SCHENECTADY COUNTY — The Schenectady County Community College music program most likely will be expanded on campus and not relocated downtown, officials say. However, the project could end up smaller than originally envisioned.

SCCC spokeswoman Heather Meaney said college officials are working on a proposal that would build an addition to Begley Hall — the current home of the program.

“They’re still negotiating with county legislators on when, where and how much for the addition,” she said.

She said the total cost of the addition is one of the points of discussion, so the initial design would probably be changed. “The goal is to get sufficient space for the music program,” she said.

The college had previously proposed a $5.4 million, 20,000-square-foot addition to Begley Hall that would include eight music practice rooms, a sound recording studio, and stage and rehearsal areas for the drama program.

Architect Karl Griffith of Griffith, Dardanelli Architects confirmed that there is also a possibility that the project could be scaled down.

The county Legislature appropriated $2.7 million toward the project in its 2006 capital budget with the intention of the state matching the other half.

County officials have wanted the college to move all or some of its music program downtown to a location near Proctors. In the spring of 2007, the county declined to release the $2.7 million because college officials had not considered the downtown option. The county had expressed interest in using Center City, which is owned by the Galesi Group. However, news surfaced last month that the YMCA is considering building a branch on the ground floor of Center City.

Meaney said the college is not aware of any other off-campus sites under consideration for the music program.

County Legislator Gary Hughes, D-Schenectady, said he is not ready to say that all downtown options are off the table.

“We are continuing to be in discussions with the college about music program facilities. Anything more than that is probably speculation,” he said.

He said both the college and the county would like to wrap up its negotiations “fairly quickly,” but he declined to state a specific timetable.

Hughes said the county’s fiscal situation is more challenging than it was a couple of years ago, so it has to balance that with the needs of the music program. “One of the reasons that the downtown project made sense to the college is that it opened the door to be able to access a great deal of money that we would need for the project from sources other than the taxpayers,” he said. “Those types of redevelopment loans aren’t available for a straight facility project.”

SCCC currently has two rehearsal rooms, 11 individual practice rooms, one small classroom and faculty offices. The National Association of Schools of Music, which accredits the college, has said SCCC should have additional practice facilities for the number of students in the program, according to Meaney. The school is up for reaccreditation in 2012.