In April, 2004, RPI purchased the Proctor’s Theatre in downtown Troy intending to find a developer to restore the building and turn it into a high-end hotel. More than a year later, however, a developer has still not been found for the site on Fourth Street and plans are in the works to turn the building over to the city.
Vice President for Administration Claude Rounds explained that when RPI purchased the building from a private developer—who had purchased it from Troy—last year, it was done “in hopes it would facilitate movement” of the plan to have a hotel developed. If unsuccessful, however, there was an understanding that control of the building would be given back to the city of Troy.
Rounds said “At this time, no developer has expressed a significant interest” in the hotel plan. The details of the transaction to transfer the building to the city’s control are currently being worked out.
In the meantime, Troy’s city hall is in need of very expensive repairs and one proposal being looked at is moving City Hall to the Proctor’s building. This would allow the current city hall, just next to the Hudson River, to be sold to the private sector – and perhaps be developed into a hotel itself.
Even without Proctor’s being developed, there are still over 100 campus construction projects going on according to Rounds. The Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center is the most visible and it is still hoped that the building will open in late 2007 or early 2008 with the grand opening now targeted for fall of 2008.
Rounds added that in July, the steel for the building will begin coming in and when students return in the fall, they will probably notice increased activity on the site. Even so, it’s not expected to have a significant impact on students as the construction is not located around the center of campus as construction for the Biotech center was.
According to Rounds, other projects being worked on this summer include a continuation of renovations to the upper-class dorms. This summer, there will be improvements made to the kitchens and bathrooms of the Colonie Apartments as well as general upgrades there.
The renovation of West Hall, which is expected to be a four-year project, also continues and the main floor of the Folsom Library is being refurbished this summer. Rounds stated a multi-year effort to upgrade undergraduate labs will be going on this summer and that there are also many smaller jobs ongoing.
By fall, the electronic card access systems are expected to be fully operational in the Greene Building, the Alumni Sports and Recreation Center, and Academy Hall, Rounds said. He said that as of this time, there are no plans to change the hours of access to those buildings. He added that work and design sessions continue for the East Campus Athletic Project and that the plans are expected to be more fully developed around the end of September.
