Saturday, October 11, 2014

Rice Building to change hands


The Rice Building

The historic Rice Building is close to changing hands.
Luther Tai, an attorney from New Jersey, and the current owners – the Troy Architectural Program, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and First Niagara (formerly Troy Savings Bank) – have spent months guiding the final sale’s approval through the bureaucracy of state government.
While there have not been any bumps in the road towards that end, selling a building to a private entity that has had $2.5 million of public money invested into it does take a while. Thanks to Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno’s influence, the state bankrolled a big portion of the project that at the time was a unique partnership between government, academia and non-profit organizations.
Once the rehabilitation was complete, the building was opened for business in 2000 and it was largely filled with upstart tech businesses from the RPI incubator program. While the building maintains its stunning historic exterior character, the interior was completely modernized to accommodate high-tech companies of the 21st Century. It remains filled with similar companies to this day.
Joe Fama, executive director at TAP, said he would not comment on the inevitable deal but didn’t deny it was in the works.
An undated photo or drawing of The Rice Building
before the Fire of 1920
(As an aside, few love Troy architecture as much as Fama and he and TAP spearheaded the effort to bring it back to life. Safe to say the sale would not happen if Fama didn’t approve of the buyer or the buyer’s plans, which I understand is to keep the status quo and make the necessary investments to keep the building structurally sound and technologically up-to-date.)

In May, 2013, Tai and his sister Lolly Tai, purchased 17 First Ave., home to the bar Footsy Magoos, for $340,000.
The now five-story Rice Building, according to the Preservation League of New York, which gave it an “Excellence in Historic Preservation” award in 2001, is a “rare example of high Victorian Gothic style in Troy with its use of Venetian Gothic elements, most notably pointed-arch polychrome voussoirs.” A voussoir is a wedge-shaped stone used to build an arch.
It was constructed as an office building in 1871 by Benjamin Hall, a poet and lawyer, and for a century or so was known as the “Hall Building. It originally had six stories with three spires on top, but the Fire of 1920 that ravaged a good portion of River Street destroyed everything above the fifth floor. There is some talk of Tai rebuilding the spires, but Fama would not comment on that or anything else regarding the potential sale.
In the 1980s the building was foreclosed for taxes and it sat vacant for more than 12 years. It was literally falling apart with reports of masonry falling off the building and crashing to the street below. The city was ready to demolish it when TAP stepped up and kick started the partnership that saved one of Troy’s most stunning structures.

75 comments:

  1. Need some clarification re the date of the fire. 1920?

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  2. Thanks for making The Record my source for edgey stories once again.
    Snoooooze.

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    1. HA ... it's a legitimate news story about one of the coolest buildings in downtown. But, I agree, it is kind of a snoozer.

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    2. Update on gross and his sister who doesn't live in troy but works in mayors office

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    3. I thought my apartment was in troy. It's 12180 mailing address. Does that count?

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    4. Here is your update on Gross:
      Gross NOT GUILTY 2015!!

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    5. 6:09--No Amy your affluent Brunswick McMansion isn't in Troy.

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  3. All these richie people coming in to buy the old huge historic business buildings but not a one doing anything about the homes in Troy and Lansingburgh. What good is restoring all these historic commercial buildings if nobody wants to live here?

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    1. It will spread North as soon as downtown has reached critical mass. Still have more buildings to go here first.

      If downtown Troy is the new Brooklyn, south Troy is the Bronx, and Lansingburgh is Queens.

      MK

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  4. Great, another out of town property owner. Let's hope it doesn't end up like what's his name?

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  5. Yes, damn those people investing in our community. We should all live like Rodney and his friends want us to...in clothes made from compost. We can all grow our hair and breads like the Hagrad looking dude. Solar panel anyone?

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  6. I met Tai and his sister Lolly and they had me trim all the trees in that parking lot on first street and in front of Footsy Magoos they actually care about investing in Troy and were very pleasant to work for and have many other property's that they are looking at !~~!

