By Christine Graf
Witt Construction of Saratoga Springs is seeking approval to build a mix of 63 townhouses, condos, and apartments as well as a 60-room hotel, spa, restaurant and commercial space at Excelsior Park.
Located near Northway Exit 15, Excelsior Park is an upscale luxury apartment community. It is already home to 105 apartments, 30 condos and a 100-suite Marriott Residence Inn.
Company president John Witt began working on the project 20 years ago.
“We put it under contract in 1999, and we went through a major process going through EIS (environmental impact statement),” he said. “We ended up with a special use permit which allowed a hotel, spa, mixed use townhomes, and condos. In 2006-2007, we had the hotel up and the first 30 condos built and sold.”
Just as Witt was about to begin construction on additional condos, the 2007 economic crisis occurred and Witt halted work.
In 2016, Witt sold a portion of the 35-acre property to Burns Management of Albany for $1.58 million. Burns built 105 luxury apartments on the property.
Witt also donated a portion of the land to the City of Saratoga Springs to create the Spring Run Trail. The pedestrian and bike path is approximately one mile in length.
In 2018, Witt began construction of 18 townhomes at Excelsior Park. They are priced between $300,000 and $500,000. Approximately half of the units have already been sold, he said. The next phase of construction will include an additional 50-plus townhomes.
“For new construction, it is somewhat affordable for Saratoga Springs,” he said. “It’s just two miles from Broadway, so it is a walkable distance. I’ve lived here in one of the townhomes for 13 years, and I love it. The location is great, and one of the great amenities is the open space. We have a 20-acre preserve that in perpetuity will be forever wild open space.”
The boutique hotel Witt plans for Excelsior Park will overlook the preserve. He is currently seeking re-approval of the mixed-use permit that will allow construction to proceed. He expects the process to be relatively smooth.
“We’re not changing the original intent. What changed is that originally we had condos that were going to be more expensive,” he said. “I redesigned the project, doing some more market-rate apartments. We have some workforce housing, some more affordable apartments.”
Witt remains optimistic about the project despite the COVID-19 pandemic. All work at Excelsior Park was shut down during the first three months of the pandemic.
“We’re back working now, and sales in Saratoga Springs have been very good,” he said. “We are getting a lot of people from downstate and other states that are looking to move to Saratoga. If you look at the past 15 years, prices have been pretty flat in our area in the real estate market. The market was kind of stagnant, and
“I think there is a lot of pent up demand locally. Now you have COVID and people who can work anywhere. If you are working from home, you may as well live in a great place. And I think Saratoga Springs is one of the top 10 cities in the world to live in.”
