December 11, 2025
Albany, N.Y.The Albany County Pine Hills Land Authority (ACPHLA) board today voted unanimously to approve the sale of five properties on the former College of Saint Rose campus to Albany County. The $6,000,000 sale includes major purpose-built structures such as the Event and Athletics Center and the former Hearst Communications Center. While Albany County has been operating under a temporary use agreement for the facilities approved earlier this year, the sale now transfers sole ownership to Albany County.
The five properties are:
- 420 Western Avenue, formerly the Event and Athletics Center;
- 996 Madison Avenue, formerly the Hearst Communications Center;
- 394 Western Avenue, formerly the Neil Hellman Library;
- 994 Madison Avenue, formerly the Huether School of Business; and
- 1000 Madison Avenue, formerly the College of Saint Rose Administrative Center.
“This action marks another important step toward transforming the site into a vibrant and functional asset for our community,” said Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy. “Securing these parcels lays the groundwork for a thoughtful, phased redevelopment process, one that will honor the campus’s legacy while opening the door to new opportunities for housing, innovation and public use. I want to thank the members of the Land Authority for their careful review and partnership as we begin this long-term effort. There is much work ahead, but today’s decision brings us closer to delivering a renewed campus that supports our residents, strengthens our local economy, and reflects our shared vision for the future.”
In November, the ACPHLA board received a comprehensive campus planning report from strategic redevelopment consultant CPL. The plan, developed over the course of 2025 with significant public input, ultimately called for each of the five properties in the sale to serve a government-led purpose. In a sign of commitment to the plan’s guidance and the Pine Hills community, the ACPHLA board took several weeks following the plan’s delivery to consider its findings before taking further action on property sales.
“Finalizing the sale to Albany County delivers on two main goals of our board: to find dynamic uses for these buildings that maintain life and activity in the Pine Hills neighborhood, and to quickly retire the county’s debt load for financing the purchase of the campus,” said Dominic Mazza, chairman of the ACPHLA Board of Directors. “I am pleased that county ownership also fulfills a key recommendation in the CPL report. The presence of not only county employees, but also members of the public taking classes and visiting businesses, will maintain the security of this campus and the long-term economic and social wellbeing in the heart of the City of Albany.”
The ACPHLA board is now entirely focused on actively redeveloping the campus and its properties in a phased approach inspired by the CPL report, balancing economic vitality alongside housing opportunities and green space activation. The ACPHLA board will continue collaborating with local stakeholders and county officials as the work advances. For more information about the Reimagine Saint Rose initiative, visit reimaginesaintrose.com.