Courtesy City of Glens Falls
By Paul Post
Some 30 firms have requested construction packets as potential bidders for a proposed new Market Center on South Street in Glens Falls.
The 6,000-square-foot building would be at a currently vacant lot at 51-63 South St. where an Off Track Betting outlet was previously located.
Plans for the project, estimated to cost $4 million, call for a pavilion-type structure with numerous exterior doors that would house Glens Falls Farmer’s Market, and host many other events throughout the year.
Quotes are due by the end of July and it’s hoped that a contractor will be selected in early August.
“We’d love to have shovels in the ground by late summer and have it completed by next summer,” said Jeff Flagg, Glens Fall economic development director. “It’s not strictly a low-bid contract.”
The building will be funded in part with money from a $10 million Downtown Revitalization grant that Glens Falls obtained from the state in 2017. The money is also being used to rehabilitate the former Sandy’s Clam Bar and Hot Shots tavern on South Street, and a business incubator behind Hot Shots at 36 Elm St.
Flagg said ongoing material shortages and supply chain problems give bidders flexibility in how building will be done.
“You look for alternatives where possible,” he said.
In addition, at least part of the project must be done by a minority and/or women-owned business, in keeping with state grant requirements. Such things will be reviewed closely before awarding a contract.
“Cost is a big factor, but it’s not whoever has the low bid gets the contract,” Flagg said. “We won’t know the budget until the bids come in.”
The city will very likely support the project with tax incentives through Glens Falls Industrial Development Agency, he said.
Flagg said the new building could hold many different types of activities, both public and private including special family events.
“The idea is that the facility will lend itself to new uses we’ll find,” he said. “The idea is to make it as flexible as possible for as many uses as possible.”
Market Center is a key element of plans to revitalize South Street, which has gone through a period of steady decline in recent years.
SpringCity Development, a subsidiary of Saratoga Springs-based Bonacio Construction, owns the former Sandy’s building, which it plans to rehabilitate for commercial and residential use. The firm also has plans to construct a large new, five-story commercial-residential building (69 apartments) that would wrap around Sandy’s.
It will be located at the current Glens Falls Farmer’s Market lot.
South Street’s overhaul includes major sewer and street upgrades. Carver Construction of Coeymans recently obtained a contract for $1.8 million worth of street improvements along Elm, Exchange and Park streets and $1.3 million for sewer work.