The conversion of St. Joseph's Church into Ravens Head Brewing Co. is a proposal that will preserve a historic structure, put a property back on the tax rolls and create jobs.
The Historic Albany Foundation should be commended for the blood, sweat and tears it has put into saving the gorgeous building. We must also consider the $300,000 of city funds that went to stabilizing it. One need not look far to see the risk of doing nothing. I believe taxpayers are still responsible for the $141,000 it cost to tear down Trinity Church after a prospective buyer — with no plan — bought the building and let it crumble. Not taking advantage of the Raven's Head opportunity today isn't only bad planning, it's poor fiscal management.
Albany residents are seeing their property taxes rise and services decline. We've invested in a new comprehensive plan and a downtown development plan that aims to attract investment, address blight and spur residential and commercial development. We want vibrant, mixed-use, walkable neighborhoods and to address the epidemic number of vacant buildings.
I'm deeply saddened by the issues that neighborhood folks have brought up in opposition — parking, crime and noise, which are the knee-jerk arguments that make us cringe because, in planning for the next 20 years, we talked about putting livability above parking.
Some Ten Broeck residents see this proposal as something done "to" them. Instead, we should look to work out our differences; it's why we live in a city not the suburbs. We know healthy businesses and eyes on the street reduce crime, not create it. We also have seen how noise can be mitigated through site design, regulation and enforcement.
With partnerships and a forward-thinking approach, this can be a wonderful opportunity. Or we can stick our heads in the sand, do nothing, get nothing and go nowhere. This isn't just an issue that affects one neighborhood. It affects all of us.
MARTIN DALEY
Albany