BY CRAIG FREILICH

North Country This Week

POTSDAM -- The Village of Potsdam’s Code Enforcement Office processed 109 building permits in 2019 on projects with a combined value of $13,048,295.

Village Code Enforcement Officer Lisa Newby reports that permits were issued for 33 commercial and 76 residential projects with a total value of the work in excess of $13 million.

Commercial projects for which permits were issued in 2019 include several at Clarkson University facilities, and:

• a new building at Potsdam Humane Society on Madrid Avenue, approximately 3200 sq. ft.

• a new Verizon wireless store next to Taco Bell on Market Street, 2,000 sq. ft.

• renovations and updates to McDonalds Restaurant, 171 Market St.

• renovations to Lawrence Avenue Apartments, one building of which was damaged by fire a year ago

• a commercial grade community solar project on property off of Lawrence Avenue owned by Jim Snell and being developed with two partners.

The value of the commercial projects was put at $12,267,879, and residential project value was $780,416.

No “new starts” were reported in the residential sector in the village. “Permits were mainly reroofs, fences, two additions (project totals on these were $144,000), and 16 interior renovations,” Newby said.

Total permit fees in 2019 were $148,840 -- $139,798 from commercial projects and $7,042 from residential projects.

Newby reports that the Clarkson projects started in 2019 include work at Riverside Apartments on Clarkson Avenue, renovation of a former Honda dealership on Maple Street into space for the university’s Facilities and Services department which now uses space in Downtown Snell Hall, and interior renovations to Woodstock Lodge, a sandstone building dating from 1827 which now houses offices for Clarkson development and alumni relations staff.