A Tale of Two Old School Buildings

Remember Ockawamick? The Columbia County Board of Supervisors paid $1.5 million in 2008 for the former school building with the intention of relocating the Department of Social Services there and creating a new county "campus" in the geographic center of the county . . . in other words, as some put it, "in the middle of nowhere." To make a long story short, that plan got scrapped, the building remained unused, and eventually, in October 2014, it was sold at auction for $502,500--about a third of what the Board of Supervisors had paid for it.

The tale of Ockawamick came to mind this afternoon, when the Albany Business Review reported the sale of an old school building in the rural town of Pittstown, just east of Troy--a property not unlike Ockawamick, although the building is a decade or so newer: "Once listed for $1.1 million, former school sells for much, much less." What was the sale price of the school once listed for $1.1 million? $69,112.

Donna Abbott-Vlahos|Albany Business Review

The fifty-year-old school building, on fifteen acres of land with great views, was purchased by the president of a Troy ad agency and his business partner. The new owners have no idea what they will do with the property, but possibilities they are entertaining include converting it into assisted living for seniors, a day care center, a school, a church, or even a public safety building. "Who knows?" said one of the new owners. "Maybe it could be used by county government." What a concept.
COPYRIGHT 2015 CAROLE OSTERINK