Category Archives: Construction

By Rod Bacon

Construction of a retail plaza on Wolf Road in Colonie is slated to begin this month.

According to developer Russ Faden, financing has been secured through Pioneer Bank and all approvals are in place except for a permit from the Department of Transportation. 

“All the contractors are lined up and we’re ready to go,” he said. “We’re just waiting on that last permit.”

Scott Lansing of Malta-based Lansing Engineering PC did much of the work to secure the approvals and permits.

The 6,400-square-foot building, designed by C2 Design Group of Schenectady, can accommodate  three tenants, one of which will be a Subway sandwich shop. The estimated cost is $2.5 million.

“I own the Subway shop and we’re assuming there will be two other businesses in there,” Faden said.

Faden owns 41 Subway franchises. Most of them are in the Albany area but his reach extends north to Lake George, west to Cobleskill, and east into Vermont and Massachusetts. He said they are a combination of existing ones he purchased and others he built from the ground up, many in commercial plazas he has developed.

By Paul Post

Heating, cooling and ventilation are the unseen components of buildings that house some of the Capital Region’s largest and most important employers, including colleges, hospitals and senior living centers.

Founded 81 years ago, Eastern Heating & Cooling has evolved into a full-service mechanical contractor with $42 million in annual revenue. It specializes in design-build HVAC systems, controls, fabrication and long-term service, with commercial clients within a 100-mile radius of its Albany headquarters.

“We want to be the solution to the problems that keep customers up at night,” company President Buddy Tricarick said. “If we can maintain their equipment, where they don’t have to worry about it, that’s the goal. That’s what exceptional customer service is. Preventive maintenance goes a long way.”

Business Development Manager Luke Schreiber said, “We meet with the customer, talk to them, ask questions and really try to understand what their business and equipment needs are, tailoring an approach that’s better aligned with their business versus a cookie-cutter solution.”

By Ann Donnelly

When Mark Stewart and Nic Denno merged their independent contracting companies to form Northern Builders in 2020, they brought more than construction expertise to the table. Both men balanced successful careers in law enforcement with their building endeavors, an experience that forged a strong foundation for their business partnership.

Stewart, a former investigator who retired from the Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department in 2023, and Denno, who worked as a police officer and a contractor for about 20 years before retiring in 2025, met while working the 4 p.m. to midnight shift at the sheriff’s department. Today, their South Glens Falls-based company employs 22 to 24 in-house staff members and manages 40 to 60 subcontractors daily. The team oversees 12 to 14 major projects at any given time, handling custom residential homes, commercial projects and high-end renovations.

“We really wanted to switch from being contractors and home builders to a construction company,” Stewart said.

For Denno, the partnership thrives on the mutual respect they built in their previous careers.

By Rod Bacon

The mantle of leadership of a highly respected longtime area business is in the process of being passed to the fifth generation of the family.

Within approximately 60 days, Pat O’Connor, who is currently the president, will take the reins of 120-year-old E&T O’Connor Construction from cousins Brian O’Connor and Kevin O’Connor.

“Brian and Kevin came to me a few years ago and said ‘You’re the next one to take over if you want to,’ so I’ve been preparing for this for quite some time,” said Pat. “They continued to run the company until now.”

In 1905, Thomas O’Connor started the business hauling dirt between Glens Falls and Ticonderoga with a horse and wagon. The earliest services offered were earth moving and site development using cable excavators for building contractors.

By the 1940s, ownership had passed to Thomas’ two sons, Edward and Thomas Jr. They continued to do site development so contractors could pour foundations for buildings in Glens Falls, one of which was the First National Bank. They also did site preparation for the Glens Falls Civic Center in the 1970s.

Quality Design & Remodel, recently opened its state-of-the-art design center in Clifton Park. The 6,000-square-foot facility represents a significant evolution from what people expect from a typical home remodeler. This new design center is their next step in changing how homeowners feel about the remodeling experience by streamlining many of the more cumbersome aspects of home renovations and providing a hands-on design experience that homeowners will love, all under one roof.

 Quality Design & Remodel’s Clifton Park Design Center enables direct collaboration between clients and expert designers. It eliminates the previously time-consuming, multi-location process of selecting cabinets, flooring, countertops, and more with its interactive design areas, multiple kitchens (including a fully operable gourmet kitchen), functional bathroom displays, and hundreds of premium product options showcasing the firm’s expansive selection. The Quality Design & Remodel Team built and installed everything in the design center so homeowners can see firsthand the craftsmanship they’ll get for their projects.

