Category Archives: Construction

by Lisa Balschunat
The COVID-19 ramifications and restrictions may have delayed commercial construction projects in the region, but Malta-based MLB Construction Services has been busy.
The company recently completed or is nearing completion on five projects in the area, totaling about $56 million.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), located within Saratoga Springs State Park, experienced a makeover on a grand scale when MLB got involved 12 months ago.
“This design-build project was true collaboration at its best,” James Dawsey, company president, said.
It involved demolition of the concession and restroom facilities and construction of concession areas, new restrooms, a VIP area in the new two-story building, room for small indoor performances and an outdoor pavilion.

New York’s Thruway rest areas are in line for a major makeover.
The state Thruway Authority board of directors has approved a $450 million, 33-year deal that will require a private consortium to revamp all 27 service plazas along the 570-mile superhighway system in the coming years.
Officials said the upfront costs will not fall on toll payers.
Instead, a consortium, known as Empire State Thruway Partners, will spend $300 million to rebuild 23 rest stops and extensively renovate the remaining four, with construction set to begin next year.
It will also be required to pay the Thruway Authority at least $51 million in rent and invest another $103 million in improving the rest stops over the course of the three-decade-long contract, according to the Thruway Authority.
In exchange, the consortium led by the John Laing Group, a private investment firm, will get to operate the restaurants, shops and facilities at the rest stops for 33 years.

By Christine Graf

Developer Richard Askew is in the process of choosing a contractor for a $4 million, 29-unit apartment complex on Station Lane in Saratoga Springs.

The complex will be built on an 8.43-acre parcel of land that Askew purchased in 2017 for $165,000. It is located just west of a two-acre parcel that was purchased by local entrepreneur Russ Faden. Faden and real estate developer Scott Lansing are already seeking approval from the city to build a 50-unit apartment and retail complex on the property.

“We are in the process of choosing a contractor, and that should happen within the next three months,” said Askew, who owns Rondack Building Inspections in Schenectady, .

The project has approval from the Planning Board and is awaiting final approval from the city  Design Review Commission.

by Lisa Balschunat

Elated about New York state’s relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions as it proceeds with reopening the economy in phases, Tom Albrecht, president of Hilltop Construction Co., said “I’m digging holes again and playing in the dirt.” 

His company ran a bare-bones crew on a few jobs deemed essential businesses by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office during the state’s Pause. But Hilltop and other area builders are moving on with projects that came to a halt due to the pandemic.

“Hilltop had a few essential jobs, so we were able to continue working on some projects,” Albrecht said. “During the Pause we signed over $3 million worth of work. This year we are booked with contracts.  Next year, I think the economic impact will be felt.  I am an optimist, but also a realist.  When the dust settles, our region will be affected.  Some businesses won’t open long term or at all. The impact will be great.” 

By Andrea Harwood Palmer
CDPHP is acting as partner facilitator for a new multi-practice medical specialty complex located at 1785 Route 9 in Clifton Park.
“CDPHP, in partnership with a number of independent physical practices, is building what we consider to be the medical park of the future,” said Ali Skinner, CDPHP vice president of strategic communications. “The goal is to provide the ultimate patient experience in a state-of-the-art complex.”
Though April groundbreaking plans were delayed due to the COVID-19 crisis, the plan remains for the facility to open in late 2021.

By Jill Nagy
Pandemic or no pandemic, the grass keeps growing and people are in need of landscaping services this time of year. But landscapers are not immune to problems brought about by the COVID-19 crisis.
Government guidelines allow them to do routine maintenance work, but no major undertakings like landscaping and hardscaping (patios, walks, and the like) or anything purely cosmetic. They can clean things up, but not install mulch and no new planting is allowed.
For Brian Phillips and his company, The Lawn Guy Landscape Management LLC in Saratoga Springs, landscaping and hardscaping is usually the bulk of his business.
“I’m losing time and time is money,” he said.
He is holding deposits from customers from last February and has projects booked into July. He estimates that he had lost some $50,000-60,000 worth of work over a six-week period.
Aside from that, Phillips said, “We are busy. We’re doing rather well” with the basic work. But, “Things are certainly different.”

By Jill Nagy
Many people who buy a house in Saratoga Springs decide to change it: things like redoing the kitchen or bathroom, add a master bedroom suite, or turning the backyard into an outdoor family room.
Bob West, president of Old Saratoga Restoration, speculated that it is almost inevitable. “People want to be in town,” he said, and “the housing stock is quite old. Most houses require work.”

By Susan E. Campbell
Atrium Properties expects to break ground this summer on an as-yet unnamed apartment complex in Clifton Park, according to Jacqueline Phillips Murray, Esq., a principal of the firm.