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MILTON— Hailed as a gateway to the Capital Region for tech companies, performing artists, horse owners and business and leisure travelers alike, area officials gathered at Saratoga County Airport this week where a $35.2 million construction project is underway.
“The uniqueness of this area, driving the innovations of the world, whether you’re coming to the Nanotech facility in Albany or Global Foundries, we want to make sure we have the infrastructure in place and that it’s state-of-the-art for anyone coming to do business in the Capital Region,” said New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez.
“Anytime you leverage a transportation investment there’s a direct economic benefit; not only do you create jobs, but there’s also a ripple effect,” Dominguez said, crediting Gov. Kathy Hochul ‘s office for launching the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization competition. The contest awarded $230 million to nine upstate airports for revitalization projects that reimagine and further modernize their airports.
Saratoga County was awarded $27 million by the state, with an additional $2 million coming via federal funds, and the balance of the $35.2 million project provided by Saratoga County.
“The overall economic impact of the airport to Saratoga Count exceeds $10 million,” said Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Phil Barrett, standing atop a landscape framed by concrete blocks, mounds of dirt and new metal gleaming in the midday sun. The gentle rumble of work trucks sounded in the distance, accompanied by the occasional streaming of a Cessna 172 across the sky.
“Our timeline is very tight: two years,” Barrett said. “We entered into a contract with DOT to get this project underway in February 2023, and demolition of the old building that was on this site began in the fall-winter 2023. The entirety of the project will be completed by 2025.”
The project is anticipated to be ready prior to Saratoga Springs’ hosting of the Belmont Festival in June 2025.
Matt Veitch, who represents Saratoga Springs at the county level, recalled when the potential of an airport revitalization project was first initiated.
“We had an old terminal building here built way back that wasn’t really meeting the needs of our modern traveler,” said Veitch, who had chaired the Saratoga County Buildings & Ground Committee, when the initial discussions took place.
“We had a meeting right here at the airport with a lot of our economic development agencies to think about what we could do better here at Saratoga County Airport,” Veitch said.
“This is a huge shot in the arm for us,” added Scott Ostrander, the supervisor representing the county airport’s host town of Milton.
Plans indicate the new building’s first floor will provide two spacious passenger waiting areas, a multi-media conference room, new hangar space, with a courtyard opening to outdoor access. The lobby will feature a display area of classic automobiles, and the building’s second floor will make available space for pilots as well as a restaurant, conference and office space and feature an exhibit area showcasing the work of local artists.
The hangar portion of the building will be finished with aged, reclaimed wood to mirror the look of the many Saratoga County horse and agricultural barns, with a solar array atop the hangar roof, helping reduce the airport’s collective carbon footprint.
