Pruyn House is getting a facelift

COLONIE — The Pruyn House is getting a facelift — a $630,000 facelift.

According to Jack Cunningham, the chair of the town’s Department of Public Works, the work includes stripping the flaking and chipping white paint off, re-pointing and/or replacing the brickwork and replacing the sill that sits atop the exterior walls and that supports the roof rafters.

Then, the entire building will be painted white using a stain sealer rather than latex paint that had been done in the past. If the weather cooperates, the painting will take place this year. If not, it will have to wait until the spring.

That phase will cost about $600,000 with the majority coming out of the town budget’s capital improvement fund. The next phase will replace the exterior shutters and cost about $30,000, he said.

The Friends of the Pruyn House, a non-profit organization with the mission of preserving the historic home and the outbuildings situated on the 5.5 acres of land on Old Niskayuna Road, have agreed to pay for the engineering and architectural work, he said.

The project was initially put out to bid last year, Cunningham said, but the estimates came in too high so they started over and got the cost to a manageable figure.

“My daughter got married there two weeks ago and I can’t say enough about the facility,” Cunningham said. “The town is interested to keep it in good repair for the people of Colonie to enjoy.”

The town bought the property for $110,000 in 1983 and after a significant restoration as the town cultural and educational center it opened two years later. In 1987, the Buhrmaster Barn was brought to the site and in 1996, the Verdoy Schoolhouse was added. Over the years, a carriage house, potting shed, smoke house and exterior bathrooms were added.

The house was built by Casparus Pruyn in about 1830 as a country home for his wife, Ann, and their eight children.