Gastroenterology Associates of Northern New York has purchased Denise Buher’s former physical therapy office on Route 9 in Moreau. The company plans to renovate it and open a satellite office. Dr. Kevin Herlihy founded Gastroenterology Associates, or GI Associates, in 1986. They specialize in the management of digestive diseases.
With its main office at 5 Irongate Center in Glens Falls at full capacity, Herlihy told FoothillsBusinessDaily.com that the new Moreau office will allow the practice to expand its services in a growing area, and on a corridor that is growing rapidly as the town lays sewer lines from the Northway to Butler Road.
“We need some more room,” Herlihy said. “We’re outgrowing our space here at Irongate in terms of seeing patients in the office. We have five doctors and five nurse practitioners and we anticipate bringing a new doctor on next year and possibly another PA or nurse practitioner.”
Gastroenterology Associates, made up of five physician partners, paid $725,000 for the 2.3-acre property. They hope to move in next summer.
GI Associates partner Dr. Bill Bauer said, “One of the things we were interested in is providing a service for our patients that live near that corridor in Moreau. Our colleagues at Hudson Headwaters have opened up a new space there, and we wanted to make things more convenient for our patients. We had an eye on that corridor as an area we might want to have a satellite office in.”
Both Hudson Headwaters and Stewart's Shops opened locations just south of Spier Falls Road on Route 9.
Another partner, Dr. Mike Chase said, “We looked at other properties in that area before settling on this property. We understand there has been a lot of turnover and development, and a lot of big entities like Hudson Headwaters and Stewart’s moving into that area. We’re happy to be part of it.”
The other two physician partners in the practice are Dr. John Coombes and Dr. Ovais Ahmed.
Dr. Herlihy said they have painted the building and will do some minor updating inside.
He said Andrew Kopf of Andrew Kopf Property Management will do the renovations. The building on Route 9 in Moreau is just north of Reynolds Road (State Route 197). Gastroenterology Associates also has an office at 135 North Road in Wilton.
The sewer infrastructure project along Route 9 from Northway Exit 17 north to Butler Road has been ballyhooed by local politicians. The largest public works project in the town of Moreau's history, the sewer line is expected to bring economic activity to the corridor at a cost of about $12 million.
“Businesses are simply not willing or able to operate with the space requirements, expense, and operational challenges associated with large-scale septic systems,” Moreau Town Supervisor Theodore T. Kusnierz, Jr. says in a statement on the LaBerge Group website. LaBerge is the engineering firm overseeing the project.
“Without municipal sewer service, the town has been unable to attract new businesses of a scale that would provide significant tax revenue and job creation,” Kusnierz said.
The project has been behind schedule but is expected to be completed next year.