After a swearing-in of aldermen, with Kathryn Fogle absent, the Common Council unanimously approved using $259,974.55 in state Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant funds for a contract with Colliers Engineering & Design to oversee upgrades to the roof of the Spalding Mill on Pine Street.
Prior to the council meeting, Michael Marino, engineer and CEO of Nussbaumer & Clarke, said the Spalding Mill, which is owned by the city, was originally proposed to become a rooftop gathering space and observation deck because of its proximity to the Flight of Five locks. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the city had selected Colliers, then the Bergmann firm, by RFP to manage the project. At that time, the engineering firm put out a call for construction bids, which all came in above the amount of available funding, Marino said.
“Obviously, it’s a very old building,” he said. “What happened during the design phase was that it became apparent that the structural effort that would be required to meet code for an entertainment gathering space was a big contributor to why it cost so much.”
The new project has to be completed by Feb. 28, 2027, Marino said, which is the end date of the last grant extension.
“We want to pursue taking advantage of that DRI grant while the money is there,” he said. “The DRI had contemplated using the funds for more Pine-Lock-Gooding streetscaping. But we applied for a DEC grant that will cover the streetscape. The state was very kind in extending the DRI monies to February, but they’re like ‘we’ve got to get it done.’”
Last month, Vicki Smith, president and CEO of the GLDC and the city’s director of planning and development, said the center of the mill’s roof was found to have the greatest structural issues.
“What they are planning to do is have a perimeter of the roof used for a much smaller area,” Marino said. “The center core of the roof will be worked out, but with interpretive panels. So you’ll still be able to get the vista up there. It will require a redesign.”
“It’s in a very dangerous condition inside,” Marino said of the former mill. “There will be a lot of structural work inside. We can do stabilization of this thing from the outside, but that kind of takes away from the aesthetics of it. The actual roof structure around the perimeter will have heavy reinforcement. The end product will have a nice ADA accessible ramp from Pine Street to the roof. Toward the center of the roof would be railings and visual (history) exhibits.”
Marino said the new plan for Spalding Mill will be executed as a change order for the original project. The approved $259,974.55 will cover Colliers’ design work, re-bidding, construction supervision and inspection for the project.
“We also asked them to have a cost consultant involved so that when we get to a certain point, we get a cost estimate,” Marino said. “We’ve peeled it back to what we think is a doable project.”
He said another $1.7 million in DRI funds is available for the construction itself.