Restaurants eyeing downtown Albany locations

ALBANY — When the Albany-Dougherty Inner City Authority board met on Wednesday, Chairman Jimmy Lindsey was eager to talk about growing momentum and optimism as potential tenants get serious about moving their businesses to downtown Albany.

“This is an exciting part of our Front Street Marketplace vision,” said Lindsey. “We now have viable, actual, active applicants for our buildings. These applicants have created momentum with their interest.”

Lindsey was referring to one, possibly two, restaurants that have shown interest in moving to the downtown riverfront area.

“We have been talking to a local restaurant already in business in Albany that wants to come downtown,” he said.

Plans are now underway to preliminarily prepare, or “white-box,” the storefront at 100 Pine Ave. for a restaurant.

“We develop up to a certain amount,” said Downtown Manager Latoya Cutts. “We have to make sure each space has its own utilities, operable bathrooms and the right number of walls. We make sure doors are up, and we look into what each space will need according to what type of business goes in. A restaurant will need griddles and stoves, while a clothes boutique will have other needs.”

The 100 Pine Ave. site is part of the L-shaped cluster of real estate that was previously known (and was on the tax records) as 115 North Front Street.

The entire building has been sectioned off into 10 separate spaces, which ADICA board members say they are hoping to lease out to restaurants, boutiques and other businesses that will help develop the area into a thriving downtown marketplace.

“One of those spaces is currently occupied by Cool Scoops, leaving eight remaining spaces for us to work with. All but two, currently have interest,” said Cutts.

On Thursday, Cutts confirmed that one restaurant is ready to lease one of the spaces at 100 Pine. Another restaurant is interested in possibly buying the other space, Cutts said.

According to Cutts, an application from a prospective business has to be submitted before the white-box construction can begin.

“Prior to last nights meeting, we had agreed to go ahead and white-box four of the spaces because we had prospects,” she said. “Last night we discussed white-boxing 100 Pine and 112 Pine because we now have restaurants who are definitely interested in moving into those spaces.

“We looked at a lot of spaces to see what is best-suited for each type of business, and that one at 100 Pine has always looked good for a restaurant.”

Lindsey said ADICA already has the funds needed to white-box 100 Pine. However, more funding will be needed to do work on 112 Pine.

“We see all this interest coming faster than I had anticipated; the only catch is we don’t have money to white-box all of the spaces,” the ADICA chairman said.

At 10,709 square feet, 112 Pine is the largest of the spaces in the location.

“It is being cleared,” said Lindsey.

Lindsey explained that funds for the white-box work that is already completed came from a bond issue that now is depleted. He suggested asking the city of Albany to help finance some of the white-box costs to continue preparing the rest of the spaces along Pine Avenue.

Cutts explained that there is approximately $3,750,000 left in funding that was allocated by the city of Albany for downtown development — money that could potentially be used like a revolving account to help with white-box construction and other downtown development projects.

ADICA board members did not announce the names of the restaurants interested in coming downtown but said they are quite confident that the announcement will be made soon.

Meanwhile, Cutts confirmed that the new craft brewery on Pine Avenue at the former ADICA-owned Art Park is still on schedule to open in September. On Thursday, workers were busy installing electrical infrastructure and brickwork on the interior of the building and framing up new windows on the exterior.