Author: Kyle Madden, Development Project Manager
Housing Visions is excited to announce its latest development award – Oval Wood Dish Factory!
Located in Tupper Lake among the beautiful Adirondack Mountains, the Oval Wood Dish Factory development represents a major victory for the local community. Vacant for more than a decade, and often considered an impossible feat, this project will reinvent the former factory into eighty affordable rental units and much needed commercial space.
Originally built around World War I, the Oval Wood Dish Factory once employed hundreds of people and controlled more than 100,000 acres of timber in the Adirondacks. Manufacturing all things wood, the factory was known for their namesake wooden dishes, among other items including ice cream spoons, tongue depressors, and bowling pins.
As the years went by and more and more manufacturing was offshored, the factory eventually closed. For next several decades, a series of smaller businesses tried to make the hulking 120,000 square foot space work, but none succeeded. The building has laid empty for nearly fifteen years – until now.
Housing Visions joined with the Lahinch Group, Braxton Capital, and Michael Dunyk more than two years ago, working to create a development which could transform the factory from its former manufacturing roots into a modern mixed-use building. Working with architect Passero Associates and general contractor Hueber-Breuer Construction Company, the team has developed a workable project which addresses dual needs of the community – more affordable workforce housing units and facilities for local businesses to thrive and grow.
Upon completion, Oval Wood Dish Factory will include eighty workforce housing units in a mix of one- and two-bedrooms with flats and lofts available. The units will be available to individuals and families making less than 90% of the area median income and include common laundry, outdoor space, a fitness room, and individual storage units. Several of the units will be outfitted to comply with ADA standards and others will be equipped for individuals with hearing and vision impairments.
Several commercial spaces are programmed in the new building for local businesses, including office space, rentable self-storage units, and an expanded facility/event space for fast-growing local brewery Raquette River Brewing Company. A new co-working space, run by the Franklin County Economic Development Corporation, is also included to capitalize on the increasing trend in remote work.
Slated to begin construction in early-2024, the Oval Wood Dish Factory is an exciting development which will breathe new life into this long-vacant building and re-energize the Tupper Lake community. We are proud to have a great development team and the support of New York State Division of Homes and Community Renewal and the Village of Tupper Lake to make the vision a reality.
