W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus

The W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus is an office park in western Albany, New York, United States that houses sixteen New York State Government office buildings. The land totals roughly 330acre and over 3 million square feet (280,000 m²) of office space, and about 7,000 state employees work there. The campus was built during the 1950s and 1960s in a suburban, car-oriented style bordered by an outer ring road that cuts the campus off from the surrounding neighborhoods. The campus is flanked by Washington Avenue to the north, Western Avenue to the south, University at Albany to the west, and New York State Route 85 to the east. With its own steam generation power plant for cooling and heating (Building 17) the campus is mostly self-sufficient.HistoryThe campus was planned in the 1950s by Governor W. Averell Harriman to offer more parking and easier access for state employees. Prior to this the land was part of the Albany Pine Bush with the Albany Municipal Golf Course to the west where the University at Albany is today. The first building (Building 1, Department of Civil Service) was built in 1956, and 2, 9, and 17 were completed by the early 1960s, but most of the buildings were built in the mid-late 1960s under Governor Nelson Rockefeller. In 1964 the Division Headquarters Building (Building 22) of the New York State Police was built in the campus, marking the first time that the administrative and headquarters support services were consolidated in the same building. Three years later the State Police Academy (Building 24) was built next door. The State Police Forensics Center (Building 30), was built in 1994. In 1987 less than 2acre on Brevator Street was given at no charge to the city of Albany for use of a new fire station, Engine 10. This increased coverage for the western part of the city, including the Harriman Campus and University at Albany.