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Month: February 2023

Bella Lucia Pizzeria In Clifton Park Has NYC-Style Pizza, Other Sandwiches And Dinners

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023

By Christine Graf

Six months after closing the Halfmoon Sandwich Shop, partners Melissa Craine and Sean Lee opened Bella Lucia Pizzeria at 1218 Route 146 in Clifton Park. 

The couple previously owned Rocco’s, a fine dining establishment in Jonesville. 

Before closing their Halfmoon eatery in August, they had attempted to purchase the building that they had leased for 15 years.

“We were really confident that we would be able to purchase the sandwich shop building on Route 9, but unfortunately we were unable to come to terms that would have been beneficial to both parties,” said Craine. 

By that time, they had already purchased the Route 146 property with plans of opening a second restaurant, a pizzeria. The unexpected closing of the sandwich shop presented them with the opportunity to focus all of their energy on Bella Lucia.

“During that time, we went down to (New York City) to a pizza school in Staten Island called Goodfellas Pizza School. For us, it was a refresher, a confidence booster, and a way to get some extra know-how,” said Craine. “Even though we have been in the restaurant industry in many different facets for many years, pizza is new to us.” 

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Two From Saratoga County Get Volunteerism Awards At State Office For Aging Event

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023
Marlene Hathaway of Mechanicville was honored by the state Office for the Aging.
Courtesy NYS Office for the Aging

The state Office for the Aging recently honored 94 older adults for their volunteerism, including Marlene Hathaway and Cheryl Wood of Saratoga County, as part of its annual Older New Yorkers’ Day celebration.

“The word ‘volunteer’ cannot capture fully the accomplishments of this group of incredible individuals,” OFA Director Greg Olsen said in his remarks at the event. “Older adults impress us all with their commitment to a greater good and a greater cause. You tell the real story of what’s good about people, what’s good about New York. Through your deeds and actions, time and again, you show us how valuable you all are to those you touch, to those you serve, to the families and communities and lives you make better.”

During Hathaway’s more than three years of volunteer services, the Mechanicville resident has contributed as a meal delivery driver, delivering hot meals to homebound seniors, and currently as a transportation assistant, driving  older adults to and from medical appointments throughout the county.

She is also a Telecare caller, supporting a program that began during the pandemic as a way to connect with older adults who may feel lonely and isolated. Hathaway continues to make these calls, which provide vital social connection while also serving as a wellness check.

She has a lengthy history of volunteering with other organizations. Hathaway graduated from Shenendehowa High School and then entered the U.S. Air National Guard, where she served for 20 years before retiring as a lieutenant colonel. “It is so rewarding to volunteer with seniors,” she said. “There is such a need to help and I absolutely love doing it.”

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New Owners Of Comfort Inn In Wilton Are Investing $2 Million In Facility Upgrades

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023March 3, 2023
Brothers Ravi and Subhash Modasra, third generation motel operators, bought this property in late October for $5.32 million. They expect to invest $2 million to upgrade the property.
©2023 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Jill Nagy

The Comfort Inn and Suites at 17 Old Gick Road, near Norway Exit 15 in Wilton, has new owners and is undergoing a major facelift.  

Brothers Ravi and Subhash Modasra, third generation motel operators, bought the property in late October for $5.32 million. They expect to invest another $2 million in upgrading the property.

The property will remain in operation as the renovation goes forward in stages. 

The current design, called “rise and shine,” will require new finishes, flooring, wall coverings, and furniture. Ravi Modasra expects work to begin in the next few weeks and be completed by June 1. In any case, “we will do our best to be ready for track season.”

The Modasra brothers already operate a Comfort Inn and Suites property in Scotia and have other real estate holdings. They built the Scotia motel in 2018 and will continue to operate it. Ravi described his and his brother’s businesses, the Mohawk Companies and Bluebird Commercial Real Estate,  as being “in an acquisition and growth mode.”

