The site of a once-popular restaurant that has sat empty since closing more than a decade ago is set to be purchased by the Schenectady Industrial Development Agency.
The IDA will purchase the former Fireside Pizzeria and Sandwich Pub building at 1631 Eastern Parkway for $110,000. The building, which sits across the street from Market 32, has sat empty after the once-popular restaurant shuttered in 2011.
Ray Gillen, chair of the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority, said the building is “in terrible condition” due to years of neglect from an “absentee owner.”
Metroplex will evaluate the property to determine if repairs are possible or if demolition is warranted, Gillen said.
The property is owned by 1957 Sub SC, a limited liability company based on Long Island. The company purchased the building in 2015.
“Despite code enforcement efforts by the city, the owner based on Long Island never made needed repairs, so we are buying the building to improve the neighborhood and remove this blight,” Gillen said.
There have been attempts at revitalizing the building over the years, but nothing ever came to fruition.
The city’s IDA is administered by Metroplex. The agency will fund the purchase from fees collected from other developers. The IDA is also seeking to purchase the neighboring building at 1627 Eastern Parkway, which has also sat vacant and been the subject of code violations over the years.
That property is owned by Morales Esperanza of New Jersey. Esperanza could not be reached for comment.
Eastern Parkway is one of the most prominent thoroughfares in Schenectady. It runs parallel to Union Street, connects to Niskayuna and provides access to the Central Park neighborhood.
“We are pleased that the city IDA is taking this action to address a long-vacant and neglected building close to the Upper Union Street neighborhood in an important commercial corridor,” Mayor Gary McCarthy said in a statement.
Addressing blight has long been a priority for the city, which has partnered over the years with Metroplex and the Capital Region Land Bank to demolish or sell vacant city-owned buildings.
Hundreds of properties have been sold over the last decade resulting in millions in new tax revenue. More have been razed to make way for future development.
On Van Vranken Avenue, another major thoroughfare in the city, a pair of vacant buildings were demolished by Metroplex last year, and plans to construct a 37-unit apartment complex at the site were approved a few months later.
Metroplex announced last year plans to demolish seven vacant buildings with a history of code violations along Albany and Schenectady streets to make way for future housing development.
Richard Ruzzo, chair of the Capital Region Land Bank and a Schenectady County legislator, said blight will not be tolerated.
“We are sending a clear message today to landlords to make needed repairs, bring properties up to code, and respect our neighborhoods,” he said. “If you do not, our team will take the necessary action to address any blighted structure that negatively impacts public safety and property values.”