Montgomery Park is Albany's newest office building, yet it has a turn-of-the-century air about it.

The three-story, 15,000-square-foot building at 321 1st Ave., is owned by David and Nancy Reece and is now leasing space. It was designed to emulate the architectural style of the early 1900s associated with the former Albany Iron Works and Foundry that was once located on the property. Iron Works once shaped steel for buildings, riverfront commerce and railroads. Some of its works remain on local historic buildings.

"We wanted to work in the historical flavor of the neighborhood, the woodwork, colors, the historic look and quality that would make tenants want to be a part of this," Reece said.

The first tenant is Reece's own 12-person engineering firm, Reece and Associates LLC, which occupies about 2,500 square feet of the third floor. Scott Whitney CPA also has an office on the third floor. The first and second floors, are designed to house two businesses each, and are ready for buildout per tenant needs.

"It has turned out pretty much as we envisioned it," Reece said, sitting in a conference room whose walls are lined with thick wood trim reminiscent of early 20th century craftsmanship. "We moved from an office that was 1,000 square feet into one that is two and a half times larger. Our employees are happy and it still has a user friendly feel about it."

The interior walls use large wooden trim and and ceiling heights vary within office spaces. Some ceilings have an antique stamped tin look to them. The building's exterior features dark jumbo brick on the first floor as well as steel trellis and balcony railings with a hint of New Orleans French Quarter style.

The building was designed by DJ Architecture and as stylish as the architecture is, it's real beauty is that it was built with green technology in mind. The contractor is Greenberry Construction.

"We aren't LEEDs certified, but we used a lot of green technology," Reece said. Other touches include windows on each floor that actually open and close. Many commercial buildings have windows that do not open.

"We wanted to invite nature in and also to give our tenants the freedom to make their own decisions," Reece said.

Materials are from sustainable sources. Walls are well insulated so heating and cooling costs will be kept to a minimum. The floors are stained and sealed concrete and aren't covered by synthetic carpeting that can cause allergy problems for some people.

The ironworks theme is carried throughout the building with curved iron track lighting and wall fixtures. Reece said his wife, Nancy, is responsible for color selections and for finding the fixtures that give the building a period feel. A Montgomery Park logo was sandblasted into the concrete floor in the entryway of the building, reminiscent of turn-of-the-century office building monograms.

There will also be six photo reproductions of historic Albany scenes in the lobby area on each of the three floors.

Oversized planters in the parking area and along the sidewalk in front of the building, offer extensive greenery, yet are pedestrian and bicycle friendly.

Reece said the building has an assessed value of $2.8 million. It is part of a larger Iron Works project that includes seven townhouses being constructed by Glen Rea and a 12-unit apartment building that is in the early phases of construction just east of Montgomery Park.

The entire Iron Works project has received $275,000 from the Central Albany Revitilization Area. The money will be used for all three segments of the projects for period street lighting, marketing and sidewalk renovations.

Reece hopes to see the apartment portion of the project done by February.

Alex Paul can be reached at alex.paul@lee.net or 812-6076.