By Rod Bacon

The skilled craftsmen at Munter Enterprises have plenty to keep them busy for quite some time. The Middle Grove-based construction company is in the midst of several projects, is finishing up others, and has still others in the planning stages.

According to Vice President Mike Munter, one of the more interesting projects for which they hope to break ground soon is a new branch for the Hudson River Community Credit Union. The 2,500-square-foot building in Greenwich will include a drive-thru and state-of-the-art Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs). Munter worked with Paone Architecture of Saratoga Springs for the building’s design and Verity Engineering, D.P.C. of Troy for site design. All approvals are in place and a June ground breaking is planned.

“This project is very interesting because of the demographic in the area,” said Munter. “For the Amish community there will be a hitching post and water hydrant in the parking lot for the horses.”

Another local project is for a firm relocating from Albany to a 15,000-square-foot building on Pierce Road off Northway Exit 10 in Clifton Park. Munter Enterprises is renovating the building for Kinsley Power, a company that supplies a variety of backup generator systems. They carry industrial and residential generators as well as cogeneration and battery storage systems. That project is underway and will be completed in June.

By Susan Elise Campbell

F.H. Alexander, Inc., the Schaghticoke based commercial construction company, has a full docket for the summer.

Owner Frank Alessandrini said that over the course of business since 1991, his company has become known for building restaurants, convenience stores, and retail spaces, and for renovating hospitals, schools, libraries, and other business and medical spaces.

“But this year is a little bit unusual for us,” Alessandrini said. “We are doing more and smaller projects than in past few years.”

“This trend is not an overall indication of the general economy or the business,” he said. “It’s just what we have landed.”

Starting mid-May, there are two projects for COARC, the Columbia County chapter of The ARC NewYork. One is an addition and a renovation and the other is a smaller renovation, he said.

Also starting soon are some interior renovations for Greenwich Library.

By Susan Elise Campbell

That the final 10 townhouses in the Thompson Farms development are expected to sell soon is one indicator of a healthy residential real estate market in Malta, as well as all of Saratoga County, according to Cindy Quade, owner of Signature ONE Realty Group.  

The twin townhomes were built by Michaels Group Homes, with whom Quade has collaborated for more than 35 years, she said. Michaels Group is a third generation, quality homebuilder.

The last street developed in the complex is a cul-du-sac with 12 townhomes.  Fifty percent of those homes sold within two weeks of coming to market, she said.

“Some clients waited for the cul-du-sac to open, but all the lots are great,” Quade said, 

The land was a working farm on East High Street in Malta, where the Thompson Farms silo still stands.

“Townhomes are maintenance free and appeal to a wide market, not just empty nesters,” said Quade. 

With a starting price around $450,000, Quade said first-timers and other buyers find they have the flexibility to get into a new, affordable home and to upscale some of the plans and features if they so choose.

By Paul Post

A new service station in Rexford, a Stewart’s Shop in Plattsburgh and dining hall at the Luzerne Music Center.

These are among the many commercial projects on Hilltop Construction Company’s work schedule as it tries to navigate uncertain economic times of rising prices and potential supply chain issues related to the current tariff situation.

“We’re very diversified in what we do and what we can do to help deal with that situation,” co-owner and Vice President Dan Washburn said. “If one sector pulls back the other might not. We get a good mix to help deal with that.”

Commercial work, which accounts for half the company’s revenue stream, is primarily focused on an area from Albany to Lake George, although Hilltop is one of the main firms Stewart’s calls on for remodelling and new store construction projects throughout the region.

It’s nearing completion of a new Stewart’s Shop at the corner of Glen Street and Sherman Avenue in Glens Falls, and is also renovating and expanding a store at the north end of Saratoga Lake, just over the Fish Creek bridge, on Route 9P.

By Paul Post

Nearly three dozen area contractors turn to Local 773 whenever they land a big job and need to bring on highly-qualified plumbers, steamfitters, pipefitters and HVAC technicians.

The 500-member, Queensbury-based union supplies skilled workers for a wide variety of projects from GlobalFoundries in Malta to recently-completed refrigeration upgrades at Lake Placid’s Olympic facilities.

A five-year apprenticeship includes hands-on work plus September to April classes, each year, at Local 773’s headquarters and training facility at 37 Luzerne Road.

“It’s an earn and learn program,” Business Manager Mike Jarvis said. “When an apprentice comes in they sign up with the union, work during the day for a contractor and go to school at night three times per week.”

Applications are accepted one day each month. When enough applications come in, the union sets up an aptitude test. Candidates are also interviewed by an eight-person Joint