INNOVATE RENOVATION
Officials hold ribbon-cutting at 95 Remsen St.
COHOES, N.Y. » The historic Adams Block recently saw a revitalization with the ribbon cutting of 95 Remsen St.
The former S.S. Kresge’s building was renovated from office spaces to a restaurant and dance studio on the first floor and micro apartments on the second floor. The apartments are the first of their kind in the city.
“It fits nicely into what we’re trying to do in Cohoes,” said Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler at the ribboncutting. “This is the future of Cohoes. We applaud those who look to our future while honoring our past.”
The renovation, which took 2 years to complete, was supported by a grant from Restore New York, a program meant to encourage the revitalization and restoration of downtown areas and the generation of new economic opportunities.
“State investment in this type of innovative redevelopment in Cohoes is invaluable,” said Keeler. “We thank Gov. [Andrew] Cuomo, Sen. [Neil] Breslin, Assemblyman [John] McDonald, Empire State Development, and our other partners for their commitment to help strengthen and grow our community.”
The transformation of the building truly is a creative use of space and resources. Instead of demol
"State investment in this type of innovative redevelopment in Cohoes is invaluable." — Cohoes Mayor Bill Keeler
ishing and starting over, project developers Terri and Luke Gladue used what was already there, tearing away layers of old flooring and plaster and restoring the building’s original brickwork and hardwood and terrazzo flooring.
“Rather than redesign the original second-floor plan, we followed the path of the flooring to create 8 unique micro- units,” the Gladues said of their transformation of the building.
The Gladues also uncovered and renovated the building’s original skylights, pillars, and handcrank awning. They repurposed wood from the first floor for use on the second. They got their hands dirty, doing as much of the restoration work as possible themselves.
“We hired companies to do the big things, of course, but we did a lot of this ourselves,” said Terri Gladue. “We’re looking forward to doing more here in Cohoes.”
“It was always a dream of ours to have a big building in Cohoes,” said Luke Gladue.
The Gladues are longtime Cohoes residents, living in the city for 12 years and raising their family there.
Excited to be up and running in her new space is Niki Reed, owner of The Future of Talent dance studio. The studio is open to all ages and all levels of students.
Reed says her recreational classes are currently the most popular, and her students are currently in the 3-20 age range. She is looking to grow her toddler and adult programs.
The Future of Talent is dedicated to providing kids with opportunities to explore and achieve in the creative arts. The studio has a partnership with Park Playhouse, giving the students access to acting classes as well.
“I want to provide opportunities for the youth that I didn’t have as a kid,” Reed said. “I want to see them inspired by the arts.”
Tenants are expected to start moving into the micro-apartments within the week. Now that 95 Remsen St. is completed, the Gladues have already picked out their next project.
“We’re going to start work on 109 Remsen St. next,” said Terri Gladue. “The first floor already has tenanted retail space, and we’re going to redesign the second and third floors as apartments.”
“The idea we have is for ‘ up/down’ apartments, where the bottom space is for living and the top space is where you sleep,” said Luke Gladue.
The 95 Remsen St. micro- apartments range in size from 300- 550 square feet. Depending on the unit size, rent costs between $750 and $1,100 per month. Each unit is unique and includes kitchen space and hookups for a washer and dryer. Some units also have access to a private outdoor deck area.
Assemblyman John Mc
Donald III congratulated the Gladues, saying, “Their investment in this Adams Block structure is yet another example of the revitalization going on in the city, which is truly on the rise. We are seeing yet another historic building, formerly underutilized, have a new purpose and life in our city.”