First Columbia is investing $10 million into its properties Hedley Park Place and Flanigan Square both located within the Hedley District in downtown Troy after the state agencies moved out in late 2012.
“We’re bouncing back,” Victoria Harris, marketing director of the Latham-based real estate and building company. “The whole point of bringing state workers here to Troy back in the ’90s was to help revitalize the downtown Troy economy. Now, First Columbia is in a position to do that again, with fresh companies and a new workforce.” Harris said.
The state formerly leased 66,602 square feet in the Hedley building at 433 River St. for $799,985 a year and 70,080 square feet in the Flanigan building at 547 River St. for $819,936. The $10 million investment is to transform the two buildings on the city’s Hudson River waterfront into high-tech office space.
Latham-based developer First Columbia is making big gains in a strategy to draw out-of-town tenants to its historic Hedley Park Place and Flanigan Square properties on the Troy riverfront. The effort includes a $10 million investment to convert the space in both buildings into New York City-style, high-tech offices.
“We’re bouncing back,” said Victoria Harris, marketing director of First Columbia. “The whole point of bringing state workers here to Troy back in the ’90s was to help revitalize the downtown Troy economy. Now, First Columbia is in a position to do that again, with fresh companies and a new workforce.”
To date, new tenants have re-filled 106,000 square feet out of the 136,000 square feet vacated by the state.
STRONG MARKETING STRATEGY DRAWS NEW BUSINESS TO TROY
Although City Hall and EOC were already located in other parts of Troy, the remaining new tenants at Hedley Park Place have re-located from outside the city.
“It wouldn’t be true growth if we were simply attracting tenants from one space in the city to another,” Harris said. “First Columbia is committed to bringing a fresh new workforce to downtown Troy.”
About 86,000 square feet of space is still available at Hedley Park Place, which is currently 74 percent occupied. About 87,476 square feet remain open at Flanigan Square, which is about 20 percent occupied.
“Hedley Park Place is really the best of both worlds,” Harris said. “It has that urban/ downtown/professional feeling — you can walk to restaurants and festivals. But it also has all the suburban office park amenities, like easy access from the highway, parking and modern fixtures.”