Controversial Colonie Motel May be Torn Down, Replaced by Stewart

A motel in Latham that has made news over the years for housing sex offenders, being a prostitution hot bed (no pun intended), and a plethora of code violations may cease to exist in the near future.

Google Street View

The Spotlight News is reporting that the Sycamore Motel, 956 Route 9 in Latham, may eventually be knocked down to make way for a new Stewarts Shop. And will thus make way for a different kind of clientele in that small part of town.

Over the years, the town of Colonie has been cracking down on motels with 'questionable' living conditions. In 2015 and 2016 two motels, the Blu Bell and Skylane, on Central Ave were razed by the town.

Google Street View 2015

Google Street View 2014

Back in 2019 Spotlight News reported 24 code violations at the Sycamore as well as several people taking up long term residence at the motel. Town attorney Michael Magiulli called the conditions 'deplorable'.

People should not live in these conditions. There are no kitchen facilities. The units are equipped solely with small microwave ovens and dormitory refrigerators. The bathrooms are not fit for human use.

For the most part, the google reviews aren't that flattering either.

Google

But it's not all bad.

Google

The land purchase is part of a bigger deal that will include surrounding parcels including an old car wash next door - which used to be part of the Nemer Auto Group dealership.

Google Street View

As well as a vacant lot on the motel's south side.

Google Street View

The new Stewarts is expected to be fairly large, with about 16 fuel pumps and 6 electric vehicle charging stations.

Everything is still in the proposal stage and the motel is still operating, so still a lengthy process to go through if approved.

Hotel in Albany Abandoned During Covid is Trashed by Vandals

Abandoned Rensselaer County Burger King is Surprisingly In Tact

This Burger King was located on Columbia Turnpike in East Greenbush. After a near 40 year run, the restaurant closed its doors in 2017, long before the pandemic. These photos/video were taken nearly 2 years later in 2019. The inside remained in relatively good shape. You can see the old school swivel chairs and booths were all still there. Pictures and paintings remained on the wall and for the most part, inside looked pretty clean.

It's more common to find abandoned buildings covered in graffiti, windows broken, raided for copper and ceiling tiles left decaying on the floor. There's a little bit of that here, but the restaurant for the most part - at least on the inside looks ok. There is a door boarded up and the back loading dock has some ceiling tiles down. And yes, somebody did break one of the windows of the drive thru, but that could've been an angry customer from when they were still open.

Outside is a bit of a different story. As the interior photos were taken in 2019, the exterior was starting to have a tough time. Photos from 2021 do show some additional wear and tear, including more broken windows, pieces of the roof coming down and a serious absence of landscaping.

Although not independently verified, records show this property was sold at auction back in February of 2020.

WARNING: Under no circumstances should you enter this property. By doing so you risk bodily harm and/or prosecution for trespassing on private property.