SCHENECTADY — The project that was supposed to spark the redevelopment of lower State Street has fallen apart, leaving the city with a gaping hole in the block and no firm plans on how to fill it.

The proposed catalyst project for the block was to be the renovation of the three large Robinson’s Furniture buildings, turning the top stories into luxury apartments with first-floor retail and cafes facing a wide courtyard leading to State Street.

But after the three buildings started to pancake last fall, those plans turned to dust as well, Metroplex Development Chairman Ray Gillen confirmed on Monday.

The buildings began to collapse while workers were removing asbestos in preparation for the renovation project. No one was hurt, but the city had to demolish the entire complex.

Metroplex officials tried to persuade developer Mark Boss to go forward with the project, but he wanted to renovate, not build a new structure, Gillen said.

“We talked to Mark many times. He was very upset that the building was lost,” Gillen said. “There are renovation people and there are build-new people. He wanted to renovate.”

Schenectady City Council members were surprised to learn Monday that the project would not go forward. Although the deal has apparently been dead for months, the council only found out when Metroplex asked to buy the property from the city so the agency could better market it to new developers.

The original plan was announced with much fanfare last year, and when the buildings collapsed, Gillen told the council that Boss was determined to complete his project anyway.

Gillen described that project as the critical first step in persuading other developers to invest in lower State Street and predicted that it would have nearly as much impact as Proctors had on its block of State Street.

But Metroplex Executive Director Jayme Lahut told the council Monday that it should have been obvious that the collapse would kill the project.

“The developer was interested in a renovation of that building. Obviously the building isn’t standing anymore, so they’re not interested,” he said.

STARTING OVER

Reached later, Gillen said he has several other developers interested in the lot. However, Metroplex is back at square one. The board must decide what it wants on the site before any proposals can be considered.

“We could sell it tomorrow. The question is best use. Offices? Residential?” he said. “We have to have discussions with the board and the city and the county.”

Lahut said he’s confident the land will be redeveloped easily.

“It’s a very good-sized parcel. There are many potential uses,” he said. “It has access to Erie and State. It’s a unique location.”

In committee, the council agreed to sell the parcel to Metroplex for $1 in exchange for a 50-50 split of any proceeds when Metroplex sells the lot. The agency will also give a small piece of the land to Ed Zemeck so he can build handicap-accessible bathrooms behind the Silver Diner, which he is restoring. The diner cannot reopen as a restaurant until it meets the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The council will take a formal vote on the deal next Monday.

Gillen said taking ownership of the parcel is the first step toward marketing it, but said he doesn’t expect to announce a new project for the site in the immediate future.

This is at least the third time that plans to reuse the Robinson’s site have fallen apart since the city took the building in a tax foreclosure in 1997. It has been vacant for 15 years.

Robinson’s Furniture Co. was a family business and a downtown fixture for 51 years. The store opened in 1944 as a small shop with 1,600 square feet of space. Numerous expansions followed as the company expanded to 80,000 square feet.

By 1969, the Robinson Furniture Co. occupied three buildings, stretching side-by-side from 238 to 252 State St.

The store closed in May 1995, when Richard Robinson announced that he could not continue the business due to health problems.