Return to Home Page

Wells House project receives federal funding

POTTERSVILLE - Paul Bubar speaks with the same enthusiasm about his project now as he did when he and his wife, Shirley, started out in December of 2003.

The Bubars bought the decaying Wells House, an historic landmark in Pottersville since 1845, and began the gigantic project of renovating the building to restore it to its past glory with all the moderm amenities expected of a 21st century hotel.

"We've had plenty of hoops to jump through," Bubar said as he stood on the porch on a sunny Saturday. "It's been quite a journey, we've spent the last six months chasing funds in the wrong direction and we ran into a parked truck." Bubar said after several more months, they finally have become eligible for federally backed loans.

"We had to prove that we're not in a flood plain," Bubar said. "I tried to tell them that the last flood here was in the book of Genesis, but they weren't laughing." After finding an engineer with the right credentials to certify that they are near, but not in, a flood plain, the Bubar's will begin to receive the much-needed funds this week.

Renovating a building to code while trying to maintain its historic integrity has been a big challenge as well. Bubar said that state health department officials are rooting for him to finish the project successfully while still requiring him to adhere to state regulations.

A back staircase from the second to the first floor may be considered as a fire escape, but Bubar is hoping they won't have to build another back staircase from the third to the second floor.

"That would change the hallway, it wouldn't be historically correct," he said. "But if we have to, we'll do it."

The Bubars recently traveled to Virginia where they bought much of the furniture for the new Wells House.

"We will have the nicest furniture and the best beds of any hotel in the North Country," he said. As the rooms are finished, they will be furnished and be open for display. Bubar said he is planning on having one or two rooms ready to show people in early April and they are hoping to open for business in late June.

"People have taken such an interest in the Wells House, it's amazing," he said. "We have all the structural and sheetrock work done and we have a crew coming to paint the entire inside this week." He said the ceiling and floors will then go in along with the final pieces of the sprinkler system and the sewage system. The hotel has been totally rewired and re-plumbed and each room will feature a queen or king size bed along with Internet access. They are planning specialty rooms as well, such as the Adirondack Room and a wedding suite.

The Bubars have set up a Web site to track their progress at wellshouseny.com. Bubar said that ultimately, he hopes to have each individual room displayed on the Web site and be capable of booking by email.