ALBANY —The plan for the long-awaited overhaul of the Wadsworth Center, the state’s public health lab and research facilities, will cost taxpayers $1.7 billion, adding close to a billion dollars to the previously projected $750 million price tag.
The new laboratory, expected to be constructed on the Harriman Office Campus complex in Albany by 2030, seeks to consolidate five facilities currently in Albany and Guilderland into one modern campus, according to a Friday press release from the state Department of Health.
“New York is fortunate to be home of the Wadsworth Center, one of the premier public health laboratories in the world. This substantial investment, supported by Governor Hochul and the legislature, further demonstrates the state’s commitment to public health excellence,” Acting State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement.
This year’s spending plan adds $967 million to the original $750 million first approved in 2018 under former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
Wadsworth is one of the oldest and most prominent public health labs in the country. For nearly a decade, state and local policy makers have talked about upgrading its outdated facilities. But the location for its headquarters was never finalized and it was unclear whether the project would include a brand new campus or just a partial consolidation of its existing buildings.
Planning and construction were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic and funds were removed from the state budget in 2021 as the state grappled with a financial shortfall exacerbated by the health crisis. Hochul’s administration returned the $750 million to the state’s financial plan in 2022, with promises to study design options.
State health officials said the initial figure approved five years ago was a placeholder intended to get the project moving, but would not cover the full cost of a…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply