Month: March 2018

By Maureen Werther

The WJ Grande Industrial Park continues to be an economic driver in the region nearly 70 years after it was first developed by its namesake, William J. Grande.

In the early 1950s, Grande purchased approximately 550 acres on Cady Hill in Saratoga Springs, adjacent to the D&H Railroad. The lifelong developer and philanthropist envisioned Cady Hill Research and Industrial Park, as it was originally named, as a vehicle for creating sustainable employment locally, as well as creating a revenue base for the county.

Grande’s acquisition proved to be as beneficial for the region as he had envisioned, with a succession of businesses moving into the park over the course of several decades.

General Foods was the first company to locate in the park in 1959. They employed over 200 people for more than three decades. During the 1960s and 1970s, several small regional companies located in the park, and in the 1980s Guyson, American Tissue, Quad Graphics and Ball Corp. became tenants of the park. Ball, Quad and Guyson are still fully operational and have steadily employed more than 1,500 people since they located there.

A new brewery is part of a development  at 7 Stonebreak Road in Malta this year.

The brewery will occupy part of the 25,000 square feet of new commercial space being developed with $2.5 million of private investment by area commercial developer MJ Properties of Clifton Park Inc., according to the Saratoga Economic Development Corp.

The initial tenant, Unified Beerworks, will occupy over 6,000 square feet of space, supporting seven full-time jobs in its first year, SEDC said. The project is expected to grow to support 15 full-time jobs by year three. The brewer expects to create seven full-time jobs in its first year and 15 by its third.

Officials said groundbreaking is scheduled for March, with construction expected to be completed in July. It will support 50 construction jobs.

by Susan E. Campbell

“Our mission is to help the private sector secure jobs and capital investment,” said the new chairman of Saratoga County Prosperity Partnership (SCPP) board of directors.

Kevin M. Hedley, named recently to succeed Jack Lawler,  said the agency’s board “has entrusted me to make sure the mission is carried out by our hired team of professionals and that we hold them accountable.”

As a taxpayer, a resident and a business owner, Hedley appreciates the opportunity to lend his voice to decisions regarding the future of Saratoga County and its economic development, he said. He is founder and partner of Hedley & Co. Certified Public Accountants in Clifton Park.