Bonacio Construction: The eco-localizer for Winter 2010

Sonny Bonacio heard the call to keep a local grocery store downtown, and he responded.

Now, a few years after a major community outcry at the Golub Corporation's announcement of a possible closing of their downtown Price Chopper, Bonacio Construction has teamed up with Price Chopper to build a new, state-of-the-art grocery store in the empty lot next to the existing structure.  A unique mixed-use structure, the six-story building includes an 18,000 sq ft grocery store on the first floor with five stories of apartments ranging from 1-3 bedrooms above.  The building will be constructed as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified, and provide a variety of pedestrian-friendly improvements to the surrounding streetscape. 

According to Bonacio, “these are the first apartments to be built downtown in ten years.”

Sonny, who was born and raised in Saratoga Springs, knows something about living and working downtown.  Growing up on the west side, in his youth he helped his father with his window-washing business.   When he asked his father why they never cleaned the windows on the upper floors, his father replied, “because they’re vacant.”  Same was true for why they skipped every other building – because they were boarded up or vacant.  This was the early 1970’s, and since then a lot has changed in downtown Saratoga.  Numerous citizens, business and community leaders stepped up to make changes and investments, both financially and personal, to bring the life back to downtown.

Sonny clearly remembers those times.  And, for his own part he’s worked hard to bring even more people and businesses downtown.

Sonny got his start working construction in the summers during high school.  After high school he graduated from SUNY Canton ATC, and in 1988 he started Bonacio Construction, building decks and roofing.  Said Sonny, “I always enjoyed creating things.  At the end of the day you could always turn around at the end of the day and see what you created that day.”

His business evolved as the needs of his clients, many of whom were repeat customers, changed.  They got into framing and remodeling, and eventually into new construction and investing in existing structures downtown.  One of his trademark projects was the adaptive reuse of the old Van Raalte Mill on High Rock St.  In 1999 he and Tom Roohan purchased the old boarded up mill and converted it into the complex of commercial offices it is today.  According to Sonny, this was really his first effort at converting an outdated structure downtown into useable space.  He continued to focus on urban in-fill projects, following the trend in “new urbanism”, driven mostly by the city’s comprehensive plan.

“In the 2000’s was when we focused our efforts to follow the current comprehensive plan”, which basically was designed to drive urban in-fill and preserve the city’s outer green belt. 

Many communities around the country have embraced this trend in “new urbanism” designed to revitalize downtown cores and create livable, walkable communities while protecting outlying green spaces from suburban sprawl.  In Saratoga Springs, our green spaces, open fields, farms and wetlands equally attract people to the region.  Urban in-fill helps protect those areas while providing accessible, scaleable places to live in our downtown.

Commented Sonny, “I believe that the downtown core is where we need to focus development.  One of the key concepts of urbanism is to bring people – living and working – downtown, and make the lifestyle less vehicle dependent.”

Today the Lofts at 18 Division Street stands as a testament to Sonny’s commitment to developing our downtown core.  In his office hangs a picture of downtown Saratoga Springs in it’s hey day as a tourist destination for the wealthy (and not so wealthy) seeking cures for their ailments at the famous healing springs.

According to Sonny, most people don’t realize how drastically different this city looked 150 years ago.  Broadway was lined with tall hotels.  The Grand Union Hotel took up a full block on Broadway and four city blocks along Congress Street and Washington Street, from the corner of Broadway all the way up to Franklin Street.

Though many don’t like change, building businesses and housing downtown does contribute to a more vibrant downtown core, reduces reliance on automobiles, encourages walking and bicycles, and contributes to the overall quality of life in our community.  Keeping people living downtown helps keep businesses that provide essential goods and services downtown as well.

Said Sonny, “The downtown core is the spine of our community.  We have a vibrant downtown.  It’s what defines us from most other communities in the region.  When people have the ability to live, work and support the downtown without vehicle dependency, that improves their quality of life.”

