Category Archives: Construction

By Christine Graf

According to a 2020 survey conducted by the Associated General Contractors of America, 81 percent of construction firms are finding it difficult to find employees. This trend has worsened in 2021 due in part to extended unemployment benefits that have been made available by the federal government during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The cost of labor has gone up 25 to 30 percent. It’s putting a lot of people out of business. We’re competing with the government for employees because people are getting paid to stay home while millions of jobs go unfilled,” said Todd Drake, owner of Cornerstone Construction. His company works throughout the Capital Region and the Adirondacks.

“It’s absolutely outrageous policy and fiscally disastrous and quite frankly socially disastrous because it’s creating complacency among people who should be working. Certainly there are those who have been able to find work that they are capable of doing. I certainly get that. But for the vast majority of people, they aren’t even calling. I know businesses—including ourselves—that run ads and get no responses at all. None.”

The origins of the labor shortage started long before the pandemic and can be traced back to 2008 recession when the bottom fell out of the construction industry and skilled workers moved to other professions, those in the industry say. The problem was compounded by a reduction in the number of young people seeking careers in the trades.

“This is not new, and it’s not pandemic related,” said Thomas Albrecht, Sr., president of Hilltop Construction Co. in Hudson Falls, of the labor woes in the industry.

“Three years ago, the age of the average construction worker was 42 years old. They are aging out, and there haven’t been a lot of people to replace them. It’s just a shortage of folks going into the trades industry.” he said.

By Christine Graf

Joe Gross, owner of Gross Electric in Queensbury, has expanded his Warren County real estate portfolio by purchasing 21 acres of land in Lake George.

The land is located off Northway Exit 21 and is adjacent to the 9-acre former Ramada Inn property that Gross purchased in 2015. The Ramada was in foreclosure at the time, and the hotel had been shuttered for 10 years.

“I was fortunate to purchase this 21 acres, giving me a total of 30 acres to work with,” said Gross. “I saw it as opportunity to pursue trying to get some apartments and/or townhouses approved.”

Gross envisions a multi-phase, mixed-use project for the properties. In addition to apartments, it would include several commercial businesses.

“I’m thinking a hair salon, maybe a small deli. Anything we could do to make it like a little bit of a community,” he said. “We would love for the first phase to have some retail commercial capacity and about 100 (residential) units.”

  “I purchased it from the bank with the idea that I could resurrect it (the hotel),” Gross said. “About six months after I bought it, it became the vandalism and party spot for kids from multiple counties. It got to the point where they had broken every window in the place, so we had to gut it so there was nothing left to break on it. All it is now is concrete and metal.”

Gross considered building a new hotel on the property but changed his mind after meeting with town supervisors and other Lake George officials. They alerted him to the need for apartments within the town.

New York’s Thruway rest areas are in line for a major makeover.
The state Thruway Authority board of directors has approved a $450 million, 33-year deal that will require a private consortium to revamp all 27 service plazas along the 570-mile superhighway system in the coming years.
Officials said the upfront costs will not fall on toll payers.
Instead, a consortium, known as Empire State Thruway Partners, will spend $300 million to rebuild 23 rest stops and extensively renovate the remaining four, with construction set to begin next year.
It will also be required to pay the Thruway Authority at least $51 million in rent and invest another $103 million in improving the rest stops over the course of the three-decade-long contract, according to the Thruway Authority.
In exchange, the consortium led by the John Laing Group, a private investment firm, will get to operate the restaurants, shops and facilities at the rest stops for 33 years.

By Lisa Balschunat
A 12-month construction project to build a new affordable housing complex on Broad Street in Glens Falls, begun in November 2019, is targeted for occupancy next January, according to the developers.
Larry Regan, president of Regan Development Corp., said over 60 workers have been involved in the apartment rental project that features 71 affordable housing units, among them 11 one-bedroom apartments designed for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
There will also be 6,300 square feet of retail space.
Deemed as an essential project during the state’s shutdown due to the coronavirus, Regan said he was pleased with the way the governor’s office provided the construction industry with necessary programs and information to work safely.
“Every Glens Falls department has been incredibly helpful and great to work with,” Regan said. “Glens Falls has all of its pieces in place. It is positioned for growth and opportunity. I am happy to be a part of it.”
Additionally, Regan has been working closely with AIM Services to design the 11 specialized units to serve an important community need.

by Lisa Balschunat
Elated about New York state’s relaxing of COVID-19 restrictions as it proceeds with reopening the economy in phases, Tom Albrecht, president of Hilltop Construction Co., said “I’m digging holes again and playing in the dirt.”
His company ran a bare-bones crew on a few jobs deemed essential businesses by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office during the state’s Pause. But Hilltop and other area builders are moving on with projects that came to a halt due to the pandemic.
“Hilltop had a few essential jobs, so we were able to continue working on some projects,” Albrecht said. “During the Pause we signed over $3 million worth of work. This year we are booked with contracts. Next year, I think the economic impact will be felt. I am an optimist, but also a realist. When the dust settles, our region will be affected. Some businesses won’t open long term or at all. The impact will be great.”

By Susan E. Campbell
April and May are the quiet months when resorts normally prepare for the summer season and the influx of visitors who contribute to a $1.3 billion tourism industry in Warren County. But Adirondack restaurants, hotels and resort areas have been slowed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Jim Rucker, who owns and operates Garnet Hill Lodge in North River with his wife, Frances, sees cause for optimism, however.
The owners recently acquired an additional 110 acres in Warren County, securing control of much of the resort’s 30-plus miles of skiing, snowshoeing and hiking trails.
Their original purchase of Garnet Hill Lodge in 2016 came with less than 300 acres of land. This April, the Ruckers purchased another 110 acres. The resort is now able to provide many more miles of trails for hiking and mountain biking during the summer and fall.

By Rachel Phillips
The father and son team of Tom and Wayne Samascott recently built a new climate-controlled storage center on Ballard Road, near Northway Exit 16.
Northway Exit 16 Self Storage offers clients a convenient access as it is located just 1,000 feet down from the exit.
Tom and Wayne Samascott are president and vice president, respectively, of Malta Development Co. They opened the storage center in March.
“I have been interested in doing self-storage for the past several years and the opportunity to by this project came along,” Wayne Samascott said. “We liked the location. Ballard Road gets a lot of traffic.”
The center contains 48,400 square feet of rentable space, with units ranging from 5×5 feet, up to 13×20 feet. In addition to heated and air-conditioned units, clients will have 24/7 access.
Units are monitored by a security camera system that covers every part of the building. Renting units can be done online at northwayexit16selfstorage.com. Upon rental, clients receive a code to access the building without ever having to interact with anyone. The center even accepts package deliveries for clients, and will place the deliveries in their units for them.