By Maureen Werther
When Darren Tracy, PE, first saw the 800-square-foot structure at 5 Culvert St. in Glens Falls in October 2017, he initially thought the 19th century Victorian was damaged beyond repair. The city was in the process of accepting demolition bids, which ranged from $18,000 to $70,000.
Tracy had learned about the city’s plans to demolish the building from Adirondack Architectural Heritage. Between Oct. 6-10, he visited the structure no less than six times. He contacted then-Mayor Jack Diamond with a proposal.
Tracy is the owner of West Branch Engineering and Consulting PLLC in Saratoga Springs and has been involved in other major renovations of older buildings. He did some research about the building, learning that it had been the office of a local physician, Dr. Ferguson, in the late 1870s and it was also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
“The building was in imminent danger of collapse,” said Tracy. He knew he had to act swiftly in order to save it.
After making a presentation to the City Council, his plan was accepted, and he purchased the building for $1. The transfer of the deed took place Oct. 27 and that very day, work began to stabilize the badly damaged roof before the arrival of wintry weather, he said.
Less than two months later, Tracy has installed a temporary roof to protect the interior of the building from any further damage. He is also trying to salvage and re-use as much of the original brick as possible, and he is using specially mixed mortar to match the existing mortar on the building.
Tracy, who is taking on the project himself, said he doesn’t have a firm idea of the total costs of the restoration, but said that it will be a “significant investment.”
Tracy is doing all the architectural work himself, in addition to doing a lot of “hammer swinging.” He is documenting his progress on the historic building on his company’s Facebook page.
Tracy plans to either sell the building or use it as a rental property. He expects the work to take anywhere between one to two years.
Tracy is also the owner, with his wife, Lisa Tracy, of West Branch Inc., a construction firm they have run for 25 years.
In addition to doing large projects for state and local municipalities, as well as private clients, Tracy has been involved in several other historic restoration projects, his most visible one being the restoration of the 1840s Hubbard Hall located in Elizabethtown. He is also a regular guest on local public radio, WAMC’s “Vox Pop,” a phone-in program.