Category Archives: Business News

By Molly Congdon

Sitwell Enterprises LLC plans to build a series of office and retail buildings at 2443 Route 9 in Malta.

Company officials said the project will consist of three one-story buildings. The first will be an office building of 15,300 square feet. The other two will house retail businesses. One will be 14,186 square feet and the other 13,830 square feet.

The company hopes to break ground within the next two months, according to the project’s engineer Scott Lansing of Lansing Engineering in Malta.

RealtyUSA has merged into the Howard Hanna family of companies based in Pittsburgh, combining the largest residential real estate broker in New York state with the largest broker in Pennsylvania and Ohio.

The merger was announced at a press conference held in Buffalo on July 13 by Howard W. “Hoddy” Hanna, III chairman of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, and Merle L. Whitehead, president and CEO of RealtyUSA.

RealtyUSA has offices in Saratoga County and throughout the Capital Region.

“I have known and respected the Hanna family for years,” said Whitehead. “Their growth in the last decade has been amazing. A common theme of commitment to our agents by developing the best in products and services for customers and clients will assure our combined success.”

Whitehead will become chairman of the combined company in New York state.

RealtyUSA is the top broker in the state of New York with 65 office locations covering western and central New York, Northern New York, the Capital Region and the Southern Tier. The company reports more than 2,200 sales associates and employees and is ranked the ninth largest real estate company in the country with 23,023 closed transactions last year, based on the REAL Trends 500 report, May 2016, which ranks the 500 largest real estate brokers in the U.S. by 2015 closed transactions.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

Adirondack Trust Co. will soon break ground for a new branch located at Luther Forest Boulevard and Route 67 in Malta.

The bank is looking to serve not only the area near Northway Exit 12, but is looking to specifically take advantage of the locations’ close proximity to GlobalFoundries said Charles V. Wait Jr., executive vice president.

The branch office is expected to open sometime this fall.

Wait said the branch will differ from the others as it won’t be a stand-alone property. It is part of a building owned by Stewart’s Shops and the office will adjoin a Stewart’s store. Adirondack Trust will rent the space from Stewart’s.

By Margaret MacDonald

Kru Coffee, a new company located in the Fresh Market Plaza in Saratoga Springs, situated alongside Smashburger and Gennaro’s Pizza Parlor, is looking to open toward the end of August.

Ryan Miller also owns Caffé Vero in Lake George (previously in two other locations) and Spektor Coffee in Glens Falls. His coffee-related interests began in 2005 and he began roasting in 2008. Caffé Vero was opened in 2006 and Spektor in 2012.

In a space of 4,000 square feet, the company will be both a roasting facility and coffee bar. The bar area is open and looks out into the roasting facility, allowing interplay between the two.

The café, Miller said, will not be the average coffee shop. The company aims to create a new coffee experience, deeming it a creature of the “third-wave coffee world.” Kru boasts high-end machinery, specialized brewing methods and well-trained baristas dedicated to the craft.

Miller said eight to 10 people will be employed.

There will be two bars: a full-service standard bar and a “specialized-menu concept bar” or “slow bar,” he said. The latter seeks to serve and treat coffee in a “culinary fashion,” with a seven-seat intimate setting and more involved, time-consuming drinks like smoke-infused coffee.

New transfer agreements between the College of Saint Rose and SUNY Adirondack in Queensbury have been reached that officials say will greatly expand the training of new special education teachers to meet current special education teacher shortages, particularly in high-needs urban inclusive middle and high school classrooms.

Four new “articulation agreements” between the two colleges offer students who want to become special education teachers the ability to earn three degrees in five years and save on tuition, SUNY Adirondack officials said.

Students may now begin their teacher training at SUNY Adirondack, earn an associate’s degree after two years, then transfer to a dual-degree education program at Saint Rose without loss of credit. The agreements spell out the specific courses that students must complete at SUNY Adirondack and their equivalents at Saint Rose.

