CBA move just another stride for campus

Donald F. Malone had the distinction of being in the first class ever to graduate from Christian Brothers Academy's De La Salle Road campus in 1940. His grandson, Ryan Walsh, will be among the last to do so in 1998.

Fortunately, says Ryan -- whose father Maurice also attended CBA -- the academy's legacy will endure long after its historic downtown Albany campus ceases to welcome students two years from now.

When the Catholic educational institution reopens in September 1998, it will be in an expansive, state-of-the-art complex on Airline Drive across from Heritage Park in Colonie.

More than bricks

"CBA is much more than just a building," explains Ryan, currently a junior. "It's about community and about traditions. Those things won't change just because the academy changes locations."

Sixteen-year-old Ryan should know. Prior to CBA's move to De La Salle Road in 1939, Ryan's grandfather and his great-grandfather, Francis A. Malone, had attended CBA's campus at the corner of Howard and Lodge Streets in Albany.

Since its founding on Western Avenue in 1859, CBA has occupied a total of six different sites, including Lydius Street (1862), Beaver Street (1868), State Street (1877), and Lodge/Howard (1886). The Colonie location will be the academy's seventh home.

Pluses to move

According to Brother E. James Stoltz, CBA's principal, the pending move will enable students to learn in a more technologically advanced setting, complete with interactive televisions and the Space Age equipment needed to download satellite programs. Indoor and outdoor sports amenities will also abound at the new location, estimated to be four times the size of CBA's current site.

"Our existing building and grounds were quite adequate when CBA opened its doors here (on De La Salle Road) nearly 60 years ago, but a great deal has changed since that time," reflects Brother James. "We looked for ways to upgrade and remodel the academy at the aging existing site, but it just wasn't possible for us to bring everything up to the desired standards, given the space restrictions and a number of other factors. In fact, we learned that it would actually be more expensive to renovate than to start from scratch."

On the grow

CBA's De La Salle Road building has been sold to the University Heights Association for $8.5-million. Those funds will help offset some costs of the new educational complex as well as CBA's endowment for the needy.

Brother James said that the vast majority of students, parents, teachers and alumni he's encountered are supportive of, and even excited about, the move to Airline Drive, just off the Watervliet-Shaker Road.

"Naturally, I've spotted some nostalgia -- especially when speaking with alumni groups at reunions, and so on," he said. "There's bound to be some emotional attachment when a building has been around as long as this one has. Eventually, though, I've found most alumni understand the reasons for the move, and they speak about the vitality of CBA in the years ahead."

The fact that the school site will mushroom from just 30 to 126 acres means more space for both academic and physical educational pursuits. Meanwhile, CBA's population is expected to jump from the current 390 to 600 students by the turn of the millennium.

Strong ties

Although Ryan Walsh will graduate from CBA before the move takes place and hopes to go on to West Point, he want to one day coach wrestling at the academy's new location.

"I'm on the wrestling team right now, and the school is so small, we have to practice on a stage," he said. "Students at the new

building will have their very own wrestling room. I think that's important."

Asked what, if anything, he wishes could be preserved at the existing CBA building or moved to the new one, Ryan spoke of a school crest or emblem that is now hidden behind a basketball hoop in the gym. "At the very least, we're going to try to get a nice photo of it for our yearbook so students can always look back and remember the way things were," says Ryan.

Family connections

Jon Reilly, a 15-year-old sophomore who hails from Clifton Park, shares many of Ryan's feelings about the pending move. Jon's father, Thomas, also graduated from CBA's De La Salle Road campus, meaning the academy holds some sentimental attachment for the Reilly family.

In some ways, says Jon, it would have been nice to have graduated in the same building where his Dad received his diploma, but there are also a lot of "pluses" connected with the new facility.

"Right now, I have to leave home really early in the morning to catch a shuttle bus to Albany, and it's pretty late in the afternoon before I finally get home," explains Jon. Having the academy closer to home will be a lot nicer for Jon and his brother Matt, who is a CBA freshman.

Closer to home

Thomas Boshea, also a 15-year-old CBA sophomore, resides in Colonie, so he will be close to the new school, giving him more free time at both ends of the day.

"I've got to say that I'll miss a lot of the character and tradition that are found in the old building. There's so much here that commands respect," says Thomas. By the same token, he adds, modern times call for private schools to provide more highly advanced technological equipment just so students can compete with their public school counterparts.

"You have to have that hands-on computer experience if you're going to have a fair shot at most colleges and career opportunities these days," notes Thomas, whose grandfather Joseph Dulin, attended CBA back in the 1940s.

Nostalgia

Asked about the relocation, Ryan's grandfather, Donald F. Malone, said: "All of this reminds me quite a bit of when we were preparing to move from Howard Street to De La Salle Road back in 1939. It was a big deal and at first some people had mixed feelings, but, in the end, everybody thought it was the greatest thing that ever happened.

"We'd only had a brick schoolyard over on Howard Street which the brothers used as a hand ball court after classes, and, boy, were we excited when we saw all that grass over on De La Salle Road!

"I have a lot of wonderful memories of my years at CBA, and still like to go there with my grandson whenever I can. It's always good to go back."

(11-07-96) [[In-content Ad]]