By Maureen Werther
Plans for building two commercial buildings at 1712 and 1714 Route 9 in Clifton Park are moving forward, according to Maureen Abele, of Abele Builders.
The project was approved by the Clifton Park Planning Board in the fall. It includes two separate buildings. The larger of the two will be 60,000 square feet. That available space has not yet been subdivided. The smaller building, a 3,600-square-foot space, will be subdivided into two 1,800-square-foot spaces, she said.
Abele said construction of the smaller building will be completed soon, with an expectation to have the larger building completed by May or early June.
She said that 75 percent of the 60,000 square foot building has already been rented to Kitware, a software research, development and consulting company, currently located in multiple offices in Corporate Drive, approximately two miles from the new site.
Kitware plans to use the space as its new headquarters.
“As a company dedicated to innovation, we thrive in settings that encourage creativity and collaboration,” said Lisa Avila, CEO of Kitware. “Over the past year, we gathered feedback on our work environment from over 100 team members in Clifton Park and used it to mold our floor plan.”
Kitware worked closely with Abele Builders on that floor plan, which will include a combination of team rooms, single- and multi-person office spaces, video conferencing areas, a rooftop patio, a combined kitchen and auditorium, a dedicated area for computing resources and a large server room, according to Kitware’s website.
Kitware has been in business since 1998, building its business on “open-source software.”
“Thanks to the new building by Abele,” said Avila, “we will not only have more room for our current team, but we will be able to more comfortably hire moving forward.”
Both Kitware and Abele Builders credited the Town of Clifton Park Industrial Development Agency (IDA) for being instrumental in qualifying Kitware as a tenant of the town, making the company eligible for property tax incentives through IDA’s payment in lieu of taxes (PILOT) program. Kitware is also eligible for performance-based tax credits through its affiliation with Empire State Development’s Excelsior Jobs Program.
“There is a lot of growth and development in the area, particularly in the technology sector, and we are delighted to be part of it,” said Claudine Hagen, the chief financial officer of Kitware. “We are grateful for the Clifton Park IDA and Empire State Development, whose tax incentives will assist us in expanding our presence in Clifton Park while continuing to execute our mission.”
Abele said that they are hoping to attract medical or technology-focused tenants to the rest of the space. However, they are open to other qualified tenants.
Half of the smaller 3,600-square-foot building next door to the larger building has already been rented to Ballston Spa National Bank.
Abele said “we are very proud of the buildings.” Keystone Architectural Services, based in Delmar were the architects on this project.