Courtesy Munter Enterprises
By Rod Bacon
The crews at Munter Enterprises are looking at a very busy year. The Middle Grove-based construction firm has numerous projects underway or nearing completion.
In Glens Falls, Munter is doing an $8 million renovation of the Glens Falls YMCA using a multiphase approach to help keep programming and use of the facility as seamless as possible for staff and members.
Phase one, which is underway with an anticipated completion date this fall, is the redesign of a family locker room, a women’s locker room and a men’s locker room.
Phase two will be a dedicated group fitness studio.
Phase three creates a multiuse indoor sports complex.
Phase four is a complete redesign of the wellness floor.
Phase five redesigns the front lobby, creates a youth STEAM area and includes a new cycle studio.
And somewhere in the mix of the other phases, the pool deck on the Fire Road side of the building will be expanded to include an on-deck restroom, sauna and hot tub.
Instead of a typical groundbreaking with shovels to kick off the project, YMCA officials and local dignitaries smashed cinder blocks with sledgehammers to signify the major renovations in a more exciting manner.
Munter is one of a few Capital District contractors awarded work at the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals facility in the W.J. Grande Industrial Park in Saratoga Springs.
“We are honored to be among those chosen to move this project forward,” said Vice President Mike Munter.
Regeneron’s $2 billion investment, estimated to create 1,000 permanent jobs and 500 construction jobs, is slated for full completion in June 2033. The start of pharmaceutical production is scheduled for 2030.
In June, Munter completed the first phase of a two-phase rebuild of Stewart’s Shops’ food and ice cream production facility in Greenfield.
Munter is quarterbacking the project, which will modernize and expand Stewart’s ice cream and milk production while more than doubling the size of the convenience store chain’s commercial kitchen.
The project will position Stewart’s to grow for decades.
Munter is just starting phase two, which includes an 11,000-square-foot expansion of its ice cream production area and milk silo pad, as well as a 12,000-square-foot addition to the minus-10-degree freezer. These projects will carry into 2027.
They are starting a 48,000-square-foot expansion at Boat N RV Condos, a storage facility on Saratoga Lake. Plans call for 86 units in two buildings to provide year-round storage for boats and recreational vehicles. Completion is scheduled for this fall.
“I don’t know where the time goes but this is actually an addition to the original project we did twenty years ago,” Munter noted.
In September, they will start construction of a 25,000-square-foot building for the Code Blue Shelter, a division of Shelters of Saratoga that provides beds, meals and critical care to those in need from November through April. There will be a large kitchen and living spaces divided according to residents’ needs.
“Working closely with the shelter’s staff our design team came up with a well-planned and attractive design to meet the community’s needs and shelter’s budget while incorporating the many standards and regulations by which a facility of that nature must abide,” Munter said.
The design team comprised Paone Architecture, Cotler and Gribulis Architecture, and The LA Group.
Also on the schedule is an 8,000-square-foot addition at Precision Valve & Automation (PVA) in Clifton Park. The company manufactures automated mechanisms for fluid dispensing and selective conformal coating for a wide variety of applications.
Underway now is the renovation of Adirondack Trust Company’s Malta branch. Half the building and the drive-thru were torn down and are being rebuilt with timber-frame elements to bring the building closer to the look of some other branches. The drive-thru is scheduled to reopen at the end of August, and the entire branch should be fully operational in October. The Adirondack Trust Company engaged the Phinney Design Group and Studio A to design the project.
A project started last winter for Fort Miller Precast in Greenwich is nearing completion. The 35,000-square-foot building will house three large cranes used to manufacture components for bridges, highways, walls, erosion control, ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) structures and custom products.
Munter recently completed two projects.
They built a 35,000-square-foot building in the W.J. Grande Industrial Park for Ambrave Corp., a company that designs and manufactures advanced tactical gear for military special operations forces and law enforcement under the Direct Action brand and for outdoor enthusiasts under the Helikon-Tex brand.
Headquartered in Poland, its U.S. headquarters were in Ballston Spa before the move to the industrial park.
Also recently completed is a 2,500-square-foot branch of the Hudson River Community Credit Union in Greenwich. A unique aspect of the project, according to Munter, is that because of the Amish population in the area, there are a hitching post and water hydrant for horses in the parking lot.
Munter closed by saying, “John and I have taken the foundation that our parents laid out to build a reputation that, thankfully, has attracted the attention of some of the most successful manufacturers and businesses in the region. All of our customers need the same things: trust, reliability and a clear understanding of how long and how much it will take to bring their products and services to market.”
To learn more about Munter Enterprises, go to munterenterprises.com.