Downtown Troy ‘mass timber’ office building makeover to move forward

It turns out architect Michael Phinney will be able to follow through on his plans to expand and redesign an empty office building in downtown Troy using mass timber, a first for the region.
Phinney, owner/principal architect at Phinney Design Group, got the green light earlier this year from the state Historic Preservation Office for the $7.8 million redevelopment of 504 Broadway despite initial indications the plans might not be approved.

“Obviously I was very happy,” Phinney said. “I was disappointed it kind of delayed the whole project a year.”

Based in Saratoga Springs, Phinney Design Group has an office in downtown Troy at 291 River St.

Several blocks away is a vacant, 1960s-era suburban-style building at 504 Broadway that will become the firm’s new offices on the upper floors and commercial space on the ground floor that could be leased to a restaurant.
The redesign incorporates mass timber, a small but growing technique in the U.S. in which multiple solid wood panels are glued or nailed together to form columns and beams.  The mass timber structure will be set inside the brick masonry walls to support a third floor with an angled metal roof.

The plans include exposed timber beams and columns, horizontal and vertical stained cedar siding, charcoal-painted brick walls, rooftop solar panels, a third-floor patio, large windows and a timber-and-glass overhang suspended above the sidewalk.

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Cira Masters