Latest plan for One Monument Square pulled
Officials blame rival developer’s lawsuits for scuttling fourth proposal for former city hall site
Citing legal action taken by a rival developer, Bow Tie Cinemas announced late Friday it has pulled out of its agreement with the city to build a 10-screen cineplex on the riverfront site of the former city hall.
In a statement, Mayor Patrick Madden said the decision by Bow Tie to become the fourth developer to abandon plans for One Monument Square was a “result of multiple and ongoing legal actions brought by a neighboring property owner against the city of Troy.”
“We are deeply disappointed with this lost opportunity to construct a world-class cinema in the Collar City,” Madden said.
The mayor said his administration and representatives of Bonacio Construction — which had been working with Bow Tie to develop the theater — met on multiple occasions with developer Sam Judge to address his demands, including those not contained within multiple legal actions he filed against the city to block the project from proceeding. Madden said he believes the issues with Judge were “solvable,” but Bow Tie Cinemas opted to end its involvement in project because of “potential future litigation.”
Judge Development Corp. filed a lawsuit in September, through a pair of subsidiaries representing adjacent properties on either side of the site owned by the company, asking a judge to negate legislation approved in May by the City Council that signed off on a land-development deal with BTP Monument Square, a partnership between Bonacio Construction and Bow Tie. In the suit, Judge claims not only that the city botched the environmental review process for the project, but also that the city needs approval from the state Legislature to dispose of what he claimed to be city parkland.
Bow Tie officials declined additional comment in a statement emailed shortly after Madden announced the project had bee pulled. In her own statement, City Council President Carmella Mantello expressed her disappointment that the city and Bow Tie could not overcome the “various impediments for this project to come to fruition.”
Judge Development is no stranger to the controversial history of One Monument Square since City Hall was demolished in 2011 because of structural damage blamed on severe flooding along the Hudson River in 2006. The company was the second developer to take a crack at redeveloping the site, but its 2012 deal with the city fell apart the next year amid questions about financial information provided by Judge in applying to take on the project.
Judge, president of Judge Devlopment, has also played a personal role in that history, criticizing the demolition of City Hall and its impact on his neighboring buildings and more recently saying the project would leave the city unable to extend sewer service farther south along Front Street — which runs behind One Monument Square — to properties he owns. City officials disputed Judge’s interpretation of project plans, however, saying the existing line that runs through One Monument Square ends at the southern boundary of the property, allowing for it to be extended as needed to connect to additional buildings.
Judge Development was also the city’s landlord after it moved out of One Monument Square in 2008 and into the Verizon Building on 6th Avenue. That relationship ended up in court, as well, this time with the city suing over the failure by Judge Development to meet a deadline to install an elevator in the building and make other improvements, delaying its move. Judge Developpment and the city finally agreed in July 2016 to settle the suit for $360,000.