A question was circulating among people with their eyes open in downtown Albany over the last few days: What’s with all those numbers in the windows of the former St. Francis Hotel?
Scott Lepman doesn’t have an estimate of how long it will take to refurbish the old St. Francis Hotel at Ferry Street and First Avenue in downtown Albany. But he, his brother Spencer and their construction crew are about to start.
Plans to renovate or restore three downtown landmarks — well, two landmarks and one other building — can go ahead now that the Albany Landmarks Commission has given its approval.
The former St.Francis Hotel at First Avenue and Ferry Street in Albany might end up with an addition, a crowning feature you might say. Drawings prepared by Albany architect Don Johnson for the renovation of the four-story structure show a penthouse on the roof.
Another page is about to be turned in the continuing story of changes in Albany’s downtown. Pride Printing has occupied the ground floor of the former St. Francis Hotel for about 50 years, and now the business leaving.
Scott Lepman, the Albany real estate investor and developer who has tackled several big restoration projects, has come up with an even bigger one. His organization will save the former St. Francis Hotel downtown and also restore the former city hall building if the urban renewal district, CARA, will help him lower the financial risk.
Quick sale: Council likes Lepman proposal
Well, that was quick — the sale, that is, of the former Wells Fargo Bank property in downtown Albany.
Tags: ARA, CARA, downtown, parking lot, Scott Lepman, St. Francis, Wells Fargo branch, Wells Fargo lot