15
Apr
Transfinder seeks to demolish neighboring building, expand downtown Schenectady HQ
- Posted By: Robb Snyder
- Category Featured, Company News
From The Daily Gazette / By John Cropley / April 14, 2022
SCHENECTADY — The vacant former Subway shop in downtown Schenectady is proposed for demolition and replacement with a five-story office building.
The two-story building at 438 State St. that formerly housed the sandwich store was acquired by Anthony Civitella, the owner of Transfinder, who built the company headquarters next door at 440 State St. a decade ago.
On April 20, Civco Realty Corporation will go before the Schenectady Planning Commission with a plan to knock down the existing structure and construct the new building.
Transfinder has been on a growth path for years, steadily adding clients, building revenue and expanding its workforce. Its staff has continued to grow over the past 25 months as most employees worked remotely, and there are now so many employees in the Schenectady area that they could not all fit in the existing building at 440 State St.
So Civitella needs to expand. He has said that in-person, on-site work is important to building the internal culture on which the route-mapping software company thrives. But he’s also said that until the COVID-19 pandemic is over, it won’t be time to bring the staff back.
Civitella said via email:
“Transfinder is looking forward to returning to downtown Schenectady when we feel it is appropriate. But the Transfinder that left our headquarters on March 13, 2020, is not the same Transfinder that will return. For starters, there are more of us. We simply will not fit in our existing building. And we also know that we have to change the way we do business together.
“The reason people meet at the office is forever changed and we are reinventing ourselves and what office life will look like for Transfinder too. Our headquarters has been a showpiece in downtown Schenectady and we anticipate with the expansion it will be even better. We are excited about being back downtown together.”
The existing building at 438 State St. is only 26 years old, according to municipal property records, and measures only 3,194 square feet.
The expansion at 438 State would match the sleek style elements created by Re4orm Architecture for the existing headquarters at 440 State.
It would add 10,000 square feet over five floors to the existing headquarters, which is only four floors and totals 30,000 square feet.
The Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority at its May meeting will consider awarding a $150,000 grant to assist with the demolition costs.
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