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  7. Will the Lansingurgh Superhero put on his cape and bring his Wonder Woman to stage a grandstand photo-op at the Rice?? Yessssssssss! Here they come to save the dayyyyyyyyyyyy!!

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    1. Lansingburghs Super Hero needs to work on getting the Leonard Hospital, Haskell, Sunset, just to name a few major property's back on tax roll.

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    2. Tell it to Flash Gordon, your useless councilman.

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    3. Oh that was Marks job Gordon has replaced Mark and his acting job and nothing ever gets done.

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    4. Gordon replaced Kevin McGrath you idiot. Superhero Kevin did nothing to get these properties back while in office. So who dropped the ball? His Action Group Antics aren't going to get him the Dep. Mayor Wonder Woman lost in her bid for Family Court so how is she going to Save the Burgh?. Peculiar alliance if I do say so myself.

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    5. Poor Jim Gordon, He sees the writing on the wall

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    6. useless maybe --but no criminal record

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    7. Confidentiality agreements/ratting out criminal involvement:

      Kevin McGrath 2

      Jim Gordon 0

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    8. Don't you worry 1:41 McGrath got built-in legal counsel when Wonder Woman came aboard. Together they've been Takin' a Bite Outta Crime!

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    9. Wins in Lansingburgh running against each other:

      Kevin McGrath 2

      Jim Gordon 0

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    10. Ye old Captain McGrath goin' to go down with his sinkin' TBT ship? Lookin' like the ship be takin' on lotsa water. Scalleywags be fightin' like mad pirahnna's. Superhero goin' to save Wonder Woman from takin' ye old walk down the old plank?

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    11. Stealing votes and forging ballots for the win.... Kevin M 2, Jim G 0

      Way to go Jim you are way ahead.

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  8. 2.5 million taxpayers dollars for what? Mow it down and turn it into parking spaces. Such a waste of time, energy and my tax dollars...

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  9. Why not do a story about the council presidents wife buying a stolen phone from some random person and has yet to report it to the police. Or are ya just "keepin it real" Rod?

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  10. So the O'Briens filed for bankruptcy against the loan from Bill Dunne. Anyone surprised? The Trojan Hotel is really the Trojan Horse. Another bad move by Dunne.

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    1. Speak of the O'Briens they were ran off from the Burgh because they were successful there.
      Now Labellos will be the next victims there going to loose there asses and more money lost by investors.

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    2. Unless you're IN with the "IN" crowd (Troy is the new Brooklyn hipsters) your business will flop.No advertising at all, you could barely see the place driving by--No wonder its going down the sewer.

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    3. Ownership is the reason. And those who knew the owners knew this was a scam from the get go. Been running them for years. 100k that could have been invested in legit businesses down the drain. Good job Dunne.

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    4. She hasn't even paid her contractors. Any of them.

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    5. Yeah with that prick Vandenburgh as chair and Matt the hit man Republican Hit man for Code
      You cant even put a sign up with out the NAZI Board and guess what he is doing it totally on purpose to make the Democrats look bad there fight comes out of us investors pockets

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    6. Speaking of sewer, with some of these contractors buying up properly at 1,000 a pop, are they being billed appropriately for the use of city water? Or is that just something else that slips through the cracks?

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  11. I saw the link to the Bennington banner article about jeff buell in a local twitter feed. I really don't recall hm having anything to do with the dinosaur restaurant. How phony is this guy?

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    1. Give it a rest McCashion, you're obsessed with the dude. #BoyCrazy

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    2. Don't be hating on the Buell.

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    3. Jeffrey is not a phony. He was the driving force in downtown redevelopment.
      Stop being so fat and grow a set.

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    4. Jeff was very involved with Dino, as well as every event downtown, that many now enjoy on a yearly basis.

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    5. If it has $$$$ and says Cha-Ching Buell is all over it like Troy on Brooklyn ya'll!

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    6. Bueller? Bueller?

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    7. @ 12:52 AM
      Are you referring to a certain person who walked around to each vendor at a pig out collecting money while putting some in one pocket and some in another pocket?

