Ultimatum for Central Warehouse Owner, Will he Comply?

It's been a long decaying road for the massive concrete Central Warehouse building in Albany, but now it appears everything is falling apart both literally and figuratively for its owner, Evan Blum.

Amtrak resumes service as crews have made temporary fixes to the crumbling building/News 10

Chunks of concrete were falling from the building on Friday, causing Amtrak to cancel all westbound service to and from the Albany-Rensselaer Train Station through the weekend. The city of Albany declared a state of emergency over worries that one of the walls was about to collapse. Crews worked to fix up the crumbling wall and Amtrak resumed service on Monday.

Concrete that had fallen from the outer wall/News 10

On Tuesday, Albany Mayor Kathy Sheehan announced the city is giving Blum ten days to make the necessary repairs or face further citations. Ironically, he's already been flagged by the city for previous violations according to Mayor Sheehan:

He has been cited multiple times. He has been made well aware of what needs to happen to this building. And yet he has not done so.

The city has already spent over $100,000 in making quick repairs to some of the damage, but those repairs don't even scratch the surface of what needs to be done. Code enforcement officials say garbage needs to be cleaned out, concrete staircases need to be stabilized, and windows and entrances need to be covered.

As it currently looks with un-boarded windows/News 10

Blum already owes over $500,000 in back taxes on the building and has repeatedly pointed the finger at the city and county for impeding any progress he's tried to make on fixing up the concrete behemoth.

Owner Evan Blum inside the Central Warehouse/News 10

The county has tried numerous times to take over the property, but Blum has filed a total of four lawsuits to block the takeover. Three of those lawsuits have been dismissed, the most recent was filed in federal court with no verdict yet.

A close-up of the decay around one of the windows/News 10

If the county takes over the building, they have a deal to sell it to two local contractors for $50,000 and waive all the back taxes. The contractors believe they can rehab the structure with the plan of turning it into a combination of retail space and apartments.

Sneak Peek Inside The Creepy Old Central Warehouse

Check Out this 19th Century Abandoned Farm House in Saratoga

Located on the grounds of the vast Saratoga Spa State Park, it's known as the La Tour Farmhouse. Back in 2009 the Post Star did an expose on the home, which has sat vacant for decades. Apparently it has a very rich history. It was built circa 1835 as part of a large 135 acre farm, in the early 1900's it was converted into a two family home. As Saratoga State Park began to expand, the land and the house were purchased by the state in 1928. It was occupied by workers at the nearby nursery until about 1978.

After that, it was vacant. The state threw out a couple different ideas, but apparently there's not even a driveway leading to the house, which made accessibility that much more difficult. Efforts to demolish the house were hindered because of the cost associated with razing it.

As for 2022, it's difficult to find any information on the structure. It's possible that it's still there, again any plans or records for the home, at least on a Google search, show the last plans for the house came about in 2009 when David Patterson was Governor. At the time, the plan was to tear it down, but that apparently never happened.

This video and the photos were taken back in 2014 as the building just sat, waiting and waiting to find out its fate. Apparently there are some other historic abandoned structures on the site. Although damaged by nature and neglect, it's nice to see it hasn't been hit by vandals - at least at the time of this video.

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

Vacant Since 2005, See Inside this Abandoned Apartment in Troy

Known as the John P. Taylor Apartments, this was a public housing complex along River Street in Troy. The buildings were built in the 1950's and have become part of the Troy skyline. They were last used in 2009 and have since fallen into disrepair due to vandals and neglect.

Source: Ultimatum for Central Warehouse Owner, Will he Comply?

Filed Under: abandoned, Albany, Albany Central Warehouse, evan blum, Mayor Sheehan

Categories: Around Albany