Congdon Hall Redevelopment – Survey and Utility Mapping Services

Congdon Hall has long been a recognized landmark in the historic downtown district of Potsdam, New York, and is one of several early 20th-century institutional buildings that helped shape the community’s educational and architectural heritage. Owned by Clarkson University, the three-story, 57,000-square-foot building formerly served as a student residence hall on the university’s original downtown campus.

As part of an ongoing revitalization effort, Congdon Hall is being transformed into 53 affordable housing units for seniors aged 62 and older, along with office space for on-site staff and resident amenities, including a fitness room, laundry facilities, and community gathering areas. The redevelopment will preserve a significant community asset while expanding affordable senior housing in the region.

To support the redevelopment, The Vecino Group selected LaBella Associates to provide topographic survey and subsurface utility engineering services. Our team completed a detailed topographic survey and utility investigation to document existing site conditions for architectural and engineering design.

Using electromagnetic locating equipment, including pipe and cable locators, in conjunction with ground-penetrating radar, our team identified existing underground infrastructure. Public and private utilities, including gas, electric, water, fiber optic, telecommunications, sanitary sewer, and storm drainage systems, were designated and marked on the ground surface. These marked locations were then surveyed using a real-time kinematic global navigation satellite system configured with base and rover receivers to capture horizontal and vertical coordinates.

LaBella integrated the surveyed utility data with the site’s existing topographic conditions to produce a reliable, comprehensive basemap that helps reduce uncertainty, support informed design decisions, and mitigate potential utility conflicts during construction.