There are too many X’s on buildings around Troy.

They’ve been left to deteriorate by many absentee landlords and some locals who just don’t seem to care. When I saw our new mayor in front of a historic Troy house being torn down during her first week it made me realize this issue has been a recurring nightmare in Troy for many years.

The first thing you hear is a building is too far-gone to rehab it. My reply is to look at the ten buildings that make up Washington Place, a row of Greek Revivals that years ago had no backs, some with no roofs, and some without floors. One was just a facade. It looked like a bombed out city block from WW II.

Today those buildings are collectively worth over 4.5 million dollars. Number 4 is assessed at $1,633,819. Number 7 is worth $699,999. A few years ago you couldn’t give them away but one person took the gamble. Others followed. The results? Watch The Gilded Age on HBO and see them as backdrops.

Troy’s history is not only its people but also its landscape and historic structures that make up the fabric that makes Troy one of the most historic in the country. Past city administrations have never embraced the history or the economic engine it could have become. Heritage........

© The Saratogian