Troy

While upstate cities have suffered for decades from suburban migration and the loss of manufacturing jobs, a plan by four friends from Brooklyn to move to Troy hints that our urban centers may be turning the corner.

In a move that may sound counterintuitive to some, the friends, two couples in their late 20s and 30s, are planning to leave behind their homes in Brooklyn's trendy Williamsburg section and their careers in Manhattan to put down roots in Troy.

And while Brooklyn may be considered to be at the leading edge of urban renewal these days, the friends, three of them architects schooled in New Urbanism design, view Troy as a city on the verge.

And they want to be a part of it.

"For a long time, we've really been interested in thinking outside of the box," says Kyle Engstrom, one of three University of Miami graduates among the group planning to make the move. "It was always something we were always interested in. Next thing we know, we are in Troy and absolutely in love."

The "we" include Engstrom and his wife, Gaciela Monroy, and good friend Brendan Tateo, each of whom studied at Miami, along with Tateo's fiancee, Kim Kullmer, an artist and community activist with a music degree from the University of Iowa.

The four first became interested in the Collar City while listening to a podcast of "A Small American City" by Troy author and publicist Duncan Crary.

This past fall, they decided to make a trip to Troy to see the city for themselves, interested in the people and the places of the city.

"We really came on a whim," Engstrom said. "We just wanted to see the city, and immediately (it) was evident to us that there was something special about Troy."

The couples ate at Bacchus Woodfired Pizza and then stopped by the Lucas Confectionery wine bar owned by Vic Christopher and Heather LaVine.

As luck would have it, Duncan Crary — whom they had never met — stopped by, and they became quick friends. Crary and others took the four on a tour of the city, and the two couples have been back many times since.

"I've had a steady stream of people coming to Troy for years because of the program," Crary said. "But they're the first people who came here to view it as a place to settle down."

Engstrom and the others were so smitten by the city that they have put in bids to buy two vacant properties in Troy's Pottery District through one of the city's foreclosure sales.

Each of the couples would move into the buildings — one is located at 183 Fourth St. and the other at 6 Franklin Place — while trying to develop retail space on the ground floors. They also plan to continue their architecture careers, with offices planned in the buildings as well.

Monica Kurzejeski, Troy's economic development coordinator and the acting executive director of its new land bank that will buy up vacant properties, says she has met with the two couples and came away impressed with their energy and enthusiasm. She also remembers that when some locals asked where they were from at an open house for one of the buildings, they declared themselves Trojans. "They're fabulous," Kurzejeski said. "It was really heart-warming."

Engstrom doesn't know if they will end up being awarded the two properties. But at this point, nothing would stop them.

Regardless of the outcome, "we're committed to the idea anyway," he said.

lrulison@timesunion.com • 518-454-5504 • @larryrulison