Students who successfully complete the required coursework at SUNY Adirondack will enter Saint Rose with junior status. After three more years, graduates will earn bachelor of arts and master of science in education degrees from Saint Rose and be eligible for New York state certification for grades 7-12 in one of four content areas–biology, English, mathematics and social studies–and also as a special education generalist.

Saint Rose has developed agreements with community colleges under “Project ASPIRE” (Adolescence Special Education Preparation for Inclusive and Reflective Educators), a U.S. Department of Education-funded program to improve the training of teachers who will work with students in special and general education classrooms in grades 7-12.

The Malta Business and Professional Association will host its seventh annual 5K road race on Saturday, Sept. 10, in Malta’s two technology parks–NYSERDA’s Saratoga Technology and Energy Park and the Luther Forest Technology Campus.

GlobalFoundries is the title sponsor of the event, which last year raised over $35,000 to support the Saratoga Rural Preservation Corporation’s VETHELP and Malta’s emergency first responders.

The race starts at 8:30 a.m.

Organizers said the event is a way to give back to the veterans and EMS responders. As participants go out on the course, the marshals helping direct traffic will be mostly comprised of volunteers from the vet home in Ballston Spa.

The event starts at Hudson Valley Community College TEC Smart located within NYSERDA’s Saratoga Technology & Energy Park (STEP). The course then takes participants south through Luther Forest Technology Campus (LFTC) and by the new Malta recreation ball fields. Once through LFTC, participants run through the GlobalFoundries campus. Almost one mile of the 3.1 miles will be on GlobalFoundries campus.

Once through the campus, participants finish back through STEP and TEC Smart. Participants are encouraged to stay after the event to enjoy post-race food provided by Hannaford. Also, tours of HVCC TEC Smart will be available throughout the morning.

This is part of the Saratoga Stryders running group’s 2016 grand prix. Fleet Feet Albany/Adirondack is the official prize sponsor, providing cash prizes to the overall male and female winners. There will be over 70 award categories of all ages donated from local companies. After the race, participants can stay in Malta for the 8th annual Community Day at Shenantaha Creek Park.

Richbell Capital and Blue Skies Forever LLC have formed the Adelphi Hospitality Group (AHG), a company that aims to develop four- and five-star restaurants and hotels in strategic locations in the U.S. and overseas.

AHG has partnered with globally recognized chef and restaurateur Chef Gray Kunz, to assist in the creation of the food and beverage side of the business. He will oversee the dining experience at all AHG locations.

Michel Ducamp will also join the AHG team as the chief operating officer, bringing over 30 years of corporate, multi-property and property-based experience in luxury hospitality and real estate management, according to the group.

Restaurateur Christophe Chatron-Michaud will run the management of the restaurants and hotels, heading front-of-house alongside Ducamp and Kunz. Chatron-Michaud has conducted the early development phases and operations of famous restaurants including David Bouley, Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Daniel Boulud, Michael Mina, and Charlie Palmer, AHG said.

The first AHG opening was Salt & Char, a modern luxury steakhouse in Saratoga Springs. It opened the first weekend of July with Executive Chef Braden Reardon.

Reardon joins Salt & Char with over a decade of experience at some of America’s finest restaurants and hotels. Reardon comes from Manhattan, where he was executive chef of NYY Steakhouse.

Adjacent to this restaurant, the principals have acquired and are currently refurbishing the Adelphi Hotel, which the company expects will open in spring 2017. Originally built in 1877, the newly renovated Adelphi Hotel will blend old world grace and its Victorian grandeur with today’s expectation of quality, attentive service and contemporary amenities to create the ultimate hospitality experience, AHG officials said.

“As the last surviving hotel of Saratoga’s Golden Age, beauty and appreciation is found everywhere–from the preparation of every culinary dish to the intentional design of the hotel’s spaces–the Adelphi aims to reinvent the style of Saratoga Springs’ bygone era luxury as modern luxury,” the company said.