Rendering by SWBR
By Rod Bacon
South Street in Glens Falls is undergoing a significant revitalization, and Saratoga Springs-based Bonacio Construction, Inc. is at the forefront of the effort.
Construction is underway on what the company is calling the Market Square project, which is the revitalization of the buildings at 41 and 45 South Street and 36 Elm Street. Forty-one South Street is the former Sandy’s Clam Bar and 45 South Street is the former Hotshots building. Thirty-six Elm Street is a three-story warehouse known as the “incubator” building.
“This is a historical renovation project so we’re keeping a lot of the historical significance of those buildings,” said Director of Project Development Amber Mathias.
She noted that all the buildings qualify for historic tax credits so the company is working closely with the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) and the National Park Service (NPS) to ensure compliance with all regulations. Bonacio Construction was approved for two of the three stages of the process, according to Mathias. Upon completion of the project an application is submitted for the final stage to confirm all work was done correctly.
Crews have completed demolition and are currently working on interior framing.
“Each of the buildings will have commercial units on the first floor and residential units on the upper two floors,” said Mathias. “There will be a total of 18 residential units and three commercial units upon completion. We’ve targeted the end of the year for that”
She noted that the City of Glens Falls has master-leased the first floor of 36 Elm Street and is working on their conceptual plans separate from Bonacio. She said the end product will likely tie into the city pavilion that is next door. The pavilion hosts the farmer’s market and other events throughout the year.
According to Mathias, the Bonacio organization purchased the building that housed Sandy’s Clam Bar about four years ago because they identified it as a potential site they’d be interested in developing and they knew there were future plans to improve the area.
“That was something we wanted to be part of,” she said. “About two years ago the Request For Proposals (RFP) came out. We were, I think, one of three or four applicants and we were chosen as the developer of those sites. It’s going to make such a huge difference along South Street.”
The second phase is called the South Street Apartments, a New York State Homes and Community Renewal (HCR) project. Mathias said they hope to close on that by the end of March and break ground within a month. The 72,717-square-foot building will be sited on the former farmer’s market parking lot and offer affordable housing in 70 residential units. There will also be one commercial space that has already been spoken for by Adirondack Community College. Bonacio has planned an 18-month construction schedule so completion will be in the summer of 2026.
“These projects have been in our pipeline for two or three years and we’re excited to finally be moving ahead with them,” she said.
The commercial spaces and residential units in both Market Square and South Street Apartments will be managed by Bonacio Management.
“There is nothing for sale in those buildings, just rentals,” said Mathias.
Financing for the $9.2 million Market Square project was provided by Arrow Bank. Financing for South Street Apartments, which is estimated to cost $25 million, was provided by two banks because it’s an HCR project. Construction financing was provided by NBT Bank and permanent financing was provided by M&T Bank.
This is not Bonacio’s first foray into Warren County. They have renovated a building at 14 Hudson Street in Glens Falls as well as one at 170 Kerry Road in Queensbury. Adirondack Radiology is the primary tenant and they are in the process of taking over the remaining vacant space in the building.