Category Archives: Construction Planning

By Susan Elise Campbell

Only 15 months since purchasing Bill Lake Homes, the new owners have started prepping an additional space for manufacturing the quality modular homes that the name “Bill Lake” has been associated with for more than 48 years.

“The modular world is fascinating,” said Jeff Knox, CEO and principal owner. Knox is a new construction residential/commercial developer who got his start buying and selling homes in the Albany-Saratoga area while a young man on Wall Street.

Partnering with Knox are his daughters, Katharine Pelletier and Abigail Sisson, son-in-law Garrett Sisson, and Christa Swistak, a non-family member. The team has a history of flipping homes together and builds modular homes on spec for residential developers, he said.

“Visiting factories in Pennsylvania showed me how quality modular homes, like the stick homes I built for decades the traditional way, can be constructed all year long indoors,” he said. “I always wanted to build my own manufacturing facility.”

“Our initial thought was to build a factory, but the team suggested, why don’t we see what’s out there,” he said.

By Paul Post

Construction officials are optimistic about their industry’s prospects, while voicing concerns about ongoing labor shortages and the potential impact of Trump Administration tariffs on material and supplies pricing.

Several dozen business leaders turned out recently for an “Outlook for Construction 2025” panel discussion at SUNY Adirondack’s Wilton campus, hosted by Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and Saratoga Economic Development Corp.

“Coming off a couple of roller coaster-type years, 2024 kind of evened things out,” said Kylie Holland, Curtis Lumber Company executive vice president. “It allowed us to step back, take a deep breath and plan for uncertainty of the future. The cost of everything is up; the cost of doing business, labor, everything is still running at inflationary levels. Tariffs could potentially trickle down to our level in 2025.”

But a 25 percent tariff doesn’t mean there will be a 25 increase percent locally, she said.

“We have an incredible purchasing department that studies our lumber market,” Holland said. “We’ve been through this before. We’re always trying to get ahead of the game, be proactive.”

By Susan Elise Campbell

LeChase Construction Services, LLC is nearing completion of five new buildings at The Charlton School in Burnt Hills, a project that has proven to be both unique and a favorite among the building team according to Mike Corey, regional director of business development at the Schenectady office.

The Charlton School is a non-profit therapeutic learning community and accredited year-round boarding school for high school-aged girls. Founded in 1895, its cottage residences were cinder block construction dating back to the 1950s, and the school asked for bids to replace these with a quad of new dormitory structures with a more modern aesthetic and better amenities, according to Erica McCarthy, project manager for LeChase.

In addition, the school had obtained enough grant money to also erect a new maintenance building to consolidate the equipment and tools that have been spread out at various locations around campus, she said. 

These improvements make up Phase I of a multi-tiered master plan that began “boots on the ground” in April of 2024, said Eric A. Coburn, Sr., the firm’s director of field operations. 

By Christine Graf

Middle Grove-based Munter Enterprises, a construction and real estate development company that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, continues to experience high demand for their services. The family-owned business offers design-build and general contracting services to commercial and industrial clients, providing them with comprehensive guidance through all stages of construction.

“We’re seeing a lot of activity in terms of our manufacturing clients that are needing to expand and build. This is good news because that means more jobs, and these local manufacturing jobs are vitally important to keep our economy strong,” said Michael Munter, vice president of Munter Enterprises.

The company has numerous projects in the works including two at the WJ Grande Industrial Park in the City of Saratoga Springs. Within the park, they are constructing a 50,000-square-foot building for Soleno, a Canadian company that manufactures drainage pipe used for storm water management. For Soleno, it will be their first U.S. manufacturing facility. The company has announced that they will consider adding a 25,000-square-foot expansion to the building in the coming years if demand for their product continues to rise.

Their second industrial park project is a 30,000-square-foot expansion to a building Munter Enterprises originally designed and constructed for AgroChem in 2015. AgroChem produces advanced chemical solutions that help dairy farmer produce high-quality milk with maximum efficiency. 

