Category Archives: Summer Construction

By Jennifer Farnsworth

The building up of Malta’s town center is continuing, aided by a project being done by Windsor Development Group of Clifton Park.

The company is planning a large development that will be in the heart of the town center, featuring a eateries, retail space and apartments—all in an area that residents can walk to.

The property will be located in Clifton Park, in front of the Village Plaza shopping center, with an address of 11-15 Clifton Country Road.

Bob Miller Sr., CEO of Windsor, a real estate development and professional property management firm, said the space was an immediate draw to him because it coincides with Malta’s vision for a town center that will draw people in.

“The goal is to bring people into the center, this is definitely a project that will help to accomplish that,” said Miller.

Miller said there are two separate properties that are part of the project, and Windsor Development will be tackling one at a time. The project calls for a 7,100-square-foot building and a four-story. 60,000-square-foot building. 

By Maureen Werther

For the 450 members of Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 773, the outlook regarding the future of jobs is good. Its state-of-the-art training center in Queensbury continues to prepare journeymen for the fast-growing list of jobs in and around the region, union officials said.

Located at 37 Luzerne Road in Queensbury,  the team of expert instructors and support staff at Local 773 serves seven counties that span from Saratoga County to the Canadian border. They provide qualified pipefitters, welders, plumbers, HVAC workers and fire-suppression experts to industries ranging from commercial and light industrial to high-tech companies such as GlobalFoundries.

The $5-million facility was built in response to the rapid increase in apprenticeships the union experienced seven years ago, officials said. It was located on Bluebird Road in South Glens Falls but was no longer able to accommodate the union’s growing membership.

“Our members decided to invest in growing,” said Nelson Charron, marketing representative for Local 773 and longtime member of the union.

This rendering depicts what the facade of South Glens Falls High School will look like when renovations are complete. The district began capital projects earlier this summer.

Courtesy South Glens Falls School District

Construction of the South Glens Falls Central School District’s $57.8 million capital project began this summer and continues through 2020.

The project, which voters approved in December, includes an eight-classroom science addition at the high school, as well as six classrooms at Ballard Elementary School to accommodate the growing student population, district officials said.

Also included in the project are expanded library media centers at Ballard and Tanglewood and upgrades to the high school auditorium. Officials said the project will also address building maintenance needs such as roofing, windows, doors and flooring across all six school buildings. A combined transportation and operations/maintenance facility will be constructed on the site of the lower bus garage.

A two-story addition onto the high school will create eight science classrooms, four on each floor. Two of the four will have a flexible floor plan with movable furniture. Built-in cabinets will line the perimeter, and the corner will have a room with sun exposure for greenhouse projects.

An official for NRP Group LLC, a company planning a large apartment complex in Mechanicville, said they will look somewhat like these buildings the company has in the Pittsburgh area.

Courtesy NRP Group LLC

By Jill Nagy

Plans for a 300-unit luxury apartment development in Mechanicville have morphed into a slightly smaller project aimed at people with a range of incomes. In the process, Logistics One, the original developer, has contracted to sell the development rights to NRP Group LLC.

“Building apartments is not really our thing,” said Bill McNeary, president of Logistics One, a Saratoga Springs company in the trucking and warehousing business. McNeary first planed and proposed the project.

For NRP, a national company headquartered in Cleveland, on the other hand, apartments are very much their thing. They build some 3,000 of them a year, according to Chris Dirr, vice president for development in the company’s Buffalo office.

NRP recently completed a two-phase townhouse development in the town of Moreau–Sisson Reserve 1 and 2. Dirr said one of the company’s developments in suburban Pittsburgh, called Ascent 430, has the “look and feel” of the proposed Mechanicville development.

The project is planned for a riverfront property at the junction of Route 4 and Route 32, a 10-acre site previously occupied by a Logistics One warehouse building. The address is 230 North Main St. Dirr described it as within walking distance of Mechanicville’s downtown core.

“We want residents to use city facilities,” he said.

Bonacio Construction is involved in two condominium projects on Excelsior Avenue.

Courtesy Bonacio Construction

By Maureen Werther

Bonacio Construction has several construction projects underway or going through the approval process, in and around Saratoga Springs.

An apartment complex at 130 Excelsior Ave. in Saratoga Springs is well under way and should be available for occupancy sometime in mid-September or early October, according to Kate Jarosh, business development manager for the company.

She said the project includes 65 one- and two-bedroom units, with an additional 2,700 square feet of mixed use and commercial space.

“We will be offering that space to retail and professional tenants so we can provide services and amenities for this new and exciting community,” said Jarosh.

She touted the convenient location of the new apartment complex, noting its proximity to both the Northway and the downtown shopping and dining area, as well as being walking distance to the Spring Run cycling and walking trail and to nearby Fresh Market grocery store and other businesses in that complex.

The apartments range in size from just under 900 square feet for one-bedroom units and approximately 1,100 square feet for the two bedrooms. All units occupy the first floor and offer ample parking.

Jarosh said that it is a “beautiful property, one that you really need to see to believe.” She said included in the rent are internet/cable, washers and dryers, stainless steel kitchen appliances, and upgraded countertops. There is also a common room and a gym located on the property.

Construction of a Homewood Suits by Hilton facility has started on South Broadway.

©2016 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jill Nagy

Construction of a Homewood Suites by Hilton facility has started on South Broadway in Saratoga Springs.

The hotel will be at the former site of the Weathervane, about one and a half miles south of downtown Saratoga Springs and across from Spa State Park.

Workers were pouring concrete for the building’s footings in June. A tentative opening in late spring 2017 is anticipated.

Gilbane Construction out of Albany is the general contractor for the project.

According to Brian Straughter, president of Turf Hotels, the company building the new hotel, the cost of the project is “always more than what you want it to be,” and will probably be more than $20 million.

Downtown Walk,’ depicted in this rendering, is planned by Witt Construction.

Courtesy Witt Construction

By Liz Witbeck

John Witt, who has been building homes in Saratoga Springs since 1987, is involved in a new project he calls Downtown Walk, that will provide single-family condominiums within a garden landscape.

The plan is to redevelop a property at 27 Jumel Place, near the East Side Recreation Park on the east side of Saratoga Springs.

The site contained an abandoned factory that previously housed different businesses. The area is zoned for residential use and this is a non-conforming property, said Witt.

Witt, president and owner of Witt Construction, seeks to bring the area back to life.

“I thought: What can we do to redevelop this commercial building?'” said Witt. “And I came up with this creative concept.”

Witt plans to demolish the existing building and create a residential community in its place.