agreed to sell the New Scotland
                      Avenue armory for $2 million to a group of colleges
                      planning to redevelop the surrounding University
                      Heights neighborhood.

                      Empire State Development Corp., the Pataki
                      administration's economic development agency, will
                      purchase the armory and sell it to the University
                      Heights Association.

                      A formal announcement is planned for next week.

                      The deal was approved by the Public Authorities
                      Control Board after receiving independent
                      appraisals. City assessment rolls list the armory at
                      about $3 million, but the board noted that the
                      building contains asbestos and there are underground
                      storage tanks, an ``environmental condition'' that will
                      involve cleanup costs.

                      The nine-acre site at 130 New Scotland Ave. is key
                      to the $200 million project envisioned by the
                      association made up of Albany Medical Center,
                      Albany College of Pharmacy, Albany College of
                      Law and Sage Colleges.

                      Proposals include transferring academic programs,
                      building a common student union and making
                      improvements to the neighborhood.

                      Mayor Jerry Jennings called the purchase of the
                      armory ``a good starting point to bring this project to
                      fruition.'' He said the military building probably will
                      be converted for retail use as the project phases in a
                      hotel, a resource center for the colleges, a dining
                      commons area for students and educators and
                      facilities for community use.

                      University Heights is the brainchild of New York
                      City philanthropist Morris ``Marty'' Silverman, who
                      envisions a modernized, interconnected learning
                      center in the area bounded by New Scotland and
                      Holland avenues and Academy Road.

                      While the University Heights Association also had
                      eyed the Veterans Administration hospital property,
                      the armory should complete the site acquisition. The
                      parcel was considered important to the overall
                      project because it connects to the 21-acre grounds of
                      the former Christian Brothers Academy, which the
                      association bought for $8.5 million. The state
                      Division of Military and Naval Affairs has made
                      plans to move National Guard units, which employ
                      108 people, to other locations in the area.

                      The control board preauthorized the sale after
                      receiving independent appraisals. Empire State
                      Development Corp. has provided $100,000 to help
                      the colleges study ways to develop the site.

                      Last month, Joseph Coffey Jr., former vice chairman
                      of the board of directors for the Albany Colonie
                      Regional Chamber of Commerce, was named
                      executive director of the association.

Copyright 1999, Capital Newspapers Division of The Hearst Corporation, Albany, N.Y.