Category Archives: Commercial / Residential Real Estate

Construction employment increased nationally by 26,000 jobs in September to a total of 7,245,000, but the gains were concentrated in housing, while employment in the infrastructure and nonresidential building construction sector remained little changed, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of government data released Oct. 2.
Association officials said the pandemic was prompting strong demand for new housing as more Americans work from home, while undermining private-sector development of office, retail and other types of projects and forcing many local and state governments to cut construction budgets.
“Construction is becoming steadily more split between a robust residential component and generally stagnant private nonresidential and public construction activity,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist, noting that in the three months since June, residential construction employment has increased nearly 3 percent while nonresidential employment has slipped 0.2 percent. “As project cancellations mount, so too will job losses on the nonresidential side unless the federal government provides funding for infrastructure and relief for contractors.”

The state has launched a $50 million initiative to transform existing commercial high-rise buildings and multifamily buildings to substantially reduce the carbon footprint of these structures.
The challenge will advance low-carbon retrofit approaches resulting in heating and cooling solutions that will increase the comfort, sustainability, and energy performance of the state’s existing high-rise buildings, a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, state officials said.
Buildings currently account for 45 percent of greenhouse gas emissions from fuel combustion and electric generation, officials said.
“New York is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and developing renewable energy resources that will grow our economy and advance our nation-leading plan to fight climate change,” Gov. Andrew Cuomo said. “The Empire Building Challenge leverages public-private partnerships with leading industry experts and helps New York to continue its rich legacy of environmental stewardship in order to protect our natural resources for future generations.”
Through a comprehensive retrofitting process, infrastructure in existing buildings will be replaced with more energy efficient heating and cooling technologies and solutions, spurring new jobs and significant economic activity. According to a 2019 analysis by Urban Green Council, if all buildings choose efficiency to meet their carbon goals, the retrofit market opportunity in New York City could be over $20 billion by 2030 while creating over 100,000 jobs by 2030.

By Christine Graf
Two $9 million physician-owned medical office buildings will be built on commercial property on Route 9 in Clifton Park.
Developer Rich Paulsen of Albany’s Paulsen Development will have a minority interest in both buildings, one at 1766 Route 9 and the other at 1785 Route 9.
They are being built by BBL Construction of Albany.
OrthNY will be the sole tenant of the two-story, 40,000-square-foot building at 1766 Route 9.
Construction is expected to begin this month, and the projected completion date for the project is September 2020.
Upon completion, OrthoNY will relocate their Clifton Park satellite office to the new facility. The satellite office is currently located in leased space in the Ellis Medicine building on Sitterly Road. OrthoNY also has a four-room ambulatory (outpatient) surgery center at 16 Maxwell Drive in Clifton Park. The $5.3 million physician-owned surgical center recently celebrated its grand opening.

By Christine Graf
Stewart’s Shops has announced plans to spend $50 million to construct new stores and replace smaller, older stores with shops that include more space for prepared foods and coffee.
All new stores will have expanded parking lots and gasoline services, and some will include beer caves, the company said.
The new stores will be located in 11 counties including Albany, Saratoga, Oswego, Rensselaer, Oneida, Warren, Columbia, Essex, Clinton, Ulster, and Orange .
According to company spokesperson Erica Komoroske, the new locations will average 3,750 square feet in size and cost between $2.5 million and $3 million to construct. Fifteen new stores are slated for 2019, and stores in Clifton Park, Mechanicville, Oswego, Yorkville, and Brunswick have already been completed. The company hopes to finish work on the remaining 10 stores by the end of the year.
Stewart’s also has major remodels planned for several existing locations.

By Maureen Werther

Saratoga County is one of the fastest growing counties in New York state and the commercial real estate market is more than holding its own, according to local real estate agents.

Commercial real estate markets, like other markets, tend to be cyclical in nature. One of the challenges for businesses looking for a prime location is making sure they can access skilled workers.

“We are seeing business across all the service sectors. They are never going away … Food service businesses, hair and nail salons, spa and massage studios. We also have a lot of medical companies going into retail spaces, such as urgent care facilities,” said Alex Kutikov, principal, broker and partner of RedMark Realty in Clifton Park.

By Maureen Werther

Anyone who has ever worked in real estate knows the adage, “All real estate is local,” which means that what is happening in other parts of the country is not necessarily indicative of what is currently happening, or what is likely to happen over time in this market.

Take the economic downturn of 10  years ago, for example. While in other parts of the country real estate markets took a nosedive that lasted for a long period of time, the local market did not feel the recession as badly and it recovered more quickly.

Karen Charbonneau of the Saratoga Home Team group agrees with the adage. She has been in real estate for 24 years. Originally from Massachusetts, she has been working with buyers and sellers in this region for the last eight years.