Albany is expanding its options to find a new bidder and use for Bayview Correctional Facility, a former women’s prison in Chelsea.
The state’s economic development corporation, the agency handling the sale, is now giving would-be developers the option to buy the 550 West 20th Street property outright or purchase a long-term lease, Crain’s reported. The Empire State Development Corp. is searching for a buyer that would convert the 110-square-foot building over to commercial use, specifically office space.
“There is a lot of cost in renovating the building,” Kenneth Adams, ESDC president, told Crain’s. “By offering respondents to do a lease instead, it allows them to focus their financing on the renovation cost.”
The Related Companies and the William Macklowe Company are among the developers that have expressed interest in the site, Crain’s reported. The World School, WeWork and piano manufacturer Steinway Musical have also viewed the space. [Crain’s] –Kerry Barger