Association, seeking more visibility and space, plans to break ground next week in Latham

The New York State School Boards Association hopes that a new, larger headquarters in Latham will give it more conference space and visibility.

The association – which represents more than 5,000 school board members across the state announced plans Friday to break ground next week on a 45,000 square foot headquarters at 24 Century Hill Drive, located off Route 9.

The project, which will cost more than $6 million, will replace the association's current headquarters in The Dodge Building at 119 Washington Avenue in Albany.

The ground breaking is scheduled for Friday.

"Right now, we have a small conference room, and we don't have any parking for visitors. We don't even have parking for the whole staff," said Tim Kremer, executive director of the association.

The new office will have more conference space and will be tied into an existing fiber-optics network, which could allow video-conferencing with school boards around the state, Kremer said. It also will have enough free parking should the association bring in school board members for conferences, he said.

The association now occupies about 22,000 square feet in an Albany building it co-owns with the New York State Conference of Mayors.

Kremer said the School Boards Association plans to sell its half of that building. It will own its new headquarters, being built by First Columbia, LLC and has a 99-year lease for the land.

The site is located in First Columbia's Century Hill Plaza development, located north of Exit 7 of the Northway.

Kremer said the association will fill about 30,000 square feet of its new office and will lease out the rest of the building. But he said the group could expand in the future into the rest of the building.

The association today has 58 employees – a staff that has nearly doubled over the 20 years it has been located downtown.

"With Century Plaza's new infrastructure and tremendous location, we're confident of the long-term value we can provide NYSSBA," said Kevin Bette, president of First Columbia.