Watkins apartments will be complete in May

WATKINS GLEN—The four apartments of the Water Works Center project to renovate the Watkins Glen village raw water intake plant into residential space will be completed by the end of May.
The building is located at 65 Salt Point Road. Michael Hill, construction manager, said renovation of the existing building into four apartments is expected to be finished and available by May 31. He said a model apartment will also be completed by that time to show what the space can look like for prospective tenants.
The project is Developer Bruce Nelson’s third in Schuyler County. He was also responsible for renovating the Montour House and the Flats on Broadway, both in Montour Falls and both were historic buildings. Nelson explained it is the historic portion of the current project that is almost finished. In addition to the apartments, the building will include a gallery space. He said they have just started work on the lobby and it will be completed in a couple more months.
The other portion of the project is the construction of 12 townhouses. This is Nelson’s first project to involve completely new construction. He said the workers are framing the fifth townhouse now. Nelson said the waterfront development is on hold until the weather improves. This includes constructing docks. The plan is to complete all the work by May of 2014.
“It’s an exciting project,” said Hill. He explained he moved here from Seattle and has come to see a lot of new urban development in this part of the country.
Nelson holds an open house on the second Friday of each month so people can see the progress. The next one is Friday, March 8, from 6 to 8 p.m. Nelson explained each open house is themed after a city in the region. The March theme is Corning and the event will feature an exhibit by a Corning artist.