Last week, the village Development Board voted to grant the project preliminary site plan approval, with conditions, which strengthen Play ADK’s grant application, according to Play ADK Executive Director Rob Carr.

The state Dormitory Authority’s capital grant program is offering awards of up to $15 million for projects promoting analog play. This is part of the state’s “Unplug and Play” initiative to get kids off phones and interacting in the physical world. The grant program has a total of $100 million available.

Most other grants split project costs between the state and developer 20/80%, respectively. This grant swaps that, with the state funding up to 80% of the project budget and the developer putting in 20%.

“They really want these places built,” Carr said. “The more ‘shovel-ready’ our project is on our application, the higher our chances are of receiving this grant.”

Children hang out during an Infant & Toddler Playgroup at Play ADK, which run from 10 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. (Provided photo — Play ADK)

This grant application is a big ask, so he is managing his expectations. The state will decide which projects get funding starting on Nov. 1.

Carr said the grant fits Play ADK’s plans well, so he has spent a lot of time in getting the application ready. The grant application is due on Friday. Carr went before the board last Tuesday, so there was a tight deadline.

The site plan was given preliminary approval with a unanimous vote, and with several conditions. The project must return for further site plan review after a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan is completed. It will also return to the board when the project’s design drawings are 50%, 75% and 100% complete.

“You’re coming back over and over again until everyone feels confident,” village Community Development Director Katrina Glynn told Carr.

The preliminary site plan approval only pertains to general layout and footprint.

Children hang out during an Infant & Toddler Playgroup at Play ADK, which run from 10 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays. (Provided photo — Play ADK)

Glynn said there is precedent for granting preliminary approval with conditions.

“It is acceptable to bring a preliminary project application to the Development Board,” Glynn told the Enterprise. “As this project is still in the design development stage, it has not yet been deemed ‘complete.’ Once deemed complete, a public hearing will be scheduled.”

Board member Bill Domenico asked, if they grant preliminary approval, what is to stop the developers from expanding the project. Carr said if he changes the scope of the project he would lose the organization’s nonprofit status and state funding, so that would be “impossible.”

The board also unanimously granted a State Environmental Quality Review negative declaration — meaning the project, as currently proposed, is not expected to negatively impact the environment.

The board was hesitant to do this at first, but Glynn said they can rescind the SEQR declaration later if something comes up.

Carr said not having a SEQR declaration would not be an existential issue for this grant, but would weaken their application by not having it.

A public hearing on the SEQR was not opened at the meeting, but will be held at a later date. Usually, a public hearing would be made before a SEQR declaration, but that is not required. Glynn said they will hold a public comment session at a later date.

Although the village’s official approved use for the land is as a museum, Carr has clarified that he is not calling Play ADK a “museum” — it is more of a community children’s play center and family resource center. This distinction has to do with funding, as well as perception.

“I have literally had people come into the clubhouse and ask me if a children’s museum is, like where children are in glass cases to be viewed,” Carr said. “And they were serious.”

The center

Carr started the Play ADK non-profit in 2018, with plans to turn the long-abandoned Branch and Callanan warehouse at 55 Depot St. into a play center, a hub for parents and a family community space. Play ADK purchased the historic red warehouse in 2021.

Carr said the estimated project costs have increased since then — from $8 million to $11 million. It is an “ambitious” project for this area, he acknowledges, but he believes in its importance.

The idea came from Carr’s own experience raising a child in the North Country and seeing firsthand the lack of resources for parents here. He envisions it as a “third space,” where people can gather outside of their home or work.

Along with 7,000 to 8,000 square feet of play area, there are plans for the center to have a free family resource center offering developmental assessments, nutritional clinics, parenting support groups and parenting education classes.

The project needed to be large enough in scope to be an attraction, making it financially feasible, but lean enough in scope to be a true community resource.

Carr said the building, visually, looks like it’s about to fall down, but that it’s actually “amazingly intact.” The building was an early kit warehouse, which was meant to be assembled with a screwdriver and a sledgehammer.

“Like a giant Erector set,” Carr said.

When it was in use, it housed building supplies that built half of Saranac Lake. Carr said they plan to work that history into the center, preserving the architecture and interpreting the story it tells.

He said the inside is beautiful, with original steel framework and large exterior sliding doors. Since it has a narrow floorplan, to not lose space, the plan is to enclose the existing building with insulation and a new exterior.

Outside, there are also plans for a replica fire tower, and a splash pad water play area, since there is no public pool for kids in town. Inside, there are plans for play of all types, for many ages and mobilities.

Carr said they are going “full speed ahead” on designing play areas now.

In 2018, Play ADK was awarded $949,000 through the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative program as part of a larger $10 million award for the village of Saranac Lake. The project also got $1 million from the state in 2019 through a Consolidated Funding Application grant. It has received private grants from the Cloudsplitter Foundation and “hundreds of thousands of dollars in community gifts.”

Currently, Play ADK operates its “clubhouse” at 84 Main St., which offers free programming for infants and toddlers on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to noon, and “free play” for children from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays.