Albany construction firm walks away from jobs

Albany

An Albany construction firm responsible for projects across the region worth tens of millions of dollars suddenly ceased work last week.

Eastern Building & Restoration of Albany walked off jobs in Warrensburg, Saratoga Springs and in Albany, according to the company's clients.

One clients was the state Office of General Services, which oversees the state's property, from jails to office buildings.

OGS spokeswoman Heather Groll said Eastern Building's projects included work at Building 17 at the Harriman State Office Building Campus; duct and plumbing work at Green Haven Correctional Facility in Dutchess County, and work on the locker rooms at the Utica Armory, a building used by the National Guard.

"On Monday, OGS was informed by Eastern Building & Restoration that they would not be able to continue working on a number of state projects at the present time," Groll said.

Officials from Eastern Building could not be reached for comment. It did not appear as of Wednesday afternoon that the company had filed for bankruptcy protection.

Eastern Building was also doing renovation of the Saratoga Springs Police Department and was the general contractor for the $9.5 million Warrensburg Health Center, a project undertaken by Hudson Headwaters Health Network of Queensbury.

Howard Nelson, a spokesman for Hudson Headwaters Health Network, said workers for Eastern Building walked off the job on Friday at noon. He said that although Eastern Building was the general contractor, it won't hurt the project that much because nothing more than a hole has been dug. The project is also bonded, which provides insurance in such cases. The building, which will replace the Warrensburg Health Center, a primary care center, is still on schedule to be completed by this time next year.

"We don't expect this to slow it down much," Nelson said.

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Albany construction firm walks away from jobs