A cargo ship on the Hudson River at the Port of Albany-Rensselaer, upriver from Coeymans. Photo: UpstateNYer via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
A Belgian heavy-cargo company that set up shop on the Hudson River in Coeymans three years ago is building again. Aprojects Americas broke ground on Oct. 19 on a 75,000-square-foot logistics and staging building at the Coeymans Industrial Park, next to the Port of Coeymans in southern Albany County.
The $7.9 million project also includes a 160-ton mobile crane, according to an Oct. 23 announcement from Carver Companies, which owns and operates the port. The building will give the company more room to stage, marshal and store oversized equipment before it ships to customers in North America and overseas.
What the company does in Coeymans
Aprojects Americas is the North American arm of Aprojects, a Belgium-based firm that handles project cargo, the large and awkward loads that do not fit in a standard shipping container. Since arriving in Coeymans, the company has grown to occupy more than 100,000 square feet of warehouse space and has named the port its U.S. corporate headquarters, according to Carver.
Much of that work involves energy equipment. The new building is meant to provide staging and storage for energy-related components and other outsized products waiting to move. The port’s direct access to the Hudson lets that cargo travel by water, which is often the only practical route for pieces too large or heavy for highways.
“With this new facility and the support of Advance Albany County Alliance, we are well-positioned to serve our clients, grow our workforce and deepen our commitment to the Capital Region,” Daniel Foote, CEO of Aprojects Americas, said in the release.
The public money involved
The project is backed by more than $2 million in assistance and incentives from Advance Albany County Alliance and its affiliated economic development agencies. That package includes:
- a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement,
- a $1 million loan toward the crane purchase, made through the county’s Business Development Corporation, and
- a Sustainable Technology and Green Energy grant of up to $750,000.
In return, the expansion is expected to create 12 construction jobs and 18 net new permanent jobs, and to generate about $9.1 million a year in economic activity, according to Carver and county officials. CBS6 reported that county officials attended Monday’s groundbreaking.
A port that keeps growing
The Port of Coeymans is a privately operated industrial terminal offering heavy lift, stevedoring, trucking, open storage and barge service. Carver says the port and the adjacent industrial park have drawn about $250 million in private investment and support roughly 800 direct jobs across more than 20 businesses. The company also says those operations spent more than $500,000 with businesses in Ravena and Coeymans in 2025.
“This expansion and the continued investment by Aprojects Americas demonstrate the important role the Port of Coeymans plays in attracting international businesses and supporting economic growth throughout our region,” said Carver Laraway, founder and chairman of Carver Companies.
Permits and timing
The incentive package went through the Albany County Industrial Development Agency process, including a public hearing in June on the tax-related benefits. The Town of Coeymans has noted that county financial assistance is a separate step from building permits and other approvals, a point the trade publication IN Supply highlighted in its coverage of the groundbreaking. Carver’s project description cites an earlier planning and zoning approval for the site.
Neither Carver nor the county gave a completion date for the building, and the company has not said what cargo volumes or customers it expects the new space to handle. The release describes the building’s purpose in general terms: covered space for large energy and industrial components waiting for a ship, barge or truck.
That kind of storage matters for project cargo because large components often arrive well ahead of the vessel or job site that will receive them. Keeping them under a roof near the quay, and close to a crane rated for the work, can cut down on the number of times a heavy piece has to be lifted and moved before it leaves.
For the Town of Coeymans and the Village of Ravena, the expansion adds another tenant investment to an industrial waterfront that now hosts more than 20 businesses. Residents with questions about the project’s local review can find agendas and minutes through the town’s planning board and the Albany County IDA.
