Group Invests In Construction Of Affordable Housing Units Across From Saratoga Library

BY JILL NAGY

The Comfort Inn and Suites at 17 Old Sick Road, near Norway Exit 15 in Wilton, has new owners and is undergoing a major facelift.

Brothers Ravi and Subhash Modasra, third generation motel operators, bought the property in late October for $5.32 million. They expect to invest another $2 million in upgrading the property.

The property will remain in operation as the renovation goes forward in stages.

The current design, called “rise and shine,” will require new finishes, flooring, wall coverings, and furniture. Ravi Modasra expects work to begin in the next few weeks and be completed by June 1. In any case, “we will do our best to be ready for track season.”

The Modasra brothers already oper - ate a Comfort Inn and Suites property in Scotia and have other real estate holdings. They built the Scotia motel in 2018 and will continue to operate it. Ravi described his and his brother’s businesses, the Mohawk Companies and Bluebird Commercial Real Estate, as being “in an acquisition and growth mode.”

The Wilton property has 85 rooms.

The adjoining Golden Corral restaurant was sold separately to a different owner and will also be renovated and operated as a separate business.

The Modasra family has many ties to the area, Ravi said. He was born and raised in Scotia and attended Scotia-Glenville schools.

Ravi said he is “excited about the future potential for this area” and is “always looking to grow in the Capital Region.”

BY CHRISTINE GRAF

It’s been 10 years since First Fairfield Associates, a social enterprise investment firm, announced plans to redevelop a vacant property at 53 Putnam St. in Saratoga Springs.

Now an ownership group, Putnam Resources, LLC, is proposing construction of a 60-unit mixed-income condominium building called Putnam Commons. More than $3 million has already been invested to acquire, manage, and clean up the site.

Local author Jason Letts is among the partners.

The property is located across the street from the Saratoga Springs Public Library. A dilapidated one-story building that sat on the property was built in 1905 and once housed a dry-cleaning business. The building was razed and several underground petroleum storage tanks were found on the 0.3-acre property.

Soil testing revealed significant ground contamination that resulted in the property being declared a Brownfield site—a parcel contaminated by low concentrations of haz- ardous chemicals. The contamination likely resulted from a combination of petroleum and dry-cleaning chemicals

After five years of chemical remediation, cleanup of the site is complete. It is now certified as a successful state Brownfield cleanup project.

“Without DEC’s guidance and support, this would have remained a toxic waste dump forever,” said Letts.

A third or more of the units in the proposed six-story Putnam Commons building will be designated affordable housing units, Letts said. These units are expected to be priced below $200,000. The other units will be offered for sale at market price.

Former Saratoga Springs mayor Joanne Yepsen, a public affairs specialist at Yepsen & Pikulski, has been enlisted to assist with various facets of the project. She said the ownership group feels very strongly about making the condominiums inclusive and affordable.

“In this case, we are very lucky because we have impact investors as the private landown-

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