By R.J. DeLuke
Construction companies in the area are
busy as they get into the swing of things in
2013 and a variety of projects, large and
small, take shape.
Indicators show the sale of homes has
been good in Saratoga County and contractors
are optimistic about the market
for building new homes. With the burst of economic activity in the county, Global-
Foundries being emblematic, commercial
activity is benefiting as well.
Cecil Provost of Saratoga Construction LLC, and also ProRealty New York, in Saratoga Springs, he sees a strong year ahead for his company–which builds custom modular homes, log cabins and panelized homes–and for the housing market in general.
“We think it’s going to be a very strong year,” he said. “We’re seeing it on the re-sale end as well as the new construction side.”
He said Saratoga Construction has three projects under way and six more to embark on in the coming months in locations from East Greenbush to Stoney Creek, including a custom duplex that will go up on Saratoga Lake this summer.
He said the housing market ‘went from boon to bust and now, hopefully, recovery” and he’s optimistic about the direction of the construction industry.
Belmonte Builders is in the process of constructing a new development in Saratoga Springs called McKenzie’s Way. The new 18-lot neighborhood, nestled between Jefferson Street and East Broadway, will have a nostalgic feel with street lights, sidewalks and curbs, the company said. Lots in McKenzie’s Way will range in size from 6,600 to 9,444 square feet, he said.
According to Peter Belmonte, president of the Clifton Park-based company, the location has the convenience of being within walking distance to Saratoga Performing Arts Center, Saratoga Race Track, the National Museum of Dance and many attractions in downtown Saratoga. For families there is the added benefit of being in the Saratoga Springs school district.
“We are excited to be building affordable custom homes in a community where neighborhoods are vibrant and homeowners can benefit from all Saratoga has to offer,” said Belmonte.
He is also planning a housing development off Smith Bridge Road in the town of Wilton.
“We are bringing a maintenance-free, age-targeted community” to Wilton, similar to Arlington Heights in Halfmoon that the company developed.
He said it will be comprised of 63 homes and is the third maintenance-free community project done by the company. The formal name will be the Mill at Smith Bridge.
The target, said Belmonte, is young professionals and empty nesters seeking an individually detached home. The company will handle all the landscaping and snow removal.
He said the project has been approved by the town of Wilton and it should get under way a bit later in the years. There are already people who’ve expressed interest in the homes once they’re built.
The company also announced that its Floral Estates Phase Five development is now open. This 18-lot phase of homes is located off Route 29 in Wilton near Old Schuylerville and Ingersoll Roads.
Munter Enterprises reported it will break ground on a 30,000-square-foot “spec building” in the W.J. Grande Industrial Park in the southwestern part of the city. Mike Munter, vice president of the Middle Grove-based company, said the building is designed around many different types of applications and uses for someone looking for an industrial building.
The company bought the last two industrial lots in the park last year and invested $1.9 million this winter to buy the remaining land.
Munter said it will have high ceilings, plenty of floor space, power, water and sewer to meet the needs of industrial companies. It will be used to attract businesses to Saratoga Springs and Saratoga County. The Saratoga Economic Development Corp. is an organization that can help market the buildings, but Munter said people can also contact his company direct if they have a company interested in such a site in Saratoga County, a hub of business activity, especially after GlobalFoundries located its chip fabrication plant in Malta, then recently announced plans for a major expansion.
Munter Enterprises does commercial and industrial projects. Munter said 2013 looks like a better year for construction, noting that there is much more bidding activity on projects in the region than there was a year ago. He said he is “pretty optimistic” about the near future.
A Munter project under way is an addition of 15,000 square feet to the freezer warehouse of Stewart’s Shops at its plant in Greenfield. That could be completed by spring, Munter said.
His company is also finishing up a 180,000-square-foot spring water bottling plan in Johnstown, west of Saratoga County. The client, C.G. Roxane, will be bottling Crystal Geyser spring water from the site, where an investment of about $30 million was made.
It will be the company’s sixth such plant in the U.S. The project could be completed in March.
Munter said another project, set for April completion is a bio-waste treatment facility in Chateaugay, near Malone, to the north. That plant, run by Cassell Organics, will take product from sewage treatment plants and process it into fertilizer.
Among the projects of MLB Construction Services in Ballston Spa is the construction of a Pavilion Grand Suites project that the company feels is unique for Saratoga Springs. Located on Lake Avenue, in the lot adjacent to the Parting Glass pub and restaurant there will be commercial space on the first floor, and the rest of the five story structure will be hotel-type rentals, said Scott Shepherd, vice president of operations/principal at MLB.
The unique part, he said, is that there will be 10 luxury, two-story suites available for 30-day rentals. The rest of the 48 units will be usual hotel-type rentals. The facility can be marketed in a number of ways to a variety of customers, Shepherd noted, saying it is “A fantastic project for a host of different reasons.”
MLB is continuing to work on housing projects at Skidmore College, where it eventually will have added 800 beds for students’ on-campus housing and they should be ready for the fall. The newest should be ready for the fall.
Shepherd called the college “a great partner” in recent years.
MLB will also build the new Eye Care Center associated with Glens Falls Hospital, located in Wilton near Exit 16 of the Northway. Shepherd said the structure will be 9,000 square feet on one story, and will be expandable as the needs of the facility grow. MLB “is excited about everything going on,” he said, noting that the presence of the mammoth GlobalFoundries microchip fabrication plant in Malta has become “a game changer” in terms of boosting the local economy.
Frank H. Alessandrini, president F.H. Alexander, Ballston Lake, said among his projects is completion of a new headquarters for the Hudson River Community Credit Union in Corinth.
That project is a 17,000-square-foot, two-story, Adirondack-style structure that will house the central offices for the credit union.
His company is also building a new auto services center near the Albany Airport for Hertz Rent-a-Car, which would be the facility where the company services its vehicles.
Alessandrini also said there are a series of other smaller projects he is involved in, in the early stages of 2013. His company does commercial construction projects, from new building construction to commercial renovation projects to industrial plant renovation and also proficient in the construction of pre-engineered steel buildings.
Companies like Bonacio Construction are also busy. The company is working on its 422 Broadway project in downtown Saratoga Springs, which will be commercial and office space, as well as 14 luxury apartments. It is expected to be completed this summer, according to the company website. The construction of a movie theater off Church Street, the site of the former Price Chopper, 19 Railroad Place, also continues in the downtown area. Planned is an 11-screen theater, run by Bow Tie Cinemas, that will be called Criterion Cinemas 11. Phase II is underway at The Springs, a new mixed-use development at 60 Weibel Ave., Saratoga Springs, will be available this summer, consisting of 119 apartments, according to the company.
The construction company has other projects in its hopper, like numerous other forms in the area, including some outside the county.
All is boding well for a strong construction year.