Future of student housing now ‘up in the air’

Managing Editor

After the college’s plans with Omni Development fell through last month, the official opening date for student housing is now uncertain.

“That, at this point, I would have to guess is completely up in the air because request for proposals haven’t even gone out yet,” said the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees Neil Kelleher about the opening date of student housing.

Last month, the Board of Trustees voted to sell the Hy Rosenblum Administration building property after the project’s future took a different turn between Omni Development and Hudson Valley.

The college’s deal with Omni Development was eventually shot down as the company continued to struggle to finance the project. “It came to a point where the folks said, ‘We’re not hoping to get the financing to put in place but we’re still out there looking and when we do it, we will get back to you’. That leaves it kind of open-ended and I don’t believe the college was willing to do that,” said Kelleher.

Along with Sequence Development and Omni Development no longer being involved with the project, U.W. Marx Construction Company is no longer working with the college for student housing. “Unfortunately, because there was a change in direction, we don’t have any role now,” said U.W. Marx Executive Director of Sales & Marketing Bill Shannon.

The project would’ve cost over $20 million to build. In August, the opening date of student housing was moved to 2017 due to Omni Development struggling to finance the project to meet the original date of completion, fall 2016. Omni Development did not comment on the project’s fallout.

“It may be more desirable for interested parties or developers and may move at a quicker pace than the approach we were taking prior,” said Dennis Kennedy, director of communications and marketing. In order to go forward with the plan to sell the property, the college must seek approval from Rensselaer County and SUNY.