Category Archives: Construction

By Paul Post

Nearly three dozen area contractors turn to Local 773 whenever they land a big job and need to bring on highly-qualified plumbers, steamfitters, pipefitters and HVAC technicians.

The 500-member, Queensbury-based union supplies skilled workers for a wide variety of projects from GlobalFoundries in Malta to recently-completed refrigeration upgrades at Lake Placid’s Olympic facilities.

A five-year apprenticeship includes hands-on work plus September to April classes, each year, at Local 773’s headquarters and training facility at 37 Luzerne Road.

“It’s an earn and learn program,” Business Manager Mike Jarvis said. “When an apprentice comes in they sign up with the union, work during the day for a contractor and go to school at night three times per week.”

Applications are accepted one day each month. When enough applications come in, the union sets up an aptitude test. Candidates are also interviewed by an eight-person Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, comprised of four union members and four contractors, who review the job-seeker’s employment history, attitude and work ethic. Points are given for related college and past military experience.

By Christine Graf

In the Capital Region real estate market and beyond, a shortage of inventory has made it difficult for buyers to find reasonably priced homes. The Center for American Progress, an independent policy institute, believes modular homes may be the answer to the American housing crisis. According to a report issued by the institute in February 2024, “Modular building, if brought to scale, has the potential to reduce construction costs and make building new homes more affordable, especially in areas experiencing severe affordable housing shortages.”

Modular homes are often confused with mobile homes, but the two are distinctly different. While modular home components are fabricated in factories, the homes themselves are assembled on-site and attached to permanent foundations. 

When it comes to the construction process, there is virtually no difference between a modular home and a site-built home. Both are built with the same materials and are subject to the same regulations. 

By R.J. DeLuke

Construction season this year is seeing a variety of companies in the area involved in numerous projects, sizeable and otherwise, as business moves forward in spite of concerns about the economy.

Rob Holbrook, president of V&H Construction in Fort Edward, said he is optimistic about the construction industry in the region.

“We’ve been straight out since COVID,” he said, though he noted there could be a “cooling off” period on the horizon.

Like others, he said finding qualified workers is still an issue.

“I could use more people. I can’t hire enough qualified people right now,” said Holbrook. 

Dan Washburn, a partner with Hilltop Construction in Hudson Falls, hiring is a bonifide issue. “Qualified workers have decreased and are harder to find,” he said, while noting it is not a new problem, rather one that has persisted for some years.

Nonetheless, “we’ve got a really good crew,” said Washburn.

Of the general state of the industry, he said “for us, it’s very good. We have alot of irons in the fire … It’s a very good outlook for this year and through next fall and into winter.” Projects are already being scheduled for 2024, he said. 

By Christine Graf

It was while working to construct the interior of a third Saratoga CoWorks Space at 92 Congress St. in Saratoga Springs that owners Dorothy Rogers-Bullis and Dan Bullis first discovered Falkbuilt, an interior digital component construction company. 

They were so impressed with the company that they now operate Falkbuilt’s Northern New York branch as part of their own commercial design and furniture company, drb Business Interiors.

“Falkbuilt was the solution that we were looking for,” said Rogers-Bullis. “We wanted better acoustics, better design, and faster lead times.”

Had they not used Falkbuilt for the interior buildout at 92 Congress St., she estimated that the work would have taken four times as long.

Founded in 2019, Calgary-based Falkbuilt has 450 employees and more than 90 branches in North America, the Middle East and India. The interior construction manufacturing company uses next-generation technology to manufacture components efficiently and precisely in their factory. Falkbuilt systems are being utilized in hospitals, offices, and even a research station in Antarctica.

Described as “conventional construction on steroids,” Falkbuilt’s digital component construction combines proven interior construction methods with technology. Its ECHO software, a cloud-computing platform, connects with the technological platforms that are commonly used in conventional construction. The software also utilizes industry-standard design and engineering tools. 

By Christine Graf

With the purchase the Mohican Resort Motel, local entrepreneur Chad Nims has entered the hospitality industry. 

Nims purchased the 44-room resort for $1.7 million after the Lake George property, north of the Outlets at lake George and south of the lake itself, was foreclosed on.

Nims, the owner of Nims Services, established his landscaping and snowplowing company in 2003 while a senior at Hudson Falls High School. As the company grew, he began offering excavating, paving, construction, and trucking services. 

