Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
The City of Glens Falls and Bonacio Development and Construction offered updates in two public meetings last week on renovation of the so-called “Incubator” building at 36 Elm Street plus the former Sandy’s Clam Bar and Hotshots buildings at 41 and 45 South Street.
It’s all part of Phase 1 of developer Sonny Bonacio’s portion of the South Street overhaul partially funded by the City’s $10-million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant from New York State.
Steve Licciardi and Mike Gestwick, Project Managers for Bonacio Development and Construction, respectively, shared pictures and descriptions.
“Now the fun begins with putting it all back together with a target of early fall of 2025,” earlier for the part of the incubator building that ties into the Market Center due to debut on May 16.
“Bonacio is no stranger to difficult, complex, involved projects,” Mr. Licciardi said. These three buildings “fall into each of those categories. Each creates its own identity, has their own story to tell.”
He labeled a first set of slides “challenges,” laughing: “Oh my God, what did we get ourselves into?”
He cited “unknown conditions, also known as many surprises uncovered. Hopefully we are nearing the end of that.”
Mr. Gestwick said, “A lot can happen to a building when it’s left vacant, especially old buildings with roofs that were at the end of their useful life,” as these were.
Roofs leaked, roof drains failed, “and water is no friend to old buildings.”
At Sandy’s, he noted, “Parts were just left as it was — the bar, the menu…half-empty beer bottles (still) in there.”
“Everyone who comes and works in these buildings has a story to tell about Sandy’s or about Hotshots, and some are more colorful than others,” he laughed.
Mr. Licciardi later reassured The Chronicle, yes, the iconic Sandy’s Clam Bar sign has been saved and is in storage. The wall menu was not saved, he said.
“That was the easy stuff to clean up,” Mr. Gestwick said of Sandy’s barroom
“There was probably a multi generational family of pigeons living in Hotshots. They created conditions that were less easy to clean up than a biohazard.”
The historic tax credits Bonacio has received require the developer to preserve windows, ceilings, woodwork and other elements, they said.
Mr. Gestwick pointed to the tin ceiling in an interior photo of 36 Elm.
“Certainly there are panels that are beyond repair, but we’ve taken it down. We’ve organized it in order of good, acceptable — and the stuff that’s unusable gets disposed of properly.”
He said they’re restoring all they can. “That will all get put back in place…on all three floors of that building.”
“Similar story” at Hotshots and Sandy’s, he said. “Every day, something new pops up, but I think most of the big issues we’ve worked through.”
He listed structural repairs, “a lot of rotted wood from the roof on down,” new cedar siding on Hotshots and repaired concrete masonry at 36 Elm, leveled floors, all to be repaired within historic guidelines, color match and more.
At Sandy’s, Mr. Gestwick said, they replaced the stairs to the second and third floors. Mayor Bill Collins volunteered the urban legend that the late Rich Mozal removed the stairs to thwart City inspectors.
They’ve removed the plywood covering over windows of all three buildings.
“All the windows in the apartments in Sandy’s are going to be original,” Mr. Gestwick said, with new glass or new wood parts as needed, “all hand restored.”
He notes, “We’ve had a carpenter in there working diligently for months, repairing these windows.”
Sandy’s “eyebrows,” decorative roof arches, are “a little wobbly,” Mr. Gestwick said — now also on the road to repair.
“It’s getting reborn,” he said.
The full hour-long program is viewable on the City of Glens Falls Youtube, or see the City website for links.
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