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Group Invests In Construction Of Affordable Housing Units Across From Saratoga Library

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023
This vacant lot on Putnam Street in Saratoga Springs was once contaminated by chemicals. It has been cleaned up and an investment group is aiming to build apartments there.
©2023 Saratoga Photographer.com

By Christine Graf

It’s been 10 years since First Fairfield Associates, a social enterprise investment firm, announced plans to redevelop a vacant property at 53 Putnam St. in Saratoga Springs.

 Now an ownership group, Putnam Resources, LLC, is proposing construction of a 60-unit mixed-income condominium building called Putnam Commons. More than $3 million has already been invested to acquire, manage, and clean up the site.

Local author Jason Letts is among the partners.

The property is located across the street from the Saratoga Springs Public Library. A dilapidated one-story building that sat on the property was built in 1905 and once housed a dry-cleaning business. The building was razed and several underground petroleum storage tanks were found on the 0.3-acre property.

Soil testing revealed significant ground contamination that resulted in the property being declared a Brownfield site—a parcel contaminated by low concentrations of hazardous chemicals. The contamination likely resulted from a combination of petroleum and dry-cleaning chemicals

After five years of chemical remediation, cleanup of the site is complete. It is now certified as a successful state Brownfield cleanup project.

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Report: Construction Firms Added Workers In December, Unemployment Rate Dropped

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023

Construction firms added 28,000 employees in December and continued to raise wages for hourly workers more than other sectors as the industry’s unemployment rate fell to a record low for the month, according to an analysis by the Associated General Contractors of America of new government data. 

Association officials said the data align with their newly released survey, which found the majority of contractors are optimistic about demand for most construction types, despite reporting difficulty filling positions.

“There are more people working in construction today than ever before, and those figures are likely to continue to increase,” said Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist. “But as optimistic as contractors are about 2023, they remain worried about their ability to find enough workers amid record-low unemployment.”

Construction employment totaled a record 7,777,000, seasonally adjusted, in December, an increase of 231,000 or 3.1 percent from a year earlier. Nonresidential firms—comprising nonresidential building and specialty trade contractors along with heavy and civil engineering construction firms—added 17,900 employees in December. Residential building and specialty trade contractors together added 9,500 employees.

Pay levels in the construction industry continued to increase in December at a faster pace than in the overall private sector. Average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers in construction—mostly hourly craft workers—climbed by 6.1 percent, from $31.25 in December 2021 to $33.15 last month. That increase exceeded the 5.0 percent rise in average pay for all private sector production workers. Such workers in construction now earn an average of 18.1 percent more per hour than in the private sector as a whole.

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Schuylerville Public Library’s New Pavilion Will Add Space For Events And Storage

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023

The Schuylerville Public Library is getting a new pavilion that will provide much-needed space for meetings, programs and storage.

The state Education Department has awarded $119,850 in Public Library Construction Grant funds to the library as part of a program designed to assist libraries undertaking major construction and remodeling projects.

The library recently completed some renovations such as lighting upgrades, a 500-square-foot addition and projects to make its facility fully accessible.

Official said the future pavilion will be approximately 27×27 feet on the northwest side of the current library property and feature a covered area for picnic tables and public programming, as well as secure storage.

“We are thrilled to have received this grant. Library services are essential for the well-being of all of our patrons including children, teens, adults, and seniors. This project will also allow the library to serve more of the community’s needs with additional space for outdoor programming, which has been incredibly popular in the last few years. We appreciate all who made this project possible,” library board president Amy Carpenter said.

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AgroChem To Expand Manufacturing Facility In W.J. Grande Industrial Park

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023
In response to fast-paced growth and a need for more efficient operations, AgroChem wants to build a 25,000-square-foot addition to its current 36,000-square-foot facility.
Courtesy AgroChem

By Paul Post

Rob DeMarco’s firm, AgroChem, got a toehold in the dairy industry with a foot bath solution that keeps cows healthy and productive.

