Village historic building is the agency’s ‘preferred site’
By Gwendolyn Craig
Unless a feasibility study shows the historic Paul Smith’s Power and Light Building may fall apart or some other insurmountable issue, the Adirondack Park Agency is full steam ahead to move its headquarters from Ray Brook to the village of Saranac Lake.
APA Executive Director Barbara Rice said the 1-3 Main St. building is the agency’s “preferred site.” She ruled out further site searches or renovating the existing office building.
Bergmann and Associates is conducting the feasibility study on the village building for approximately $60,000 so far. Rice hopes the engineering firm’s examinations of utility connections and other logistics will be complete by mid-July. The APA hopes to make its official move by the beginning of 2026.
In early April, the agency revealed that it was mulling the village building for its new offices. The state’s 2022 budget included $29 million for the APA’s headquarters.
Keith McKeever, spokesman for the APA, had said moving to the village “would be a unique opportunity to partner with local government, support a Downtown Revitalization Initiative community, increase accessibility to the public, and restore an existing historic building.”
Rumors have swirled over the move and reactions have been mixed. Letters published in the Adirondack Daily Enterprise show some groups, including Adirondack Architectural Heritage and Historic Saranac Lake, are glad the APA wants to fix up the 1927-era building.
Other writers, including Saranac Lake resident Mark Wilson, questioned the move to a building already occupied by the village police. Wilson and other residents also had concerns about losing parking for the village’s farmers market. Some have also wondered why the agency would move away from the state complex where the Department of Environmental Conservation is headquartered.
In an interview Wednesday, Rice shared renderings for the proposed new headquarters. APA plans a 500-square-foot addition to the Main Street building that will include an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant elevator. The agency expects to hold its monthly meetings and run a visitor interpretive center there.
Along the Lake Street side of the property, Rice said, the agency would fund construction of a 19,000-square-foot office building. Between the two buildings, the agency would increase its available space by a few thousand square feet.
APA would build a 72-space parking lot. The APA’s fleet of 17 vehicles would be stationed there. Rice estimated the parking lot holds 40 spaces now, so there would be a net gain of about 15 spaces. Rice said on nights, weekends and during events, the public will be able to use the lot. The agency will add lighting and stormwater treatment.
The whole complex would be owned by the village and the APA would work out a long-term lease agreement.
“Our enabling legislation does not allow us to own real property so we cannot purchase it,” Rice said. Lease terms are still in the works. The village would also continue to operate and receive renewable energy credits for its hydro facility on the property, Rice said.
The village is working to enhance its river walk that winds along the proposed campus, and Rice said she thinks the agency’s building could become a community anchor.
What will happen to the log building in Ray Brook? It’s too soon for APA staff to say. Rice said the logs, salvaged from blowdown in the 1950s, are decaying. The building loses heat. Mold has been an issue. Bats and other critters have made their way into the offices. Rice said the building does have acceptable air quality and there have been no Occupational Safety and Health Administration violations. There are air purifiers in the offices and common areas, but it’s not “optimal” to work there, Rice said.
The Forest of Heroes, an arboretum the agency has maintained around its building honoring influential Adirondackers, will remain. The arboretum contains 19 trees. Rice said the DEC will continue to keep the area secure.
The executive director does not think the agency’s relationship with the DEC will suffer from moving. Many interactions are now over video conferencing and telephone, she said. And as far as the future of the village police department’s headquarters, Rice said moving the department has been talked about since she served on the Saranac Lake village board.
Saranac Lake Police Chief Darin Perrotte said he was hopeful that the public safety building would come to fruition, but he was not directly involved with the APA’s plans.
Though there are more things to iron out, Rice is enthusiastic about the move. It will bring the agency, she said, “out of the shadows here in Ray Brook.”
“It’s not just a building,” she said. “It really is a transformation.”
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Hope they can get APA approval for the permits building/improvements that close to the river.
I was really surprised to see that they would consider building basically on the river bank. This parking area is certainly where wetland probably used to be way back when. Even in the village you are supposed to have a 50 foot setback. Must not be familiar with climate change and rising waters and flood issues near a river like that…
Agree. The existing structures will likely be acceptable, but my issue would probably be the parking lot. Going to be tough keeping sand/salt/oil & other vehicle runoff out of the river. Or vehicles, for that matter!
I wonder how many times their application will be deemed incomplete and sent back for thousands of dollars worth of engineering fees. I wonder too about the environmental impact study being that was done being so close the river. They’re an overgrown HOA. 29 million of tax payers money. Time to get rid of them.
Get rid of the APA. Corrupt as can be. Look up the members. It’s not hard to find connections….
Follow the Money! $29 million State money for the APA’s headquarters. But they will renovate an existing town owned building and build a new 19000 square foot building that will belong to Saranac Lake. This will be followed by a long term lease payment to the town. Sounds like a sweetheart deal made by an organization that couldn’t be bothered to keep up with the maintenance on its existing headquarters.
Follow the Money! $29 million State money for the APA’s headquarters. But they will renovate an existing town owned building and build a new 19000 square foot building that will belong to Saranac Lake. This will be followed by a long term lease payment to the town. Sounds like a sweetheart deal made by an organization that couldn’t be bothered to keep up with the maintenance on its existing headquarters.
I agree on all the points above. This is such a boondoggle !! Shame on the APA!!
The APA’s new headquarters building should be built in Ray Brook. The two alternatives: 1) Replacement of the “log cabin” in Ray Brook, making use of the existing circa 2004 garage & conference room/records center, vs. 2) Renovation of the Power & Light building Downtown, Construction of new 19,000 sq. ft. office building & garage, Improvements to the Riverwalk, Assumption by the State of New York of liability for the Village’s hydro power plant & the Lake Flower dam, AND improvements to the “log cabin” in Ray Brook as a visitors center for the otherwise abandoned Memorial Forest. This is all being proposed as the NYS Budget Office announces a $9 billion shortfall in the current State budget which is projected to grow to $13 billion in the next fiscal year. With minimal economic benefit to the Village and at a very high cost to the State, it is very surprising that the Governor’s Office is supporting this non-sensical proposal by the Agency. Wasn’t it Everett Dirksen who said “a billion here, a billion there, pretty soon you’re talking real money.”?
Steve Erman and Jim Connelly(see Adk. Almanack) make compelling cases for the APA to remain as part of the state campus at Ray Brook. To be sure, no one wants to discourage a well thought out plan to benefit downtown Saranac Lake. But this APA relocation idea seems to have worrisome downsides involving cost, environmental factors, and some serious public access tradeoffs.
Among the lessons I learned during my years at DEC at Ray Brook, was the value of regular communication between related personnel and agencies, and also to maintain public support and trust – a long standing Adirondack problem. “There’s too much grass growing between the DEC and the APA”, Ranger Captain Don Perryman used to say. Maybe Don’s common sense wisdom is still a metaphor that a lot of us might do well to consider…
Only 29 million for an office, should be 229 million for all the good people in Saranac and the APA.