Price Chopper to demolish St. Patricks Church in Watervliet

By on April 12, 2012 in Albany

From the Troy Record:

We are sensitive to the role that St. Patrick’s Church has played in this community and are aware of initial public reaction to its purchase and demolition by Nigro Cos.,” Price Chopper CEO and President Jerel Golub said in a statement. “As such, we plan to be a participant in the larger public process and will address all questions and concerns relative to our proposed new store.”

The new store, if approved, would be about 40,200 square feet and located between 19th and 23rd streets, and 5th and 6th avenues. Along with the proposed demolition of the church, a former school and multiple row houses would also be demolished.

Imagine if they opened the small market style grocer that Fresh Market so desperately tries to do (but fails miserably) in the building that’s already there? That would be an awesome addition to the area and would definitely be a novel place to get your food. What a shame.

About andrew

Andrew started Keep Albany Boring in September 2010.
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  • Lainey

    Unfortunetly, rehab is just not a feasible option. The columns and supports are shot, and to bring St. Patrick’s back to life would cost millions of dollars. In fact, the parish sought non profits to occupy the space but only received bids for the property that would require demolition.
    What we should be sad about is that there aren’t parishioners to keep churches from falling into disrepair in the first place.

    • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=5517472 Luke Mazza

      It’s amazing that the outside appears to be in such great condition but the columns and supports are shot. Don’t they usually build these things to last hundreds of years?

    • Pat

      You know we did donate to replace the roof on St Patricks.   This to the promise of Bishop Howard that the church would remain.  Guess what he LIED.

  • Daleyplanit

    So let’s get this straight. PC plans to abandon their current water list store, thus leaving an eyesore, so they can tear down a community landmark and replace it with a bigger store?!

  • kevinmarshall

    …ya know, regardless of the circumstances and context, there’s just no way to spin “we’re tearing down this church and replacing it with a Price Chopper” into a positive. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

  • Cynicalkiddo

    This is unacceptable. And, I, too would like to know what Price Chopper plans on doing with their current “ghetto chopper”?

  • Jeremy29

    Don’t worry… they’re only bricks… No humans will be harmed in the progress.

  • Dbergmann

    “..you don’t know what you got till it’s gone…”  Price Chopper should abandon their proposal to demolish consecrated and historic St. Patrick’s.  Bet they would not do this if it were an old synagogue.
    …. if it happens, many will elect to shop at Hannaford or ShopRite instead of Price Chopper.

  • Shril1211

    Isn’t this church a replica of the Basilica of Lourdes in France?  Can you imagine a Price Chopper
    being built on land in the Vatican where a blessed church once stood?   Isn’t there a rich sheik out
    there someplace who could rehab the building?  Good grief. 

  • Ryan

    A friend of mine told me that Wegmans Food is soon going to have a presence in the Upstate area, and what with the neu ShopRite, Trader Joe’s, Fresh Market and the other markets which already exist, there is no possibility these retailers can all succeed–which will lead, inevitability, to the empty hull carcasses of more than one store. The weird irony is that future urban renewal projects then have to grapple with the task of how to use these spaces once they are abandoned, when often times they will become churches again, co-mingling in your favorite strip mall, amongst: Starbucks, CVS stores, and mobile camper home retailers. 

  • sarah

    There is already a Price Chopper 4 blocks from there at 2nd Ave & 19th St that looks like crap.  Can’t they just fix that one up instead of paving over one of the only city blocks in that area that has some significant amount of green space?  

  • CynicalKiddo

    Over the past few months it’s become the typical cash out experience at this PC to be one of many other customers in one of 2–3 lines so long that we block aisles and are forced to stand in them. Last time I was in line, an employee just recently off of her shift explained to me that this PC just recently cut all workers’ hours and no one is allowed more than 23 hours a week. This PC employs many lifers.

    If the new location cost is reason for cutting their workers’ hours, shame on them. And, if they can’t afford to keep their little location afloat, how do they plan to maintain a much larger one?