St. Clare's redevelopment moves forward after Schenectady property sale

The planned conversion of the former St. Clare's Hospital in Schenectady into more than 200 apartments and a daycare took another step forward with the sale of the property.

Ellis Medicine sold the 16-acre campus with the 350,000-square-foot former hospital at 600 McClellan St. for $700,000, according to a deed filed July 6 in the county clerk's office.

The buyer was an LLC whose partners are local real estate developer Jeff Buell of Sequence Development, Chris Spraragen of Schenectady Hardware & Electric and Brooke Spraragen of Spraragen Partners.

It's a lot of land and space in a four-story building for the price but the cost is a reflection of the expense to retrofit the 77-year-old medical facility into an apartment complex.

The price "certainly feels like a steal until you walk through the hospital and have to figure out what to do with it," Buell said.

"In the last two years I've probably been in that building at least 50 times and still get lost every time," he added. "It's a meandering building to say the least."

Initially serving as a hospital from 1949 to 2008, a portion of the building was converted into a nursing home before closing in 2024 due to financial losses.

Buell and his partners see a lot of potential to provide workforce housing in the neighborhood near Central Park. Rents are expected to be in the range of $1,300 to $1,600.

Re4orm Architecture of Schenectady continues to work on the design, which at this point would accommodate about 210 units, slightly less than the 236 that were originally anticipated. The plan is to have a daycare run by the YWCA.

"They've committed to it and are seeking funding for it," Buell said.

The total development cost is now projected to be between $45 million and $50 million.

Some of the financing has been secured, including a $1.5 million state grant and property tax exemptions through the city Industrial Development Agency, but more work remains.

Federal historic tax credits will be pursued.

"We're still working on the capital stack," Buell said. "This has been one of the more challenging things I've worked on."

A rezoning and site plan have already been approved by the city.

Ideally, construction would start in early 2027 and be completed by the third quarter of 2028 or early 2029.

BBL Construction Services of Albany is the general contractor.

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