SUNY Polytechnic Civil Engineering Professor Andy Wolfe first dug up the north end of the old Erie Canal Lock One in Albany more than 20 years ago.
Now, after a long process of drawing maps and probing the site with ground-penetrating radar, he's dug up the southeast end. It's just 18 inches underground and in good shape.
"It's phenomenal," Wolfe said. "It's in one piece. We found the whole lock. It ends where it's supposed to end. It started where it was supposed to start, and it helps Len's vision come together. This this really makes the project viable in this area. We have Lock One."
The original project was conceived of by artist Len Tantillo more than 30 years ago. It calls for redeveloping the old Erie Canal Lock One and the surrounding warehouse district, but no one knew what shape the lock was in. It had been buried for upwards of 100 years and lost to time after the older Erie Canal was replaced by the current barge canal, which ends in Cohoes.
Tantillo was thrilled to see that the lock, which is an essential part of his plan, was in good shape.
"We knew it was here, but we didn't know the extent of it, and we decided that a good move would be find the other end, find out how many of the stones still exist, and that's what this is about," Tantillo said.
The first phase of Tantillo's project calls for restoring the historic Canal Lock One, building a marina, putting in a plaza, and connecting the development to the Empire State Trail.
The marina wouldn't be far from existing businesses in the warehouse district, and at least in theory, private developers would purchase the land around the marina and open shops, restaurants, apartments, and possibly a hotel.
Potential future phases of Tantillo's design would construct a canal and marina in front of the SUNY System Administrative Building and construct more canalways downtown.
The organization Tantillo helped found, Albany Waterway, has been pushing for the project thanks to a quote army of 1,200 volunteers.
B.J. Costello, who chairs Albany Waterway, says the project could revitalize downtown Albany. He's pointed to similar projects like the canal side development in downtown Buffalo.
"That replaced basically a wasteland of property, if I can call it that, and has produced significant incomes for the city, the county, and the state, and provided housing and development, retail," Costello said. "It's a place where people like to go, and in wintertime they actually skate on it."
The project has gotten some political buy-in. The Albany County Legislature gave Albany Waterway an $85,000 grant to fund the excavation and a feasibility study.
Albany County Executive Dan McCoy and Albany Mayor Dorcey Applyrs have shown interest in the project, and Applyrs even appeared in a video touting the project.
"We should have a downtown that is thriving, a downtown that celebrates the rich culture, history and diversity of this city," Applyrs said at an event celebrating the excavation. "I've been very clear as mayor that my top priority, in addition to addressing public safety, is ensuring that we have a capital city that we all can be proud about."
But even with an intact lock, the canal redevelopment isn't quite shovel ready.
Local government officials would need to purchase nearly six acres of land from seven different private owners, either in negotiations or through eminent domain.
Costello says Albany Waterway has asked Applyrs and McCoy to lead the effort on those processes, which can both be arduous.
"It's not an easy process and at the end of the day, it just needs to be done," Costello said. "You can't have, well, you can't hold up a public project like this when there's a way to do it, and that's the way to do it."
An engineering firm hired by Albany Waterway found that just the first phase of the project would cost over $200 million. Most of that money would have to come from county and state governments, no matter how preserved the lock that Wolfe digs up is.
"Part of what we're doing is seeing if this is a viable lock, and since it is, now the question becomes: how do we get the money for making Len Tantillo's dream a reality?" Wolfe said "That's the big question, but that's the politicians. I don't have $200 million."
Wolfe will continue excavating the lock on weekdays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. through the end of August. He says visitors are welcome.
