TROY - Rensselaer County’s purchase of the Italian Community Center to serve as new senior center has stalled as the county reconsiders buying the building and the non-profit looks to see if there may be other interested purchasers.

The county’s purchase of the ICC building at 1450 Fifth Ave. with its 108-space parking lot for $685,000, would provide a new home for the Troy Area Senior Services Center, which was to relocate from the former Masonic Lodge at 19 Third St.

“We are focusing on ensuring the best possible deal for county taxpayers and residents. We believe it is necessary and warranted to first seek offers from any interested parties regarding a potential sale of the current Troy senior center location on Third Street,” Richard Crist, a spokesman for County Executive Steven McLaughlin, said Friday.

“With that in mind, we are seeking approval to issue a request for proposals for the property. The previous agreement reached by the prior administration was apparently reached without a request for proposals being issued for the property,” Crist said.

Former County Kathleen Jimino announced the planned purchase late last year as a way to make senior services more accessible by relocating from the three-story Third Street building to the one-story ICC facility. Jimino described the ICC building as “a more suitable and efficient location that addresses our significant need for off-street parking for those seniors seeking the services we provide."

Mike Cazzato, the financial secretary for the Italian Community Center Charitable Foundation, said the ICC board has decided to consider other potential purchasers citing Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as possible buyer.

“To this day, a real estate contract has not yet even been signed. We actually are not even sure if Rensselaer County will ever buy the property. Plain and simple, we are open for business in our continuous efforts to assist our community,” Cazzato said.

ICC continues to offer bingo starting at 5:30 p.m. with food and the games at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays, the VITA free tax services and space for community meetings.

"Our intent is not to shut down. Our intent is to find a smaller location,” Cazzato said.

The county had offered a “very, very low” price for the ICC property which was valued at $935,000, Cazzato said.

The Third Street building was proposed to be sold for $575,000 to developer David Bryce, who was expected to convert it to office space.

“We have not ruled out the ICC as a possible location, but would first need to complete the sale of the current Troy senior center. There are some concerns about secondary costs to the county for outfitting the ICC for use as a senior center, and also some concerns about an increase in the ICC purchase price by over $100,000 once the county began negotiating,” Crist said.