"New York armories for sale"
Mike
Chris Carola ASSOCIATED PRESS
GLENS FALLS, N.Y.
The turret offers a great view of the nearby Adirondack Mountains; the
weapons bunkers can serve as wine cellars; and the cavernous gymnasium
could be turned into the ultimate rec room.
Those are just some of the possibilities for the 38,000-square-foot
Glens Falls Armory, which New York state attempted to auction off this
week. Of course, the rehabilitation potential is a far cry from the
structure's original function as a munitions storehouse, military
drill field and last stand should war revisit the nation's shores.
The 115-year-old fortresslike structure was one of several stone and
brick state-owned armories up for sale as New York in the coming weeks
sheds some of these unique buildings in the name of modernization.
As the Army National Guard here and in other states continues to
evolve into a 21st-century fighting force, units are ditching many of
their older buildings -- and the name armory -- for more modern digs
dubbed "readiness centers." In New York, with the nation's largest
collection of the oldest and most architecturally significant
armories, that means disposing of some imposing structures.
The unit based at Glens Falls recently shifted to its new $11.5
million readiness center in a suburban industrial park.
The New York National Guard has 52 active armories, down from 70 a
decade ago, most of them on the National Register of Historic Places.
They include the 7th Regiment Armory covering an entire Manhattan
block and the castlelike Connecticut Street Armory in Buffalo. Some,
like Glens Falls, were designed in a medieval military style by state
architect Isaac Perry in the late 1800s; others from the 1930s were
designed in a more Gothic style by William Haugaard.
Nationwide, there are nearly 3,000 readiness centers, including
armories of various ages, according to the National Guard Bureau based
in Arlington, Va. In 2002, there were about 3,150. How many of the
nation's older armories are still being used by Guard units isn't
known, the bureau said.
After a New York armory is decommissioned, it's considered surplus
state property and handed over to the state Office of General
Services. The properties are first offered to local municipalities,
but if there are no takers, OGS puts the property on the auction
block.
"In terms of age and architectural sophistication, the armories built
in New York State between 1799 and 1941 compose the oldest, largest
and best collection of pre-World War II era armories in the country,"
Nancy Todd, a state architectural historian, wrote in her 2006 book,
"New York's Historic Armories: An Illustrated History."
Bidding on the Glens Falls Armory was set to begin at $500,000; the
same minimum was set for the Oct. 27 armory auction at Rochester and
Schenectady's on Nov. 17. Others targeted for decommissioning include
one in Newburgh in the Hudson Valley and six on Long Island.
Only one person attempted to bid on the Glens Falls facility
Wednesday, but he withdrew after learning about the $500,000 minimum.
Today's Guard conducts more training in the field or at Army Reserve
facilities, diminishing the need for mustering inside old armories
that lack the latest technology.
The trend is mirrored in neighboring Pennsylvania, home to about 160
National Guard facilities, most built during or after World War II,
although a handful of the oldest date back to the 1910s.
"We are in a building boom right now, and we're also going to be in
the process of selling some of the old armories and getting them off
the books," said Lt. Col. Chris Cleaver of the Pennsylvania National
Guard. "It's just not cost-effective to keep them up and running."
Turrets, dimly lit gyms and basement warrens of bunkerlike rooms are
just some of the common features prospective buyers see during pre-
sale open houses.
At Rochester's nearly 80,000-square-foot Culver Road armory, built
during World War I, interested parties touring the property are told
to stay together so they don't get lost, said Chuck Sheifer, chief of
OGS' Bureau of Land Management.
While initial interest is usually high when a prospective buyer walks
in the door, that enthusiasm can dim considerably once the tour is
over, he said.
"It dawns on them: it's a lot of area; it's a big space; and it's
going to take a lot of money to fulfill their vision," Mr. Sheifer
said.
The armories' imposing architectural style was more than a fad when
most were built, said Michael Aikey, director of the New York State
Military Museum, located in the former armory in Saratoga Springs.
"They wanted to give you a sense of the power of the state," Mr. Aikey
said. "A lot of these were built during a fair amount of civil
unrest."
Despite their often massive size and design quirks -- or because of
them -- many old armories have been converted to other uses. The
armories in Ticonderoga and Malone are now community centers. The
Hudson armory was turned into an antiques center in the mid-1990s,
while Tonawanda's is home to a catering business. Albany's Washington
Avenue Armory is a concert and sports venue, and the former Clermont
Armory in Brooklyn is an apartment complex. Armory Square, Syracuse's
downtown entertainment and dinning hub, is centered around a century-
old armory that houses a science museum.
Elsewhere in the nation, armories have been converted into arts
centers in West Palm Beach, Fla; Pasadena, Calif., and Duluth, Minn.,
while the armory in Portland, Maine, was turned into a hotel.
At least one former armory serves as a private residence. In
Amsterdam, on the Mohawk River 30 miles northwest of Albany, Susan and
Manfred Phemister converted their 1890s armory into the Amsterdam
Castle, a combination home, meeting space and bed-and-breakfast.
The New York City transplants have spent "hundreds of thousands of
dollars" refurbishing the 36,000-square-foot building, said Mrs.
Phemister, a business executive with Thomson Reuters in Manhattan.
"The joy of living in an armory is that you have the most beautiful,
extraordinary building," she said.
The couple, who found the armory when it was listed on eBay by the
previous owner, have the property up for sale for $1.5 million, nearly
double what they paid for it in 2005.