The product, Healmax, is now one of about 100 hygiene and sanitizing products the Saratoga Springs-based company sells to farms throughout the U.S. and around the globe from China and Japan to Eastern and Western Europe.

“Most people don’t realize just how big the dairy industry is in the U.S. and the world, and how many hygiene-type products are required,” said DeMarco, who founded AgroChem with his father, John, in 2005.

Dairy, with about 3,500 farms, is the largest component of New York’s $5 billion agriculture industry. Nationwide there are nearly 9.2 million milk cows and New York ranks fifth in production behind California, Wisconsin, Idaho and Texas.

In response to fast-paced growth and a quest for more efficient operations, AgroChem has plans for a 25,000-square-foot addition to the firm’s 36,000-square-foot facility at W. J. Grande Industrial Park, which it moved into seven years ago after starting out in a trailer and small rented space.

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Affordable Housing Project Being Planned On Land Near The Saratoga Casino Hotel

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023
Liberty Affordable Housing Inc, based in Central New York, plans to build some 220 housing units near Saratoga Casino Hotel. This is a rendering of what will be built.

By Paul Post

By some estimates there are 1,500 unfilled jobs in and around Saratoga Springs including vital positions such as teachers, police, firefighters, nurses and public works employees.

Part of the problem, local officials say, stems from lack of housing that allows people to live where they work.

A Central New York firm’s proposal, called Liberty Saratoga Apartments, could help the  situation by providing 212 affordable housing units at the corner of Jefferson Street and Crescent Avenue, near Saratoga Casino Hotel.

“The need is huge,” said Stephanie Ferradino, an attorney for Rome, N.Y.-based Liberty Affordable Housing Inc. “The more housing we have, the better able we are to meet that need. Look at the hospitality industry. So many restaurants now aren’t open seven days per week, in part because they can’t find the staff.”

Ferradino, of Saratoga Springs, said the 250-unit Intrada Apartments off West Avenue had a wait list of 300 applicants last summer. 

“They’re full,” she said. “They went to capacity almost as soon as they were built.

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‘Industrial And Performance Machining’ Is Name Of BOCES Program With A New Aim

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023
The WSWHE BOCES has changed the direction for its career and technical education machine tool technology program. Its new title is Industrial and Performance Machining.

The Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex Board of Cooperative Educational Services (WSWHE BOCES) announced a new name and direction for its Career and Technical Education (CTE) machine tool technology program.

The new title—Industrial and Performance Machining—reflects the industry today and better positions the program to prospective students, officials said.

Officials said the program places a heavy emphasis on high-tech equipment and precision in the machining of component parts for automobiles, performance vehicles, industrial machines, and more. This consists of fabricating component parts to specification for these applications using milling, drilling, grinding, and boring machines.

While “Machine Tool Technology” is often used by technical colleges, WSWHE BOCES administration and educators said that students did not immediately identify the program in line with career goals.

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Developer Is Planning To Build 20 New Houses Close To Northway Exit 10

Posted onFebruary 13, 2023

By Paul Post

A Niskayuna developer hopes to purchase 32 acres just west of Northway Exit 10 with plans for 20 new single-family homes on 1.5-acre, heavily wooded lots.

Each new house, in the $600,000 to $700,000 price range, would have a professional office with a dedicated entrance and parking, although this could be just for the owner’s use.

“It doesn’t have to be where someone is bringing in outside clients or customers for business,” said Chris Myers of Concord Development Company LLC. “It’s literally 90 seconds off the Northway, which I think is going to appeal to a lot of people working not only the Albany area, but the Saratoga area as well.”

People such as real estate agents, insurance agents and attorneys work from home quite often, but the COVID-19 pandemic brought about a major shift in the way many firms conduct business, allowing employees to work from home, which can be much cheaper than maintaining a “brick-and-mortar” office setting.

“I’m not sure we’re marketing to any specific group,” Myers said of the project.

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