Could it be? Will it finally happen? After years of neglect and decay, the hulking concrete behemoth that towers over 787 could finally get the makeover that it – as well as the city skyline – so desperately needs.
In a press conference Thursday morning, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan and Albany County Executive Dan McCoy announced that the Central Warehouse is officially in the hands of Redburn Development – who plan on restoring the long abandoned and neglected structure.
Jeff Buell, the president of Redburn Development told NewsChannel 13 he’s ready for the challenge:
It’s just sitting here. It’s decaying. I don’t know how we can grow as a region when you look at this every day, and people drive by it – 80,000 cars, and you look at it and it’s just sitting there. Until we fix this, how can we grow?
The company says they have plans for the first floor to be commercial space, with residential space taking up the rest of the building.
Buell says he and his team are ambitious to get to work. They’ve already begun cleaning up the building on Thursday. As for a timeframe, Buell says he believes he can have the building ready for use by the end of 2024.