Pine Hills Land Authority wins bid for St. Rose campus

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – A new beginning is underway for the College of Saint Rose. The Pine Hills Land Authority won the auction for the campus with a $35 million bid. 

Albany County Executive Dan McCoy described how he feels after hearing the news.

“Nervous. I ain’t gonna lie. It’s like when you have your first child, you don’t know what to expect but it’s a good place to be in. I couldn’t let 40 acres in the city of Albany deteriorate. We had to do something,” said McCoy. “It was a hail mary when I proposed putting the land authority together and I can’t thank assembly member Fahy and John McDonald and Senator Breslin, and everyone who signed on, especially the leadership of the senate.”

He said they will be in touch with other bidders and will likely sell off parcels to other schools in the area. Potentially, LaSalle School and Maimonides Hebrew Day School, which were both at the auction on Thursday. 

McCoy said they have mixed-use plans for the campus and would like to see a community pool open to the public, with a lifeguard training program. There’s also potential to open up parts of the campus as an event space, suitable for weddings. "It's a big project, but it's going to be one that's going to save the city of Albany and its residents in the neighborhood, and showcase that government can work for the people," said McCoy.

He expects some of the residential buildings will be converted into housing. The auction for the campus took place at the Cullen and Dykman Law Offices.

A court hearing to approve the final sale of the campus is scheduled for December 19th.