Courtesy of Witt Construction
By Rod Bacon
After an 11-year planning, engineering and permitting process, site work is underway on Phyllian’s Bluff, a 31-lot development being built by Witt Construction.
O’Connor Construction, of Glens Falls, is approximately one-third of the way to completion of earth work, road construction, underground utilities, and sewer installation.
According to President Pat O’Connor, the company is installing two roads that end in cul-de-sacs. They will also install a sewer line along NY-9P that will tie into the development’s sewer system via County Route 71. Finally, they will pave all roadways.
An important aspect of the earth work is the installation of storm drainage, on which the company is currently working. To prevent storm runoff from polluting Saratoga Lake, each homesite will have what is referred to as a rain garden or depression area that will filter the water back into the soil, preventing it from running downhill. In addition, the roads will have an elaborate system of independent catch basins that allow water to flow into other catch basins so it can slowly filter into the ground.
O’Connor Construction started this work in September and estimates it will be completed this summer.
Despite the fact that there is a lot of site work left to do, Witt has started the foundation for the first home.
It is being built for a retired doctor and his wife from Albany. The almost 5,000-square-foot house will have a ground-level primary living space with a finished lower level. The exterior will feature cedar shakes with natural stone accents that will be created by Jerome Pollock, owner of Creative Stone Designs, LLC, of Argyle.
Inside there will be reclaimed beams, wide-plank white oak flooring, and high-end amenities that include Thermidor appliances and Rohl kitchen and bath fixtures. These will be supplied by either Marcella’s Appliance Center in Schenectady or Earl B. Feiden Appliance in Albany.
The living areas and master bedroom suite will be on the main level. On the lower level there will be two guest bedrooms with en suites, bar and wine areas, and a gym with a sauna.
“The house has a really nice floor plan,” said Witt. “It has a contemporary European feel to it.”
He noted that they plan to enter it in the Saratoga Builders Association’s Showcase of Homes in September.
While Witt is happy to work with architects, as a design-build firm most of the design work is done in-house.
“I sketch pretty much all of our homes,” he said. “We’ve built over five hundred homes and I’ve designed ninety-five percent of them.”
Witt anticipates a five-year build-out for the project. Currently, the homes are priced at approximately $2 million.
Phyllian’s Bluff is a conservation subdivision on 111 acres east of Saratoga Lake, 60 percent of which is designated open space in perpetuity. Witt said it is farm and wooded land, and the homes will be set back off the roadways.
Sixty-one acres were sold to Walt and Michelle Borisenok, owners of Old Tavern Farm, a private boutique thoroughbred-breeding operation established in 2016. Part of the property houses a winery and distillery, operated by their daughter, Nicole Borisenok, and her husband, Michael Krasodomski.
Working with Moreau Associates, of Saratoga Springs, the family has brought several historic buildings, both on the farm and elsewhere in the county, back to life.
According to Nicole, their first project was a complete restoration of the original 1800s farmhouse, which was literally falling apart. Over a two-year period they lifted it off its foundation and rebuilt it using materials consistent with the era.
They also restored a timber-frame barn that was originally used to store grain. Today, Michael uses it to store whiskey barrels for his distillery, where he produces vodka and a variety of whiskeys using New York State grains.
Nicole has 3,500 vines planted locally, 1,500 of which are on the farm. The family also owns acreage in Washington State, where the growing season is longer, and the fruit is shipped to her for vinting.
There is also a cut flower farm where over 50,000 seeds are sown each year for retail sale. Flower arranging is also available.
To learn more about Phyllian’s Bluff go to wittconstruction.com.
For more information about the farm operation go to oldtavernfarms.com.