Help for the Dunn Builiding

This afternoon, at the meeting of the DRI (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) Committee, Peter Bujanow reported that three bids had been received in response to the invitation to bid issued on February 7 for immediate repair to the roof of the Dunn warehouse.

The lowest bid was $25,725, received from Tecta America WeatherGuard LLC in Schenectady. Along with the bid, they guaranteed that the work would be completed 21 days after receiving notice to proceed. Another company bid $31,000 with a guarantee to complete the work within 10 days. Michael Chameides, mayor's aide, asked rhetorically if saving $6,000 was worth waiting 11 more days. He indicated he thought it was. The committee voted to accept the lowest bid. A resolution to that effect is expected to come before the Common Council tonight.  

In pursuit of finding a nongovernmental partner for the restoration and adaptive reuse of the Dunn building, Chris Round of Chazen Companies had prepared a draft request for expressions of interest, which he distributed and discussed with the members of the committee present: Tom DePietro, Council president; Heather Campbell, city treasurer; Peter Bujanow, commissioner for public works; and Michael Chameides, mayor's aide. At the outset, Round said it was his understanding that the City wanted to "turn the site back to active use," indicating that the desired use would not be residential but rather retail or office space. After some exchange with Chameides, it was clarified that a residential use for the building is a possibility. 

The schedule for the request for expressions of interest is that comments from the committee are due to Round by Monday, February 24, and a final document will be ready for the next meeting of the DRI Committee, which takes place on Wednesday, March 4, with the intention of issuing the request the following day.

At the next meeting of the committee, in addition to the request for expressions of interest for the Dunn building, the "Historic Fishing Village" is expected to be a principal topic of discussion, with the goal of defining "what it is we want to accomplish." Round indicated that he would "come with an outline" to help identify next steps for that project.
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