A rendering depicts the proposed nine-story office building at 705 Broadway in Albany, along with a planned adjacent apartment building.

A rendering depicts the proposed nine-story office building at 705 Broadway in Albany.

The vacant lot on Broadway next to Quackenbush Square in Albany where First Columbia LLC of Latham has proposed a nine-story office building with a ground-floor restaurant.

The vacant lot on Broadway next to Quackenbush Square in Albany where First Columbia LLC of Latham has proposed a nine-story office building with a ground-floor restaurant.

The vacant lot on Broadway next to Quackenbush Square in Albany where First Columbia LLC of Latham has proposed a nine-story office building with a ground-floor restaurant.

The vacant lot on Broadway next to Quackenbush Square in Albany where First Columbia LLC of Latham has proposed a nine-story office building with a ground-floor restaurant.

ALBANY — A nine-story office building at a vacant lot on downtown’s northern edge? Who could object?

The First Columbia proposal would be the first downtown Albany office building erected since 677 Broadway opened in 2005. It would include a 100-seat restaurant — probably a brasserie — plus a second building with 56 apartments.

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It all sounds wunderbar, as our German friends would say. But does the project deserve $10 million or so of the $200 million Gov. Kathy Hochul allocated for unspecified economic development in downtown Albany?

Before we get going, let’s set aside arguments over whether our governments should be handing out money (or tax breaks) to private developers. There are, of........

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