By Christine Graf

F. H. Alexander of Schaghticoke has been providing commercial construction, design/build, and commercial renovation services to customers throughout the Northeast since 1991. Last year was a busy one for the company, with crews working on projects in Ticonderoga, Moreau, Oneonta, Plattsburgh and beyond

In Moreau, they built an Alltown Fresh truck stop, one that opened just a few months ago. For F. H. Alexander, it was their third Alltown Fresh. The others are located in Schenectady and Livingston. 

The company also completed construction of a Hoffman Car Wash in Oneonta as well as a Dunkin Donuts in Plattsburgh. Construction of Paper and Pencil, a new restaurant in Ticonderoga, will wrap up after all of the kitchen equipment arrives. 

“We have absolutely nothing local going on at the moment,” said company president Frank Alessandrini. “We do have a small fitness center addition to the Marriott Fairfield at Exit 12 in Malta that’s coming up this spring. We also have a structural renovation project in Albany that’s also supposed to happen in the spring.”

Currently, F. H. Alexander has three Dunkin Donuts remodels underway in Plattsburgh. This summer, they will start construction of a new Dunkin Donuts in Malone, one that will include a restaurant, donut production facility, and retail rental space.

By Christine Graf

Master Plumber Roy Lance, owner of Lance Plumbing, has been servicing the Capital Region for more than 20 years. His Saratoga Springs-based company has a reputation for providing high-quality products and completing projects on schedule.  

According to Lance, he and his staff of four employees have been busier than ever.

“2023 was our busiest year on record, and 2024 looks good so far. We have a lot of projects in the works, and right now we are working on a project for Munter Enterprises at the Espey location.”

Located in Saratoga Springs, Espey Manufacturing produces magnetic components and power conversion electronics for the military. As part of their local expansion, the company hired Munter Construction to construct a 25,000-square-foot building on their Ballston Avenue property.

Although Lance Plumbing will be working with Munter Enterprises in the spring on a project for Saratoga Shelters, Lance said the majority of his company’s work is performed in the residential sector.  

By Jill Nagy

The Comfort Inn and Suites at 17 Old Gick Road, near Norway Exit 15 in Wilton, has new owners and is undergoing a major facelift.  

Brothers Ravi and Subhash Modasra, third generation motel operators, bought the property in late October for $5.32 million. They expect to invest another $2 million in upgrading the property.

The property will remain in operation as the renovation goes forward in stages. 

The current design, called “rise and shine,” will require new finishes, flooring, wall coverings, and furniture. Ravi Modasra expects work to begin in the next few weeks and be completed by June 1. In any case, “we will do our best to be ready for track season.”

The Modasra brothers already operate a Comfort Inn and Suites property in Scotia and have other real estate holdings. They built the Scotia motel in 2018 and will continue to operate it. Ravi described his and his brother’s businesses, the Mohawk Companies and Bluebird Commercial Real Estate,  as being “in an acquisition and growth mode.”

By Christine Graf

It’s been 10 years since First Fairfield Associates, a social enterprise investment firm, announced plans to redevelop a vacant property at 53 Putnam St. in Saratoga Springs.

 Now an ownership group, Putnam Resources, LLC, is proposing construction of a 60-unit mixed-income condominium building called Putnam Commons. More than $3 million has already been invested to acquire, manage, and clean up the site.

Local author Jason Letts is among the partners.

The property is located across the street from the Saratoga Springs Public Library. A dilapidated one-story building that sat on the property was built in 1905 and once housed a dry-cleaning business. The building was razed and several underground petroleum storage tanks were found on the 0.3-acre property.

Soil testing revealed significant ground contamination that resulted in the property being declared a Brownfield site—a parcel contaminated by low concentrations of hazardous chemicals. The contamination likely resulted from a combination of petroleum and dry-cleaning chemicals

After five years of chemical remediation, cleanup of the site is complete. It is now certified as a successful state Brownfield cleanup project.