The new campus was initially opposed by a group of Rensselaer County taxpayers, who argued that the county should not have to pay for half the cost of the campus construction if fewer than half the students were county residents. What would become a landmark case for community colleges in New York State eventually was heard by the state's Court of Appeals. On June 25, 1958, the court upheld the county's right to fund half of the cost of construction and paved the way for capital construction at community colleges around the state. The new campus, with five Indiana limestone buildings, was completed in 1961 and the former factory building was abandoned and eventually torn down.