{"id":40661,"date":"2025-05-22T09:52:33","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T13:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?p=40661"},"modified":"2025-05-22T09:52:33","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T13:52:33","slug":"hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Hilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
A rendering shows a new Sunoco service station in Rexford, one of several commercial projects underway by Hilltop Construction Company amid fluctuating material costs and labor challenges.
Courtesy Hilltop Construction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Paul Post<\/p>\n

A new service station in Rexford, a Stewart\u2019s Shop in Plattsburgh and dining hall at the Luzerne Music Center.<\/p>\n

These are among the many commercial projects on Hilltop Construction Company\u2019s work schedule as it tries to navigate uncertain economic times of rising prices and potential supply chain issues related to the current tariff situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re very diversified in what we do and what we can do to help deal with that situation,\u201d co-owner and Vice President Dan Washburn said. \u201cIf one sector pulls back the other might not. We get a good mix to help deal with that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Commercial work, which accounts for half the company\u2019s revenue stream, is primarily focused on an area from Albany to Lake George, although Hilltop is one of the main firms Stewart\u2019s calls on for remodelling and new store construction projects throughout the region.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s nearing completion of a new Stewart\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span>Other upcoming projects include remodeling Anytime Fitness gym in Hudson Falls, and putting a new fa\u00e7ade on Glens Falls Tile & Supplies on Dix Avenue.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically, we can do almost anything,\u201d Washburn said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of things in the pipeline. You put estimates out and the next thing you know you\u2019re going at it. We\u2019re on pace to do the same business we did last year. I don\u2019t see a huge increase, but we can get a phone call tomorrow for a $3 Million job that changes everything. I think that\u2019s true of the construction industry as a whole.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe outlook is pretty favorable,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got several projects already lined up for 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before COVID, the price of building materials was quite stable, but quickly skyrocketed because of supply shortages, prompting some developers to delay or scale back construction plans.<\/p>\n

In some cases, contractors got caught in a bind as the end cost of projects became higher than the price customers were quoted, cutting into the builder\u2019s profit margin.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt started going out of control, there was no way to deal with it, so construction firms began putting clauses in contracts to protect them,\u201d Washburn said. \u201cIt\u2019s carried over to the present. Now you\u2019ve got tariffs thrown into the mix.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are getting some phone calls and emails about the uncertainty of pricing with tariffs, which is a delicate topic with customers and the jobs we currently have going on,\u201d Washburn said. \u201cWe try to plan ahead, to lock in pricing on the products we need in the immediate future. But there is definitely a lot of uncertainty with that. We haven\u2019t had somebody call and say we aren\u2019t doing a project because of tariffs. But whether they\u2019re having those conversations internally \u2026 it\u2019s a definite possibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

On another front, many contractors have been challenged with a severe labor shortage in the building trades. Numerous efforts are taking place to educate young people, boys and girls both, about a full range of rewarding and good-paying jobs from plumbers and electricians to high-tech design personnel.<\/p>\n

The construction industry is also working with school counselors to help them better understand what it does, and encourage students to consider careers in this field.<\/p>\n

Washburn said Hilltop has openings for lead carpenters, superintendents and site work laborers, as the firm began doing this type of work on its own last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLabor is still a problem, but for us it\u2019s getting better,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve got a pretty solid team that we\u2019ve put together. We\u2019re always advertising, trying to find the next guy. If we had more people we could probably expand, but we\u2019re happy with where we\u2019re at, also.<\/p>\n

In addition to commercial projects, Hilltop has a robust residential sector as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doing a ton of work in Brant Lake, Schroon Lake and Lake Luzerne,\u201d Washburn said. \u201cAll those markets are booming residentially, mostly from people coming up from the Metro New York area.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hilltop employs 36 skilled professionals. \u201cThey are the heart and soul that makes this company successful.\u201d said Washburn. Hilltop also does a great deal of subcontracting so 70 or more people might be working on its variety of projects at any given time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBeing a general contractor with the ability to subcontract out, you can adapt to the workflow,\u201d he said. \u201cThe big thing is having a few key employees to help manage and facilitate things. From there it\u2019s reaching out to the sub pool to deal with those ebbs and flows.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Paul Post A new service station in Rexford, a Stewart\u2019s Shop in Plattsburgh and dining hall at the Luzerne Music Center. These are among the many commercial projects on Hilltop Construction Company\u2019s work schedule as it tries to navigate uncertain economic times of rising prices and potential supply chain issues related to the current […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":40662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-construction"],"yoast_head":"\r\nHilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges - Saratoga Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges - Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Paul Post A new service station in Rexford, a Stewart\u2019s Shop in Plattsburgh and dining hall at the Luzerne Music Center. These are among the many commercial projects on Hilltop Construction Company\u2019s work schedule as it tries to navigate uncertain economic times of rising prices and potential supply chain issues related to the current […]\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Saratoga Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-22T13:52:33+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/05\/hilltopconstruction-h.png\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jake Van Ness\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/\",\"name\":\"Hilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges - Saratoga Business Journal\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/05\/hilltopconstruction-h.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-22T13:52:33+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/05\/hilltopconstruction-h.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/05\/hilltopconstruction-h.png\",\"width\":1280,\"height\":960,\"caption\":\"A rendering shows a new Sunoco service station in Rexford, one of several commercial projects underway by Hilltop Construction Company amid fluctuating material costs and labor challenges. Courtesy Hilltop Construction\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Hilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/\",\"name\":\"Saratoga Business Journal\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86\",\"name\":\"Jake Van Ness\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jake Van Ness\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges - Saratoga Business Journal","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges - Saratoga Business Journal","og_description":"By Paul Post A new service station in Rexford, a Stewart\u2019s Shop in Plattsburgh and dining hall at the Luzerne Music Center. These are among the many commercial projects on Hilltop Construction Company\u2019s work schedule as it tries to navigate uncertain economic times of rising prices and potential supply chain issues related to the current […]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/","og_site_name":"Saratoga Business Journal","article_published_time":"2025-05-22T13:52:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/05\/hilltopconstruction-h.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jake Van Ness","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jake Van Ness","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/","name":"Hilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges - Saratoga Business Journal","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/05\/hilltopconstruction-h.png","datePublished":"2025-05-22T13:52:33+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/05\/hilltopconstruction-h.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2025\/05\/hilltopconstruction-h.png","width":1280,"height":960,"caption":"A rendering shows a new Sunoco service station in Rexford, one of several commercial projects underway by Hilltop Construction Company amid fluctuating material costs and labor challenges. Courtesy Hilltop Construction"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/2025\/05\/hilltop-sees-steady-work-ahead-with-commercial-residential-projects-despite-industry-challenges\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hilltop Sees Steady Work Ahead With Commercial, Residential Projects Despite Industry Challenges"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/","name":"Saratoga Business Journal","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/a11ec438b5f0e57f1156754ba3931b86","name":"Jake Van Ness","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0d74f7533bd2ebb3908a187893d5eafbf1ee7752b11715c976372134cbea918d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jake Van Ness"},"url":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/author\/jakev\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40661"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40661\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40663,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40661\/revisions\/40663"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saratoga.com\/saratogabusinessjournal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}