GUILDERLAND — Governors Motor Inn — once a swank gathering spot but a boarded-up eyesore since a fire in 2010 — has a buyer at last. The Albany County Land Bank announced this week that it has reached an agreement with the owners and operators of Store Away Self Storage to purchase the building on Western Avenue near Carman Road for $150,000. 

The buyer plans to open a self-storage building there, to include indoor temperature-controlled units as well as drive-up units, said Adam Zaranko, the land bank’s executive director. 

The town made a local law in 2019, adding regulations about self-storage facilities to its zoning code. The inn is within a local business zoning district, where storage is allowed with a special-use permit. 

The buyer will be responsible for demolishing the structures on the site, which will include abating any lead and asbestos, at its own cost, Zaranko said. The motor inn and the home next to it, which Zaranko called the Inn Keeper’s House, will be demolished. 

The land bank took ownership of the inn after the property failed to sell on the traditional real-estate market and was then foreclosed upon by the county because of the number of years its taxes had been in arrears. 

The agreement with Store Away Self Storage, Zaranko said in an email to The Enterprise, will “result in both the elimination of the long-standing eyesore and provide an amenity to the residents of the Town of Guilderland and the surrounding community.” 

Store Away Self Storage is based locally, Zaranko said, and has operated self-storage facilities in the Capital Region for about 15 years. It has self-storage facilities in both East Greenbush and in Guilderland; the Guilderland site is at 108 Wagner Road. 

“The developers have proposed to construct a neighborhood-scale, single-story self-storage center featuring a mix of both indoor temperature-controlled units as well as drive-up units,” Zaranko said. 

Draft proposed site plans are still to come, he said, explaining that as a next step the developers will submit the proposed plans to the town for review. The Land Bank is not directly involved in the municipality’s review process, he said. 

The sale is conditional on municipal approvals.