With a glass wall providing views of the Hudson River and the vistas beyond, SUNY Orange”™s new campus on Grand Street in Newburgh is nearing completion.
“Not to mention on time and under budget,” smiled Jay Holt, vice president, LEED AP, of Holt Construction, while looking at the façade of the campus”™ new science and technology building.
Holt is aiming for Silver LEED certification. Some of the green technology incorporated into the design includes: energy-efficient windows; solar panels; a vegetated roof over the campus”™ three-story, 450-space underground parking garage that will do double duty ”“ provide a park for students and staff to enjoy while a mat system under the grassy areas will capture storm water runoff and carry to cisterns below. That water will be used to keep gardens and green areas looking lush on the rooftop courtyard and around the building. All are part of the plan to make the building both energy efficient and conservation conscious, as well as architecturally stunning.
For Alan Seidman, president of the Construction Contractors Association in Newburgh, it”™s good to see more than 100 workers on the job.
“It”™s great to see people at work. We need this for our local trades.”
William Richards, president of SUNY Orange who is now working to expand the Middletown campus while watching the construction in Newburgh, never fails to let anyone know the impact of education on the economy: “For every $1 spent on education, it returns to the community threefold. If that”™s not economic prosperity, then I don”™t know what is.”
Talk of a full-blown community college was first broached by William Kaplan, whose Kaplan Family Foundation has underwritten many of the city”™s and surrounding areas”™ educational and recreational projects.
“Honestly, if it weren”™t for him, this would have never happened,” said Seidman, who, at the time the new college was suggested was chairman of the Orange County Legislature. “Mr. Kaplan was the one who had the vision and provided a hefty donation as the seed money to help it take root.”
Kaplan”™s donation of $10 million toward a new college ”“ with the proviso it be built within the city”™s borders ”“ revved up the county”™s interest. With an approval from the Legislature, it received matching funds from New York state for the balance of the $85 million project.
While several sites were considered, the former Key Bank headquarters at the edge of Broadway overlooking the Hudson was chosen. Holt and Worth Construction of Connecticut, the project”™s subcontractor, began work in 2008.
The so-called Tower Building ”“ where SUNY has had its satellite campus for several years ”“ will be emptied once the new Kaplan Science and Technology Center opens for classes on Jan. 18, 2011. All students will take classes in the new building until the renovation of the Tower Building is complete. The college will then be fully opened in time for the fall semester of 2011 and is expected to have approximately 2,000 full and part-time students attending and graduating at the new campus.
There will be a total of 40 classrooms between the two buildings when completed, with the administrative staff housed in the new building and the Tower Building dedicated solely to classroom space.
The project is another major accomplishment for Holt”™s family who has been in commercial construction for four generations.
Holt has set up an office in the American Legion Hall next to the campus”™ new building. After being designated as the “on-call contractor” for Stewart International Airport by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Holt says the family owned business is considering staying on and establishing a fourth office in Newburgh.
The construction firm is working on approximately 30 projects in the tri-state area and does more than $100 million a year in business, providing jobs for the trades and enjoying a reputation as a quality design/build company. It has served the tri-state area and has offices in Pearl River, New York City and New Jersey for 90 years, “a legacy we”™re very proud of,” said Holt, whose father, Jack, is the company”™s CEO.
Holt Construction projects in the Hudson Valley:
Dominican College, Blauvelt:Â $3 million
Cafeteria addition
Completion date: Sept. 15
Nyack Hospital, Nyack:Â $1 million
Pediatric and lobby renovation
Completion date: Oct. 15
Novartis Pharmaceutical, Suffern: $975,000
Washroom renovations
Completion date: Nov. 15
Consolidated Edison Substation, Elmsford: $12 million
New construction
Completion date: Feb. 15, 2011
Rockland Sewer District, town of Ramapo:Â $6.5 million
New pumping station ”“ Sloatsburg
Completion date: Feb. 28, 2011
Town of Ramapo: $25 million
New minor league baseball stadium-new construction
Completion date: June 1, 2011
Creston Inc., Orangeburg: $10 million
New construction
Completion date: June 30, 2011
