Town of New Hartford to move to former Gander Mountain building after buying the property

NEW HARTFORD, N.Y. — The offices of the Town of New Hartford will be moving to the former Gander Mountain location in the Orchard Mall.

The town bought the property for $1.9 million in a deal that closed June 28, according to a Town of New Hartford news release.

The 50,000-square-foot building will house all town offices, the police department, courts, a community-meeting room, and a senior-services center for the Town of New Hartford.

Town Supervisor Paul Miscione proposed the project after “extensive” research in locating an area for the new offices. He said he sought a property that would not affect residential neighborhoods and have a “central location” with access to main streets and highways.

“This will bring our Town together in one building in the commercial shopping corridor rather than scattered all over Town,” Miscione said in the release. “The project will allow departments to coordinate business more efficiently and will also bring more business to the restaurants and department stores in the shopping center by creating a one stop shop for all residents. This project will not only consolidate Town offices but will also consolidate New Hartford Town and Village Courts.”

Miscione also noted that the project will be going out for public bid this week for renovation work, anticipating construction would start in September. The build-out cost is estimated to total between $2.5 million and $2.6 million. The Town of New Hartford said it has taken out a bond anticipation note from Adirondack Bank in New Hartford for a total of $4.5 million.

New Hartford selected architect Edward Olley, Jr. from GYMO Architecture, Engineering, Environmental & Land Surveying DPC of Watertown to assist with creating an adaptive-reuse program compatible with town functions and to provide design services for the project.

Miscione also wants to secure a “climate smart communities” certification from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) by using “green infrastructure” systems in the building renovations. New Hartford has also applied for a DEC grant to help pay for electric-vehicle charging stations at this location “so the public can charge their electric cars full time while using town services or shopping at the mall.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com