(Credit: Rucinski Hall Architecture via Town of Queensbury)
The front elevation of the proposed mixed-use building at 78-80 Main Street in West Glens Falls.
Construction company Foothills Builders plans to bring a $1 million, mixed-use building to 78 Main St. in West Glens Falls.
The three-storey building on a 0.76 acre lot will have 24 apartment units upstairs and 7,000 square feet of office or retail space on the first floor. The one- and two-bedroom apartments will be split evenly between the second and third floors. Plans show up to four commercial spaces on the first floor.
The project includes a parking/driving area, lighting, landscaping, and stormwater, according to the project plan submitted to the town board. The site sits across Main Street from the Exit 18 Adirondack Trust building and the small strip mall that houses a Subway and the Hi Nails salon. Two structures, a house and garage, on the dual 78 to 80 Main Street lots will be demolished.
The site is attractive because of its proximity to Exit 18 and Glens Falls, said Foothills Builders owner Joseph Leuci.
“You're close enough to the highway to where you can get commuters from the north or the south. And you're close enough to Glens Falls where you can still attract a younger crowd," he said.
Leuci had hoped to begin construction in June.
The Queensbury Planning Board looked at the plans during their meeting last month. According to Laura Moore, Land Use Planner for Queensbury Planning and Development, “The application has not been approved by the planning board. It has been tabled until August…for additional information.”
This was a bit of a disappointment, Leuci said.
"[They are] looking for a little more information regarding traffic in the area and a couple more details on the building. And unfortunately the town is so busy...we had to get tabled out a couple months instead of a few weeks. It’s unfortunate for our timing, but it is what it is,” he said.
This is not the first apartment project for his company in the area “but the first of this scale” Leuci said.
"I'm excited for the new challenges of a larger scale building," he added later.
Foothills Builders has built duplexes in the area and built a smaller mixed use building in South Glens Falls. That building has a salon on the first floor and two apartments on the second. Foothills Builders LLC is a family owned residential construction company located in Queensbury.