Like many volunteer fire districts, the Allegany Indian Reservation Volunteer Fire Department needed a new station to support modern rigs, training activities, and community events. LaBella was tasked with designing a new station on the same site as the existing, and developing the project to maintain operations throughout construction. The resulting project is a new 17,500 sf facility with a 6 vehicle apparatus bay. A separate 2 vehicle EMS bay was also included, along with

LaBella recently completed a replacement of West Webster Fire District’s Headquarters, Station #1. The starting point for this project was a complete existing facility assessment study by the LaBella team to determine the most appropriate and cost-effective way to address the building’s deficiencies. The station was originally built in 1966, and was enlarged with additions in 1979 and 1993. The existing station was undersized for the fire, rescue, and emergency medical servic

On Thursday, October 24th, LaBella Associates and the Southern Tier 8 Regional Board presented an educational forum as part of the Regional Energy Assessment and Strategy. The event was designed to increase understanding among businesses and municipal officials about energy technologies, government policies and utility practices. The Board was recently awarded funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission to evaluate the energy infrastructure within its eight (8) county re

Don't miss a feature article in September's issue of Water & Wastes Digest on the city of Gastonia, NC's expanded and upgraded water treatment plant! The article can be viewed online, here. Author Sara Myers talks to LaBella's Keith Garbrick about the decision to introduce ultrafiltration membranes to the state of North Carolina, which will ultimately pave the way for other municipalities to use the technology. LaBella has been working with the City of Gastonia on the plant

LaBella Associates and longtime partner Edgewater Resources (the team behind the Port of Rochester marina, pictured above) are ready to help strengthen the infrastructure along Lake Ontario's waterfront. The NYS Resiliency and Economic Development Initiative (REDI) provides $300 Million in funding to restore and improve impacted areas. The LaBella/Edgewater team has the expertise to get solutions funded and constructed. Supporting local communities has long been a priority at

LaBella is proud to share that the Louise M. Slaughter Rochester Train Station project has received the Diamond award from ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies)! The project was recognized by the New York ACEC chapter and the National ACEC organization. LaBella's Patrick Waterman attended the 52nd New York Annual Engineering Excellence Awards Gala, in New York City on April 13, 2019 and accepted the Diamond Award for the Rochester Train Station Design Build. This

For many years, the McAdenville Town Hall was located in a small retail space one block from the McAdenville United Methodist Church. When the Methodist district decided to close the church due to declining membership, the Town saw an opportunity to create a new identity for the Town Hall. LaBella was brought on board to make this vision a reality. Originally built in 1960, the building was modernized and thoughtfully modified to remove religious symbolism. The steeple sha

Governor Andrew Cuomo announced $34.6 million in grants to support 19 critical municipal water infrastructure projects in the Finger Lakes and 12.4 million to support 11 infrastructure projects in Central New York. Congratulations to the three communities that LaBella's Planning team assisted in the grant process. They won more than 2.8 million in grant funds to support projects totaling more than 7.6 million! #planning #municipal

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced last week that the Village of Penn Yann, NY has been awarded $10 million to implement their Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Of the hundreds of applications submitted for the grant funding, the Village of Penn Yan was ultimately selected as the first place winner for the Finger Lakes region. The Downtown Revitalization Initiative is a program developed by the Governor’s Office in partnership with the Empire State Development Corporation,

Two LaBella Associates projects were selected to receive awards for excellence in Comprehensive Planning from the American Planning Association, Upstate New York Chapter. Director of Planning Edward Flynn, AICP worked in conjunction with the City of Niagara Falls Department of Planning, Economic Development & Environmental Services as well as multiple sub consultants, to prepare both the Pre-Nomination and Nomination Phase Studies for an approximate 1880 acre area consisting

The Village of Lancaster is one step closer to a revitalized Downtown. After years of efforts by village leaders to attract a project that would increase downtown business and population, a new development proposes to include construction of 12 to 15 three-story buildings with brick façades, commercial and service-industry enterprises and midrange to upscale apartments. LaBella's Planning team helped guide the west end project by preparing a downtown development strategy. The

LaBella Associates presented their draft findings to the City of Gloversville on their downtown strategy during a public meeting late last month. The presentation included short and long term goals, building reuse plans for four downtown strategic sites, a master redevelopment plan and other recommendations. The consultant team included LaBella as the prime consultant along with In.Site:Architecture and Creighton Manning Engineering. The city hired the team in the Spring of 2

Several changes are in store for downtown Fredonia! The village has received two important grants to revitalize its downtown. A $21,000 New York Main Street Technical Assistance grant project will evaluate several downtown buildings for potential future reuses. LaBella’s planning team is responsible for writing the grant and will serve as administrator for the project. The target area for the Technical Assistance project includes a section of Main Street in the Village’s Fred

The City of Niagara Falls has been selected by the Western New York American Planning Association to receive Honorable Mention in the Comprehensive Planning category for the Niagara Waterfront Opportunity Area Plan completed by the planning team at LaBella Associates. The project, which was completed in early 2018, focused on two key concepts: transportation access and waterfront proximity. The team prepared both the pre-nomination and nomination phase studies for an approxim

Brian Houston presented a novel Risk-Based Infrastructure Management approach at the 17th Annual North Carolina American Water Works Association - Water Environment Federation (NC AWWA-WEA) Spring Symposium in Asheville on Monday. The approach he presented, called Capital Efficiency (CapEff for short), uses a customized predictive failure algorithm and monetizes all risks (much like insurers do) to remove and/or clarify subjectivities that are pervasive in widely-accepted poi

Our architecture team has produced beautiful new renderings of the Allegany Indian Reservation Volunteer Fire Station for the Seneca Nation of Indians. The new station will better serve the community for years to come, with modern safety and security features, a 6 vehicle apparatus bay with separate 2 vehicle EMS bay, and meeting, classroom, and community event space. The existing facility will continue to operate during construction, so our design was developed within the c

The old adage says that Thomas Edison did not fail a thousand times when creating the lightbulb - he instead discovered a thousand ways how not to create a lightbulb. The issue we now face as a country is how to keep the lights on. During the most recent ASCE Report Card, the U.S. energy system scored a D+, stating that “…most electric transmission and distribution lines were constructed in the 1950s and 1960s with a 50-year life expectancy”. According to the same report card

Director of Planning Ed Flynn shared the results from a recently completed Housing Needs and Market Analysis for Genesee County at a public meeting on Wednesday, February 7th, held at the old County courthouse. The results: Genesee County is in a housing predicament. Specifically, an oversupply of owner-occupied housing for extremely low-income households and not enough for market-rate renters. The study’s findings suggested that the county’s current housing environment is no

Last week marked an important milestone for the South Fork Sewer project, which has been a 10 year public-private effort between The Town of McAdenville, Pharr Yarns, Two Rivers Utilities, The City of Gastonia, and Gaston County. Split into two phases, this project will improve wastewater treatment for The Town of McAdenville and Pharr Yarns, one of the area’s largest employers. Currently, Pharr Yarns in McAdenville has a 50 year-old, privately operated wastewater treatment p

Striving for LEED Platinum, the new Visitor Center epitomizes what the agency stands for. Comprising 450 acres of fields, forests, and wetland, the Five Rivers Environmental Education Center in Delmar, NY provides guided and self-guided tours for people of all ages. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) recently opened a new Visitor Center to replace a 45-year-old building, marking the completion of renovations at the site that began with constr