Nearly 300 apartments and condos proposed for Sisters of St. Joseph site in Latham

Catholic Charities still in the process of moving headquarters to site as well

A proposed development at the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet property in Latham would subdivide the sprawling 85-acre property and add nearly 300 apartments and condominiums to the site.

The Town of Colonie posted the agenda item at its Planning Board meeting on Jan. 21. The property would be broken into three lots: one where limited liability company, 13 Blessing, would build 132 four-unit condominiums and 160 apartments; the second lot would contain the Provincial House as well as the new headquarters for Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Albany; and the third lot would contain the sisters’ existing cemetery. 

“With the support and approval of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Albany Province, 13 Blessing LLC has submitted to the Town of Colonie a proposal to create attractive townhomes and apartments on a portion of the land our religious community has owned at Watervliet Shaker and Delatour Roads,” the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Albany Province, said in a statement which The Evangelist obtained from Behan Communications. “We have loved and cared for this property for decades, but we are no longer financially capable of maintaining the Provincial House and the surrounding property. Our financial resources must be focused on caring for the health, well-being, housing and medical needs of our sisters for the long term and on sustaining our mission.

“We are so pleased that 13 Blessing’s plan includes preservation of open space, protection of wetlands and creation of a nature trail open to the community. We fully appreciate that our region needs more homes and are pleased that 13 Blessing’s plan includes the development of comfortable places to live for individuals and families. We believe town officials and 13 Blessing will develop a balanced and responsible plan that will truly be a long-term benefit to our community.”

In an email, Mark Behan, president of Behan Communications, said “the Sisters will own the project, assuming it is approved and built.” The Sisters of St. Joseph have owned and occupied the Provincial House for 60 years. It has been the residence, office and spiritual home of the order, but a complex that was built to accommodate more than 250 sisters, has fewer than 60 currently in residence. 

Last June, the first stage of the transformation of the property was announced when Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Albany and the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet, Albany Province, entered into a conceptual agreement to transfer ownership of the Provincial House to Catholic Charities. The transfer remains contingent upon local government and final internal approvals.

“We are continuing to work with Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese to finalize a plan to transfer our Provincial House to Catholic Charities for use as offices and meeting places,” the statement continued. “Transferring the Provincial House will relieve us of the substantial financial burden of maintaining a facility that is far too large for our current and projected future needs.”

The Provincial House in Colonie was the third center for the Sisters of St. Joseph, Albany Province. It replaced earlier residences in Troy, the first of which opened in 1864. It has been a center of community services for decades. In addition to providing homes and offices for the sisters, the Provincial House was the site of the Carondelet Educational Center, which served children with learning and speech disabilities, and the Carondelet Music Center, which provided music lessons and performance opportunities for students aged 3 to 88. In 2020, the Sisters of St. Joseph partnered with Eddy Senior Care to offer an all-inclusive holistic care PACE program serving sisters and seniors in Albany and Rensselaer counties.