According to Sonny, he’s seen a shift in the last decade in people’s interest in living downtown.  “People want smaller footprints and less to maintain.  They want to enjoy their lives and not spend every Saturday mowing their lawns and cleaning out their gutters.” 

His Franklin Square Condominiums on Railroad Place provide needed and desirable housing downtown.  According to Sonny, his condos attract a wide range of individuals, not just those unwanted “outsiders.”  “Our condos attract retired school teachers, local restaurateurs, people from the horse industry, local business people who work downtown, and people who have decided to retire here.  People who want to live and work downtown.”

Downtown revitalization also provides economic benefit.  Sonny commented, “In the last 10 years we’ve brought $3 million dollars to the tax base in projects that we’ve built, $300,000 worth of Park and Rec fees, and endless charitable donations.  You can’t do everything.” 

Except, he’s trying.  His latest project, Market Center at Railroad Place, has received accolades from a variety of groups in the community as well as the Planning Board, which in October approved the project to move forward.

Said Sonny, “This project needed to be done.  Obviously they had a dated store.  The need for more residents downtown is also apparent.  Our focus now is keeping a market downtown forever while providing 125 new apartments downtown.” 

Bonacio Construction is working with Saratoga Hospital to provide a portion of those apartments as reduced-priced housing for their employees, through an agreement with their Human Resources Department. 

Since both Bonacio and Price Chopper have committed to construct a LEED certified building, figuring out which components of LEED will work for the structure and the site has been a complex process.  Bonacio has worked closely with The Golub Corporation to identify ways they can share resources. 

One of the more unique green features of the building, which exemplifies the level of cooperation and planning the two companies have committed to, is Bonacio’s use of the byproduct heat generated by Price Chopper’s refrigeration to heat the outside sidewalks and hallways in the building.

Encouraging safe foot traffic to and from the market and apartments is also a key element of the building design.  The northeast corner crosswalk at Division and Railroad Place will be reduced from 67 ft to 33 ft, creating a safer crossing.  In addition, Bonacio has proposed a mid-street crosswalk further north on Railroad Place.  His goal is to create a safe accessible walkway from Broadway at Putnam Street Market, up through the back parking lot, and to the new market store.  Eventually he hopes to see that extend beyond to Clinton St.  This is already a heavily used pathway by many who live downtown.  However, currently it’s not very safe nor is it an officially designated walkway in most places.

Visually, the building and grounds will include “tree-lined streets, ornamental lighting and the staging of all deliveries/servicing to the rear of the building.”  A long covered arcade stretches down the length of the building. Price Chopper hopes to offer outdoor food vending and eating areas here in the summer months.  Parking for the store and apartments will be on a two-level deck parking structure behind the building.  However, the hope is the improved street safety combined with the close proximity to Broadway will encourage more foot traffic.  

Among other LEED elements, the building will include bicycle racks and is accessibly by Public Transportation – important for residents without automobiles.  Recycled materials and materials manufactured in the region will be used in the construction.  The building will utilize controlled heating and lighting systems.  Storm water runoff, often a problem for large buildings of this size, will be treated with a state-of-the-art sand filtration storm treatment device.

According to Sonny, they’ve received hundreds of calls from people interested in the apartments.  These numbers are a testament to the level of interest in people living downtown.  “This project gives people the great ability to see if that’s (living downtown) the type of lifestyle they want.”

Perhaps his largest and most complex building to date, Sonny is enthusiastic about the project and the opportunities and benefits it will be bring to residents in the community, and especially the downtown core.  “

Said Sonny, “This is a great community of diverse businesses and diverse groups.”  His motivation for this and his other downtown projects is “keeping the stores and restaurants full downtown, keeping our schools with high quality teachers, and keeping our quality of life.”

One thing is for certain, Sonny Bonacio is the one builder in Saratoga who has done the most to bring people downtown – living and working. 

For more information go to www.bonacio.com.