“I had a lot of friends from high school who came to work with me and really helped out,” said Nims. “They played a major role in helping me grow the business during the first 10 years. Over that time, I kept expanding, adding employees, and offering more services.”

“We do everything from paving parking lots to interior construction fit ups. We do demolition for a lot of the malls, and we’ve done a lot of work at Crossgates and Aviation.”

Four years ago, Nims added Tree Care by Stan Hunt and Stan Hunt Pest Control to his business portfolio. He also owns several commercial buildings and approximately 70 apartments.

By Paul Post

Bonacio Construction Co. in Saratoga Springs  helped transform the Spa City with one large, multi-million-dollar project after another since its founding in 1988.

About a decade ago, the Saratoga Springs-based firm turned its attention to Glens Falls.

Now, in one of its most ambitious ventures ever, Bonacio hopes to rejuvenate South Street with a multi-phase project involving new construction and renovating existing structures such as the once-popular Sandy’s Clam Bar, Hot Shots tavern and a business incubator building behind Hot Shots at 36 Elm Street. 

Elsewhere, Bonacio is still quite busy in Saratoga Springs, currently doing foundation and structural work for a new addition behind the former Rip Van Dam Hotel, connected to the adjacent Adelphi Hotel on Broadway, which was rebuilt four years ago for $28 million. The completed project will comprise one large resort with hotel rooms, studios and apartments.

In Glens Falls, “We saw a town that was once a jewel and had won the All-American City Award, but which like a lot of upstate New York communities had struggled through some down years,” said Larry Novik, company development director. “But it was clearly making a strong comeback. We saw a beautiful downtown with a really nice layout and a lot of quality, attractive buildings. We were just excited by what we were seeing.”

The company’s first project in Glens Falls was a new six-story retail, commercial and residential building at the intersection of Hudson Avenue and School Street, near the city’s new parking garage by Glens Falls Hospital.

By Christine Graf

Foothills Builders, a family owned residential construction company, is pursuing plans to build a mixed-use building at 78-80 Main St. in Queensbury.

The company was established in 2013 by Joe Leuci and his father, also named Joe. Since that time, they have built close to 100 homes including two subdivisions in Queensbury and numerous homes in Corinth and Moreau. The proposed three-story building is located on the Northway Exit 18 corridor.

“We’re excited to be what we hope will be the transformation of this corridor between Exit 18 and Glens Falls,” said Leuci. “I think it would be huge for the area if that stretch can be developed.”

If approved, the 25,000-square-foot building will include 7,000 square feet of leasable space on the ground floor. The space can be split up to accommodate at least four tenants, he said.

By Paul Post

A smile crossed Bert Weber’s face when a Cape Cod barkeep urged him to check out a new beer made by Common Roots of South Glens Falls.

“It’s really good, you should try it,” the tavern worker said.

Little did he know that Weber and his son, Christian, own the business, which is one of Saratoga County’s fastest-growing craft breweries. “It never gets old when we go to a spot we’ve never been to, walk in and there’s a Common Roots beer on tap,” Christian said.

The Webers have a $3.2 million expansion plan in the works.

Plans call for acquiring a two-acre parcel adjacent to the brewery, at 55 Saratoga Ave., and building a large facility for warehousing, storage, a separate farm-style brewery that will produce wild-mix fermentation beers, and a large restaurant capable of hosting special events such as weddings.

By Christine Graf  

Real estate investor and tech company entrepreneur Christopher Ramsey and his investment partners have purchased the Huddle Bay Motel and Cottages on Lake George.

Under the name Bolton Landing Beach Resort LLC, Ramsey and his partners purchased Huddle Bay Motel and Cottages for $900,000 on April 14.  The 13-unit 4576 Lakeshore Drive features cabins, motel rooms, and efficiencies.

 The Schenectady native and Siena College computer science graduate is the founder of Virtual Moving Technologies of Schenectady. His company provides moving companies with software that enables them to prepare virtual moving estimates. Virtual Moving Technologies has 150 employees throughout the country with 20 located in Schenectady. Ramsey also owns numerous rental properties in Albany, Schenectady, and Troy as well as 17 self-storage facilities.

According to Ramsey, town and village officials were accommodating throughout the entire purchase process.