Glenville business parks in line for $2.7M in improvements

PHOTOGRAPHER: Bethany Bump

Local officials are hoping more than $2.7 million worth of infrastructure improvements in Glenville will help attract more businesses to the already fast-growing town.

Most of the improvements will be at the Schenectady County Airport and include road extensions, expansion of the parking apron and 2,220 feet of new sewer and water lines. The Glenville Business and Technology Park will also see improvements to its rail spurs, which officials say will help market rail service in the park.

“This will help create shovel-ready sites,” said Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority Chairman Ray Gillen. “When companies come out and look at places, they look for water and sewer hookups, fiber and electric for Internet and road access. They don’t want to hear, ‘Oh, we’ll build you a sewer if you come.’ ”

One of four infrastructure projects to kick off this year is the extension of sewer and water lines from Route 50 into the Airport Business Park. In addition to serving the airport, the lines will soon serve Richmor Aviation’s new $1.2 million hangar for corporate aircraft and five to six vacant sites in the park. The state Department of Transportation will provide a $284,090 grant for the project, with a matching grant of $31,565 from Metroplex.

Another project will extend roads and improve access to the county airport, opening additional hangar sites on the flight line for development. The road extension will connect Tech Park Road with Tower Road through a looped roadway system. The state DOT is providing a $330,000 grant with a matching county grant of $175,000.

The final project in the Airport Business Park will be a $1.9 million expansion of the parking apron for corporate jets and other business aircraft. Federal and state grants will pay for 95 percent of the project, with the rest provided by the county.

The Airport Business Park is currently home to the Stratton Air National Guard Base, the Joint Armed Forces Training Center, Richmor Aviation, an air traffic controller training facility and the Schenectady County ice rink.

The improvements at the airport are expected to wrap up next year.

“Schenectady County’s economic development team has worked hard to market both the Glenville Business and Technology Park and the Airport Business Park to growing businesses that will create jobs and add to our tax base in Glenville and Schenectady County,” Cathy Gatta, a county legislator and Schenectady County Industrial Development Agency member, said in a news release Wednesday.

Infrastructure work at the Glenville Business and Technology Park should begin and wrap up this summer. The Schenectady County Industrial Development Agency recently approved a $135,000 contract for improvements to the rail spurs that come into the park. The county owns the rail spurs, which service businesses in the park like Dimension Fabricators, Adirondack Beverages, DHA Energy and Specialty Quality Packaging.

WJ Riegel Rail Solutions of Glenmont will repair the spurs in places where the soil has eroded beneath the tracks from heavy rain this year or replace them where needed.

“The weather has really accelerated the need to do this,” said Gillen. “We’ve been doing general repairs out there every so often, but this will be a more comprehensive approach to upgrade the spurs.”

The upgraded infrastructure will be a big help, officials said, when Old Dominion Freight Lines breaks ground this summer on its 40,000-square-foot distribution center and PAL Turbine Services moves into 60,000 square feet of leased space in the park.

“We have been very successful attracting and retaining businesses to the Glenville Business and Technology Park, but with this success comes the need for more rail service to support these businesses,” said Marty Finn, chair of the county Legislature’s Committee on Economic Development and a member of the IDA. “This investment in upgraded rail infrastructure will help us continue to market the Glenville Business and Technology Park to growing companies.”