Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Ben Westcott, Chronicle Staff Writer
Glens Falls developer Chris Patten has contracts to purchase the building at 46-56 South Street and the former Rite Aid property at 10 Broad Street.
In the South Street building, Mr. Patten said he’ll make 20 apartment units on the second and third floors — 16 one-bedroom facing South Street and four two-bedroom facing Elm.
On the ground floor he plans six commercial spaces and aims to bring in a restaurant.
He said he anticipates rent for the one-bedroom units to be around $1,200 a month, and in the $1,500 to $1,600 range for the two-bedroom units.
“My driving motivation for restoring buildings on South Street is to help continue the momentum of development,” Mr. Patten told The Chronicle Friday.
“It’s been a long time that there have been talks about revitalization on that road. Everyone is now excited with the farmers market underway, and Bonacio Construction moving forward.
“This is the time to complete the last pieces of the puzzle of the downtown area, through restoration and new construction alike.
“We’ve certainly come a long way in the last 10 years. I remember listening to stories from my great aunt Bea about how nice Glens Falls used to be when she was a kid. It makes me proud to be a part of restoring the 1944 Look magazine acclaimed ‘Hometown USA.’”
Mr. Patten said the South Street building is “a key element in the restoration of the South Street corridor, and it’s in line with the city’s DRI [Downtown Revitalization Initiative] project.”
“Being a part of restoring South Street has always been a passion of mine, since I started investing in the city when I was 21 years old,” he said. “I always thought that building really deserved to be brought back to life.
“I finally got into the building, and a lot of people said it was in terrible shape, and it’s seen better days for sure, but nothing that we can’t overcome.
“It’s not worse than the building that we did at 274 Glen Street [at the corner of South and Glen].”
He said the building will have “a brand new elevator.”
On the first floor, he said, “The idea is to bring a restaurant into that corner and then potentially five other commercial spaces out on South Street.”
“All the windows will be replaced. We’re going to be pressure washing, cleaning, and then painting the brick. We’re proposing a nice dark navy blue color with white trim on the top, with white crown molding and white corbels, nice white windows, just to give it a lot of contrast,” Mr. Patten said.
“Then we’re going to be doing some gray natural stone, locally sourced in Granville or over that way, on the vertical columns.”
Also in the plans are new bronze storefronts with new glass, and new signage.
He expects the projects will appear in December before the Glens Falls Planning Board. He said he wants to start work sooner rather than later, on the South Street building in particular.
“It’s in rough shape, and I don’t really want to see another winter snow load on the roof system before we can get in there,” he said. “We’re really trying to get it shored up properly, get proper roof drains in, and get it structurally sound.”
Mr. Patten plans to demolish the former Rite Aid building and build an apartment complex called The Point at 10 Broad.
“It’s going to be one of the nicest buildings on the street,” he said.
He said it will feature a dozen units each on levels two and three, at least four of which will have two bedroom.
Mr. Patten’s attorney Jon Lapper said, “Both of these parcels are sorely in need of redevelopment.”
Mr. Lapper said of the South Street building, “I’ve been here for 40 years, and it’s been in need of renovation as long as I can remember.”
He said Mr. Patten’s proposals “should be really solving the problem and making South Street a really important part of the city.”
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