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  12. Ok,so in a nutshell. What's going to happen to this building? Will it remain historical and not get knocked down?

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    1. As long as the City Engineer doesn't go on vacay it safe from Demo!!

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  13. Rice building? Jim, did you happen to see the two cards from the Fed. agencies, criminal investigators? I know the joke was agents " Johnson and Johnson" but Rodney and crew finally legitimized it. Rice building?

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    1. Take it easy, Kevin. Go fix a boiler.

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    2. You mean go fix ballots 5:16

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  14. How bout cut hall jersey shore cast. Snooks xl

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  15. An investigation doesn't mean anything. Where's the beef? Hey Rod, did Jolene get back the money for the stolen cellphone she bought?

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    1. Niiiiice Council Prez deals with stolen goods, that's classic idiocy!

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  16. we really need to start a blog on the fact that this council has rubber stamped everything this administration has asked...i mean ordered...look at the facts here...our properties were reassessed ..so be it by the prior administration..but made sure it didn't happen during his tenure...kinda funny how harry's ...lou's..manny's...who all have beautiful homes..their assessment went down..now..let's just say it's kinda like vegas where the house never loses..few people did get their taxes lowered but most didn't...the house always wins...now...our taxes go up 4 %...where's that money going...with all the growth going on..stoneledge...summit..bombers...river street is rocking..not to mention all the little guy's...were broke!!!!..this administration and council is the worst

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    1. Invest in a grammar checker, please.

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    2. Funny how Robert doesn't use his name when attaching his "friends". Looks like a southern comfort night though Robert.

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    3. Anonymous at 1:33, you need a brain transplant.

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    4. 3.8 city
      1.9 library
      2.9 county
      2.9 school
      11%
      Last year 10%
      Year befor 10%
      33%

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    5. Don't forget the sewer tax on the water bill which is going up about 30%.. Yes this is true Look at the proposed budget.

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    6. 31% to be exact. $2.23 to $2.92 per 1000 gallons. Just another added increase in a city that is 45% tax exempt. Lou keeps saying UNDER the Tax cap. What the hell does that really mean?? Is their some kind of loophole in the way the law is written to make resident believe their under when the total increase is over?? The City Tax is 3.8, County is 2.9 and Library is 1.9. All of which results the in the total amount due on the Property tax bill.

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    7. It's called the new math.

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  17. I hear they're making great strides On Guantánamo Bay. They're playing the Carmelo Mantello Jim Franco interview over the loudspeakers and the prisoners are begging the infidels to turn it off that their ears are bleeding and they will tell them whatever they want to hear.

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    1. Careful or the prisoners will want access to the ballot boxes!! Ahoy! Matey, jump yer ship!

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    2. Remember its not about her but the sanctity of the vote...blah blah blah...carmella really do you think everyone is an idiot just because we live in Troy..First foremost and forever its about you padding your state pension..Just stop running, we dont want you..Jeez can losing 3 times make it any more clear..

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  18. Bobby it's illegal to drive your plastic motorcycle on the sidewalks infront of Ryan's wake

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  19. Speaking about the aledged drug tipper offer Brian Gross. Jim can you tell us anything about him? Its been a month or so now is that aledged drug tipper offer back on our tax payer pay role doing nothing?

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    1. Yes he is back on the payroll with full benefits. After 30 day no pay its automatic. When will we hear something more about this case. Why all the hush hush?? Jim, I'm sure you can get us an update on this case.

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    2. His relatives prolly threaten franco. Wanna be mobsters

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    3. Gross NOT GUILTY 2015

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    4. if there was a story, it would be on the news. No evidence No Story.....The AG is trying to place blame on someone else for their F*&k up....But lets take the word of a known drug dealer.....

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  20. Something I noticed today is Mr. Gorman who is running for judge has his signs on the buildings of every known criminal in the city of Troy. What has he promised them?

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    1. Something I noticed today is Ms. Kehn who is running for judge was practicing law without a license for six years because she refused to open her mail.

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  21. does any one know where the name RICE came from on the rice building?

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