The new Clinton County Public Transit (CCPT) facility, located at 226 Arizona Avenue in the City of Plattsburgh—a culmination of a five-year project by Clinton County to rehabilitate a former US Air Force building into the public bus system’s headquarters and garage—has won a 2009 Structure of the Year Award from the American Public Works Association (APWA) Capital District Branch.

The project was then nominated for and won a 2009 Structure of the Year award from the New York State Chapter of the APWA.

As an adaptive re-use of the existing structure, which was originally built in 1957 and served as the Base Wing Headquarters, the renovation design integrated new full height garage areas at both ends of the facility while retaining a two-story administrative office area in the center of the building. The renovated building is approximately 6,800 square feet in size.

Funding for the renovation project was provided under a Grant Program of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the NYS Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), and Clinton County.

Barton & Loguidice, P.C., of Albany and Syracuse, initially provided the County with a feasibility study evaluating rehabilitation versus complete demolition and replacement costs for the facility. The firm then served as design engineer and architect for the renovations.

Contractors recognized on the project include Two Brothers Contracting, Inc. (for selective building demolition); Integrated Rigging & Contracting, Inc. (for general construction); Brockway Mechanical Systems, Inc. (for mechanical construction); L.H. LaPlante Company, Inc. (for plumbing construction); and Mountain Lake Electrical, Inc. (for electrical construction).

CCPT, formerly known as CART, began its operation on Valentine’s Day 1983 with three 12-passenger vans going out to rural locations that served a total of 7,215 passengers. It has since expanded to 16 vehicles in its fleet including 2 senior and 2 paratransit busses. Routes include three in the city of Plattsburgh as well as rural routes to Rouses Point, Champlain, Mooers, Churubusco, AuSable, Riverview, Standish, Peru and a number of other places within Clinton County serving approximately 150,000 passengers yearly.