"It can't happen fast enough."
That's Metroplex Chair Ray Gillen, talking about the demolition of the old Glenhaven Elementary School on Cypress Drive in Glenville. The building has sat empty since 2008, a 58,000-square-foot shell on 38 acres that the town has spent almost two decades trying to fix. Now it's finally moving: a $14.6 million project that will tear the school down and put up to 27 single-family homes in its place.
If you're looking at a lot here, the floor plan and the price sheet are the easy part. The harder question is who's building it and what stage of the project you'd actually be buying into. Both matter more than they usually do for new construction, because the developer behind Glenhaven Estates has never delivered a residential subdivision before, and the homes can't legally exist until a separate, publicly funded demolition and infrastructure phase is finished first.
The Building Behind the Fence
Glenhaven Elementary was part of the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District until it closed in 1981 after enrollment declined. It spent years as office space, sat vacant after 2008, and drew enough vandalism and break-ins that Metroplex officials described it as a blighted property causing problems for the surrounding street. Schenectady County secured a $1 million grant through Empire State Development's County Infrastructure Grant Program in 2025 to help pay for tearing it down, and Metroplex approved the full redevelopment plan in February 2026.
The site backs up to the Indian Kill and borders Indian Meadows Park, which is part of why the town cared enough to keep pushing on this for years. That geography becomes relevant again later, because it's tied to a real commitment, not a sales pitch.
Two Phases, One Contract Question
The project is structured in two phases, and the split isn't a formality. Phase one covers demolition of the old school, environmental abatement, and the infrastructure work needed to make the site buildable, at a cost of roughly $2.43 million. Phase two is the actual construction of up to 27 single-family homes.
Here's what that means in practice: nobody can close on a house here until phase one is done. If you sign a purchase agreement before demolition wraps, your closing date is tied to a schedule you don't control and that involves asbestos abatement in a 58,000-square-foot former school building. Anyone who's watched a commercial demolition run long knows that abatement timelines slip more often than framing timelines do.
| Phase | Scope | Approx. Cost | What It Means for a Buyer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Phase One | Demolition, environmental abatement, site infrastructure | $2.43 million | No home can close until this is certified complete |
| Phase Two | Construction of up to 27 single-family homes | Remainder of $14.6 million total | Lot release and build schedule depend on phase-one sign-off |
If you're looking at this development, ask directly where the project sits in that sequence before you put money down. A purchase agreement signed during phase one is a bet on a demolition timeline, not a construction timeline.
Who's Actually Building the Houses
The redevelopment partnership is Michael Roman of C2 Design Group and Ryan Lucey of LSI Development Group. Both firms are based at the Schenectady County Airport Business Park in Glenville, and both have a real, verifiable footprint in town. LSI completed an office and warehouse building for Mid-State Industries at the same business park, and built two more structures there for P1 Industries, a 65,000-square-foot manufacturing plant and a 25,000-square-foot headquarters, on a project timeline that ran from May 2025 to March 2026. C2 Design Group has architectural credits around the region including the RAD Soap Co. headquarters in Glenville and Five Guys locations in Amsterdam and Malta.
That's a legitimate track record. It's also a track record built almost entirely on commercial and industrial projects. Warehouses, manufacturing buildings, retail fit-outs. Glenhaven Estates appears to be the first time this partnership has taken on a ground-up single-family subdivision at this scale in Schenectady County.
That's not a reason to walk away. It is a reason to ask different questions than you'd ask a builder with ten finished subdivisions behind them. Who is the actual residential general contractor on record for phase two, separate from the site development team? What warranty structure applies to the homes themselves? Has either partner built detached single-family product anywhere else, even smaller in scale? A commercial developer moving into residential for the first time isn't automatically a red flag, but it's a fact worth having answered in writing before you're the one holding a deposit.
The Utility Line Nobody's Selling You
Coverage of the project has noted the site currently runs on septic. Part of phase-one infrastructure work is bringing sewer service to the property specifically to support the new homes. That's a meaningful detail for anyone evaluating a lot here, because it means the sewer connection your future house depends on doesn't exist yet. It gets built as part of the same infrastructure phase that has to finish before anyone closes.
Compare that to buying resale in most of Glenville, where you're inspecting an existing septic system or an existing sewer hookup that's already been in service for years. Here, you're underwriting a brand-new utility installation that hasn't been tested by a full winter or a full occupied summer yet. Ask specifically when sewer capacity was certified for the number of homes planned, and ask to see that documentation rather than taking a verbal assurance from a sales office.
The Park Deal That's Actually Real
One detail in this project holds up better than the usual new-construction marketing language. As part of the approval, the developers are donating roughly 18 acres around the site's perimeter back to the town, expanding Indian Meadows Park and preserving resident access to its trails and dog park. This came up in town board discussion as part of the community benefit tied to the development, not as a line in a glossy brochure. If trail and park access matters to how you value this location, it's grounded in something the town board actually voted on.
Before You Put Down a Deposit
If you're seriously considering a lot at Glenhaven Estates, work through these before signing anything:
- Ask where the project currently stands relative to phase-one completion, and get a written estimate of when demolition and infrastructure sign-off is expected.
- Request the name of the licensed residential general contractor responsible for home construction, separate from the site developer.
- Confirm the warranty terms that will apply to your specific home, and ask whether they differ from what C2 Design Group or LSI Development Group offer on commercial work.
- Get documentation on sewer capacity and hookup approval for the number of homes planned, not just an assurance that service will be available.
- Ask how lots are released in phase two. A staggered release schedule affects how much certainty you have about your actual closing window.
- Confirm in writing what happens to your deposit if phase one runs past its estimated timeline.
None of this means the project is a bad bet. A derelict, vandalized school building becoming 27 new homes with direct park access is a real improvement for that stretch of Cypress Drive, and the public money behind it suggests the town is committed to seeing it through. But buying here is closer to buying into a municipal redevelopment plan than buying a spec home in an established subdivision, and the contract should reflect that difference.
If you want a second read on where this project actually stands before you sign a purchase agreement, or you're weighing a lot here against resale options elsewhere in Glenville, Dufek Real Estate Group can walk through the disclosures with you and help you ask the right questions before you're locked in.
