SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Husband and wife Cohen and Melissa Cartier celebrated the ribbon cutting for their new offices on Thursday.

The couple, who own and operate their own separate businesses, now have side-by-side office space at 116 West Ave.

Melissa owns Cartier Real Estate Group and Cohen owns Cartier Construction Co. While the two run their businesses completely independently from one another, they do occasionally work together. They’ll partner up to build and sell three to five custom-designed houses and one “spec house”- built on the speculation that it will sell quickly for an easy profit – every year. There’s no “family discounts” or freebie work – the Cartiers pay each other in full for all services rendered to each other’s companies.

“People think we’re crazy to want to work together, but we love it,” Melissa said. “Because our industries are so aligned, we ‘get’ each other and can support each other. It’s nice having offices next to each other, because we can talk and bounce ideas off each other. It works well for us.”

The new West Avenue location is a move from Clinton Street. Cartier Construction Co. did the building work and Cartier Real Estate Group designed the layout. What Melissa loves most about her new space is the bright white, 10-foot ceilings and all the natural light that comes in from the glass walls facing the street. The new office is bigger too, and each of her agents – there’s 12 of them total – now has their own workspace.

Melissa said she’s looking forward to doing business with her new neighbors.

“We love the West Avenue community,” she commented. “All of the prizes for our raffle drawing today were donated by companies on the street. There are so many good businesses here.”

Prominently displayed throughout each office are the birds that are part of each company’s logos.

Cartier Construction Co. is represented by a rooster, which invokes the hardworking, rural roots of the company. Cartier Real Estate Group’s motif is a hummingbird, which possesses all the traits that Melissa believes are essential to being a good real estate agent. As a front wall of the office explains, “hummingbirds are known for their endless energy, persistence, agility, and ability to accomplish great feats despite their size.”

At Thursday’s ribbon cutting, the Cartiers were welcomed to their new home by the Saratoga County Chamber and Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our community,” Kim said to the Cartiers, presenting them with a proclamation marking the date as “Cartier Real Estate Group and Cartier Construction Co. Day.”

For more information about each company, visit https://www.thecartiergroup.com/ and http://www.cartierconstructionco.com/.