Rotterdam

It was an eyesore for decades. But on Thursday, as officials gathered for a ceremonial demolition and groundbreaking, one of the last walls at the decaying Curry Road Shopping Plaza wouldn't budge.

The plaza, most of which has been vacant for decades, will be replaced by The Residences at Vista Square, a $20 million group of eight three-story apartment buildings developed by Richbell Capital.

As heavy machinery ripped off strips of metal and brick veneer, the wall, once the front facade of the W.T. Grant discount store, shook but it didn't fall.

It wasn't until well after the groundbreaking, and the group was enjoying coffee and bagels, that workers got the entire wall to topple, enveloping the spectators in a thick cloud of dust.

"When you don't want buildings to fall, they do, and when you want them to, they don't," said Ray Gillen, chairman of the Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority.

The plaza dates to the 1950s, when Price Chopper, then known as Central Market, was an anchor, as was W.T. Grant, which was replaced by Kmart.

Tenants through the years included a bank and dry cleaner. Trustco Bank still has a branch in the mostly demolished center and is building a replacement closer to Curry Road.

The Golub Corp., which bought the property for $1.25 million in 1996, cleaned up toxic chemicals from the dry cleaner and donated the land to the town in 2003. Initially, Rotterdam planned a town government center but decided to redevelop it, with a number of proposals floated through the years.

It wasn't until this year that concrete plans for a residential development fell into place.

"This is a great victory and a win-win for all of us who have driven by Curry Road Plaza for so long," said state Sen. George Amedore.

The apartments will be built in two phases, starting this autumn after demolition and site preparation are completed. A $350,000 Metroplex grant is paying for the demolition and site work. The first 104 apartments, which will have elevators, indoor parking and interior corridors, should be open by the autumn of 2017, said William Hoblock, executive vice president of Richbell Capital.

One-, two- and three-bedroom apartments are available with monthly rents from around $1,000 to $1,500.

A website, residencesatvistasquare.com, is accepting lease applications.

eanderson@timesunion.com • 518-454-5323