Albany

The massive hole at 705 Broadway in one of the city's oldest neighborhoods is being filled.

Construction crews are working on the foundations of what will be an eight-story, 132-room Hyatt Place hotel and a 134-unit apartment building, to be called Quackenbush Square. The project, which is expected to cost less than $100 million, also will have 14,000 square feet of retail space and is being developed by Syracuse-based Pioneer Companies.

The Quackenbush Square development, which received planning board approval last April, has been in the works at the vacant 1.7-acre site for more than three years. The planning board had tabled the project after early bids from contractors came in 30 to 40 percent over budget, sending the developer back to the drawing board.

An underground parking garage was eliminated and the extended-stay Hyatt House will now be a Hyatt Place. The hotel is currently being built with an opening expected in the third quarter of 2020, said Melissa Zell, Pioneer's president and chief operating officer. Construction of the mixed-use building is expected to begin "well before" the hotel is completed, Zell said Thursday.

The building is slated for completion in the second quarter of 2021, she said.

The Albany Industrial Development Agency approved $7 million in tax breaks for the hotel project earlier this year.

The project is adjacent to the Discover Albany Visitors Center, the Albany Pump Station, and The Olde English Pub and Pantry, which occupies a 1730s-era building.

The Leo W. O'Brien Federal Building is across Broadway, and the Palace Theatre is a block away.

The area connects Albany's downtown with its warehouse district farther north on Broadway, an area that's also seeing new investment from arts organizations and developers.

The mixed-use building will include apartments with wrap-around balconies, with those on the top floor featuring outdoor decks, according to the architectural rendering.