Albany's Kenwood Convent Lost to Fire
Left to right: A historic postcard showing Kenwood at its height; A photo showing the site in a deteriorated state in 2020; the aftermath of the fire in March 2023. The first image is from Friends of Albany History, who have many more wonderful historic images of the estate. The second and third photos are from Historic Albany Foundation, who have been steadfast advocates for the property for over a decade.
The Preservation League was saddened to learn of the loss of the former Kenwood Convent, also known as the former Academy of the Sacred Heart, in Albany. In 2010, shortly after the building was vacated, the League listed the building on our Seven to Save list; our colleagues at the Historic Albany Foundation likewise included it on their Endangered Historic Resources List. This beautiful campus was rich in both history and frustrations: architecturally distinctive, historically fascinating, but subject to a series of failed development projects in recent years. The site was left vacant and vulnerable for over a decade. On March 23, despite the valiant efforts of first responders, it was lost to a terrible fire.
The Times Union covered the fire at Kenwood in an article from March 24, “Fire at former Doane Stuart School widespread when firefighters arrived” / photo by Jim Franco for the Times Union
The League is committed to working with our state and local partners to find solutions to the perennial problem of vacant buildings. We are currently advocating for the inclusion of a new “White Elephant” program, proposed by Assemblymember Carrie Woerner and Senator Tim Kennedy, in the FY2024 NYS Budget. This program consists of a set of enhancements to the existing State Historic Tax Credits that facilitate their use for the redevelopment of large, long-vacant buildings whose size and complexity make rehabilitation daunting. Kenwood had already been identified by the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation as one of a few dozen properties statewide poised to take advantage of the white elephant program. We thank Assemblymember Woerner and Senator Kennedy for their leadership on this issue, and are anxiously awaiting the imminent release of the final budget to learn whether this program is included. We hope these provisions can help other stalled redevelopment projects move ahead so that other communities can prevent the kind of loss so heartbreakingly documented by our friends at Historic Albany Foundation. HAF also put together a timeline covering the past 15 years at Kenwood, to help contextualize how this historic resource was lost.