Lupini Construction to complete $2.7 million fix-up

The brickwork at the headquarters of the state comptroller's office in downtown Albany may appear to be over now that the scaffolding is gone. But that was just phase one of the $1.79 million fix-up which state officials say is on track. The "Taj McCall," as 110 State St. is called in honor of former comptroller Carl McCall, underwent substantial brick repair this past summer and fall, but Lupini Construction of Utica, only got to the front of the building. The crews will return soon to do the sides and back of the building and work is expected to be completed this summer, said Heather Groll, a spokeswoman for the state Office of General Services. The building was erected 11 years ago under McCall's sponsorship, at a price tag of $84 million. It started breaking apart about three years ago. The 15-story tower, just downhill from the Capitol, is supposed to get about 30,000 new bricks to replace those that have started crumbling, causing dangerous conditions for pedestrians on the busy sidewalks of downtown. Phase One cost $766,000 and was finished in November, including corners of the building, according to Jennifer Freeman, the comptroller's spokeswoman. The total cost of the project is to be $2.7 million including consulting, scaffolding and hiring oversight experts, she said. Reprinted from timesunion.com