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Updated
April 6, 2008
From Metroland, September 11, 2003. These buildings have been for sale a long time.
Where Goes the Neighborhood?
Speculation is flying about the future of a row of buildings for sale on Delaware Avenue
When large for-sale signs went up at 182, 184, 186, and 188 Delaware Avenue almost a year ago, residents were surprised. “It was a shock to us who woke up one morning and [saw] all those for-sale signs,” said Louise McNeilly, president of the Delaware Avenue Neighborhood Association. “[The] neighborhood . . . looks like it’s entirely up for sale. It makes you uneasy, sort of uncomfortable.” The properties are two blocks south of Lincoln Park, on the northern edge of the Delaware Area Neighborhood.
But part of that discomfort may have been about more than just large signs. The commercial real-estate listing for numbers 182 through 200 describes the lots as “a great location for a fast food chain, pharmacy, mini market, large professional building.” The promotion worried several neighborhood activists, including McNeilly and Shawn Morris, the city councilwoman representing the area who is also vice chair of the zoning board.
“A large-scale commercial development would not be appropriate right in the midst of our pedestrian-friendly residential neighborhood,” said McNeilly. “While we welcome small businesses, the impact of a national food chain, for example, would be negative—more litter, less community control, more traffic, less character, more fat.”
Despite the language of the advertisement, Matthew J. Ryan, owner of the properties, insists—with some exasperation—that he has no intention of selling them to a franchise, and in fact has turned down a few who were interested. “I can’t see knocking down a building that’s already there,” said Ryan, who said he frequently purchases buildings scheduled for demolition and renovates them instead.
Ryan claims the franchise listing was “probably my realtor’s idea,” but appears not to have told him to change it. The properties are marketed as a package deal, Ryan said, for convenience and because they have a shared parking lot in back.
Ryan, who grew up around the corner on Morton Avenue, started buying buildings on this section of Delaware Avenue three years ago, because, he said, “there’s a lot of potential. It’s a nice large community there that can be saved.” He refurbished the houses, which he says were in bad shape and filled with drug dealers, and says he is now exceedingly selective about his tenants, doing extensive credit checks and requiring a credit card. He has businesses lined up for the vacant storefronts at number 200, and is donating one of the spaces to the police for a community policing outpost. Tenants seem happy with the quality of the homes.
So why are the buildings for sale? “My work is done,” said Ryan. “I went through, fixed them up, got rid of the crap. Now it’s time to move on.” Ryan, who owns buildings throughout the Capital Region through his company Prime Rate and Return, is still acquiring other buildings in the neighborhood, however, and doesn’t seem in a big hurry to sell the ones he has—the package deal is set at more than $1 million.
“Let’s face it, there’s not a lot of people willing to spend $1 million on Delaware Avenue,” said realtor Douglas Schenk, who is representing the properties. “[It] was my recommendation to list them separately as well.”
But Terry Taylor, a local resident who has been working for Ryan renovating the buildings, wouldn’t be so quick to write off the possibility. He said the area has gotten a lot busier in the past few years, and some sort of fast-food franchise “would get a lot of business.”
“I know I’m asking a ridiculous price,” admitted Ryan, unperturbed. “Actually a Burger King would go perfect there. But I’m a realist, and I know it’s not going to happen. I’m trying to make it more of a neighborhood.”
Still, McNeilly is worried about having so many properties for sale at once. The neighborhood has been having some problems with unresponsive absentee landlords, so she’s very aware that these houses could be bought by “the wrong person,” which she said could have a big negative impact. Nonetheless, she’s cautiously pleased by the prospect of local businesses. It would be great, she said, “if he’s sincere about wanting to sell to a positive [owner].”
Councilwoman Morris agrees, saying her main concern is that whatever goes there is positive for the neighborhood. “It has to be pedestrian-friendly—this is a walking neighborhood,” she said. “We are always willing to work with people . . . to find something that works.”
—Miriam Axel-Lute
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