Summer Construction Longfellows Resort To Be Transformed Into Much Larger ‘Brookmere’ Destination Spot

BY PAUL POST

One of the area’s leading contractors is diversifying into the Spa City’s hospitality industry with the acquisition of the former Longfellows , which will be rebranded as the Brookmere hotel, spa and restaurant.

SpringCity Development, a subsidiary of Saratoga Springs-based Bonacio Construction, plans a $30 million overhaul of the property, which includes its $4.9 million purchase from business partners Steve Sullivan and David Powers. That occurred in January.

Located at 500 Union Ave., near Saratoga Lake, Longfellows had been a destination for dining, special events and large-group gatherings for many years.

“It’s been a wonderful business for its entire history,” Bonacio spokesman Larry Novick said. “We’re looking to continue working with what draws people to the Saratoga region and the wonderful location the current property holds. A portion of the existing building will be demolished and replaced in order to accommodate a larger room count (from 50 to 88 hotel rooms). We’ll also be reconfiguring the restaurant and ballroom components.”

The project is expected to be completed just over a year from now by autumn 2024.

“We need to obtain land use approvals and we’re waiting for the issuance of demolition and building permits,” Novick said.

Bonacio Construction is credited with developing nearly a half-billion dollars worth of new projects during the past 30 years including 450 condominiums and 1,285 apartments. Its reach now expands far beyond Saratoga Springs, from Troy to the Adirondacks.

Brookmore is its second venture into the hospitality industry this year. In mid-June it opened a new four-season resort, the Lodge at Schroon Lake, a more than $20 million investment on 36 acres previously owned by Word of Life. Guests may choose from 121 rooms in a hotel rooms cabins or chalets.

Both properties will be managed by Hay Creek Hotels, based in Exeter, N.H., a hospitality investment and management firm that has 30 independent hotels on the East Coast from Maine to Alabama.

Many hospitality- and tourism-related businesses have had a hard time finding sufficient numbers of employees in recent years. Novick said Hay Creek is responsible for all staffing and that it successfully filled all 50 positions in Schroon Lake.

It’s uncertain yet how many people will be employed at Brookmere, but Novick said Hay Creek will fill those slots as well.

Bonacio Construction owners Sonny and Julie Bonacio bought Longfellows with investment partner

Mark Howarth. The sale had been under discussion for the past three years.

The 90,500-square-foot Brookmere will be considerably larger than the 65,000-square-foot former Longfellows. The ballroom will handle up to 200 guests and a restaurant, still to be named, that will have capacity for 65 people, both hotel guests and the general public.

Novick said the hotel and restaurant will have a “kind of a timeless Saratoga style” done by Sims Patrick Studio, an Atlanta interior design firm introduced to Bonacio by Hay Creek.

“We’re very impressed with their portfolio,” he said.

Bonacio is working with Balzer & Tuck Architecture and The LA Group Landscape Architecture & Engineering, both of Saratoga Springs, on the Brookmere project’s design.

On another front, SpringCity Development is also pursuing plans for 23 new condominiums built on the site of Church Street retail flooring shop in Saratoga Springs.

Novick declined to discuss the project, but plans reportedly call for razing Torrell’s Carpetland at 78 Church St. to make room for a five-story building with condominiums and 1,600 square feet of firstfloor commercial space.

78 Church Street LLC, an affiliate of Bonacio, bought the property last October for $1.4 million.

Construction Of ‘White Pines’ Business Park In Stillwater In Under Way In Luther Forest

BY CHRISTINE GRAF

Construction is underway on the White Pines Business Suites in the Luther Forest Business Park in Stillwater.

The suites are located in a 62-acre business park located on Shenandoah Drive, less than one mile from Global Foundries. The park is owned by Forest Ridge Development LLC.

White Pines Business Suites is the first of the seven proposed buildings at the business park where developers have received approval to build 750,000 square feet of customizable co-warehousing, distribution, manufacturing, and office space for small and medium-sized businesses.

The facility will feature 30 boutique suites, each measuring 30x50 feet. Each suite will also have a 14x14 foot overhead door.

Franco Construction of Ballston Spa is the contractor for the project.

“The units are 1,500 square feet, but we do have the flexibility that if someone needed 3,000 square feet, we could make that accommodation for them. So, we are flexible in terms of their size,” said Jeffrey Chouinard, principal at Forest Ridge Development.

“The whole purpose of this was geared towards the small and growing business owner. What we’ve seen out there in the marketplace is that there are a lot of large warehouses and buildings out there and that there are not a lot of options for the small startup business owner—the small contractor.”

According to Chouinard, the spaces would be ideal for companies in the ecommerce, specialty delivery, or HVAC industries.

“There are hundreds of different uses for these spaces. They could be used by a small distributor that has small amounts of inventory that they need at a central location, and I just got an inquiry from someone who is an interior decorator/designer that wants to keep samples there.”

If construction proceeds as scheduled, the spaces—several of which have already been leased by tenants—should be ready for occupancy before the end of the year.

“The foundation is in, the slabs are in and

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