Hopes of rebuilding the former Wells Fargo Bank branch in downtown Albany by adding three floors of apartments have been dashed by the rising cost of construction.
After a debate about transparency and accountability, the seven members of the Albany City Council voted 5-2 Wednesday to add to the consulting contract for the city’s project to redevelop part of the Willamette riverfront.
No surprise here: A proposal to redevelop the former Wells Fargo branch downtown will need financial help from CARA, the Albany urban renewal program. And the CARA board appears ready to give it, though no specific dollar amount has yet been asked.
Albany is getting ready to pick a firm of consultants to design a remake of the city’s Willamette riverfront from Washington Street in the west to Main Street in the east.
The city of Albany’s urban renewal agency is buying a building within its district without saying publicly which one. But it’s not the Eagles club at Broadalbin Street and Water Avenue, which is no longer for sale.
So what comes next for CARA, the central Albany urban renewal district? Mayor Sharon Konopa has an idea, and she mentioned it Saturday at the completion ceremony of the city’s two-year downtown streetscape project.
For now, city’s stuck with an empty bank
The Albany Revitalization Agency, also known as the city council, met Monday to hear about the collapse of the plan to have Gerding Builders redevelop the former downtown branch of the Wells Fargo Bank. Council members thanked Gerding for its efforts but offered no ideas on what to do next.
Tags: Albany urban renewal, CARA, construction costs, downtown Albany, First and Broadalbin, Gerding Builders, inflation, retail refinement plan, Wells Fargo branch