Category Archives: Business News

City Officials To Review Parking Concerns, Traffic, Before Decision On High Rock Site

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This rendering shows part of Highrock Village, proposed by Paramount Realty Group as a mutli-use complex on the city-owned parking lot between Maple Avenue and High Rock.

BY R.J. DELUKE

Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen said a
technical review team is going over the two proposals
for a multi-use project on the city-owned land
along High Rock, Maple and Lake avenues–currently
a parking lot–and she hopes to hear from
that group by the end of the year.

They are both expansive, multimillion dollar
projects that would–if eventually approved by
the city–result in a combination of shops, apartments
and parking spaces. Representatives of two
development groups gave presentations on Nov.
10 at a special City Council meeting. The projects
differ, but both specify parking spaces for Saratoga
City Center, the general public and residents who
would occupy the proposed housing.

Yepsen said Dec. 1 that the technical review
team was appointed by the council.

At the end of the November meeting, the city
council compiled a list of questions they want answered
by both development groups. The technical review
team did the same, and all have been sent
off and are awaiting comment. The mayor said the
same questions went to both groups.

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American Natural Gas Will Build Natural Gas Fueling Station In W.J. Grande Industrial Park

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This architect’s rendering depicts the
compressed natural gas station being built.

American Natural Gas (ANG), a distributor of
alternative motor fuels, will unveil its first public
compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station in
the W.J. Grande Industrial Park, Saratoga Springs.

Currently under construction, the facility will be
just off the Northway, located halfway between New
York City and Montreal.

“We’re proud to run our business from Saratoga
Springs and are excited to be building this station
in our home town,” said Drew West, CEO of ANG.
“We believe this will be an opportunity for those
that desire to switch to a cleaner, more reliable fuel
solution, but don’t have the luxury or budget to build
their own infrastructure.”

ANG has guided regional fleets, such as Tops
Friendly Markets in Buffalo and Casella Waste
Systems in Rutland, Vt., through the conversion to
CNG. In return, the fleets have reduced their emissions,
carbon footprint, and dependency on foreign
oil, company officials said.

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Lillian's Restaurant, A Downtown Fixture For 40 Years, Being Sold; Will Close As Of Jan. 1

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For over 40 years, restaurateur Ray Morris
served home-style meals in the relaxed Victorian
setting of Lillian’s Restaurant on Broadway
in downtown Saratoga Springs.

After four decades, Morris will leave the
demands of restaurant ownership and start a
new chapter in life beginning in 2016.

He said someone approached him to buy the
60-year-old, multi-story building.

“I have decided to sell 408 Broadway and will
be closing Lillian’s doors at the end of the year
after a New Year’s Eve farewell,” Morris said in
a statement issued in November.

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Oakcliff Bed And Breakfast In Halfmoon Was Host To Presidents And American Statesmen

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John Szemansco and Susan Ruckdeschel stand outside Oakcliff Bed and Breakfast located at 78
Church Hill Road in Halfmoon, a home where some famous U.S. statesmen have stayed.

BY JILL NAGY

George Washington didn’t sleep there, but four
other American presidents did: Ulysses S. Grant,
Chester A. Arthur, Rutherford B. Hayes, and James
Garfield, boasts John Szemansco, owner and
host of Oakcliff Bed and Breakfast located at 78
Church Hill Road in Halfmoon.

Szemansco did not host them personally, of
course. That distinction belongs to the second
owner of the home, T.G. Younglove, the first
speaker of the New York State Assembly and onetime
state Republican Party chairman. Younglove
lived in the house from 1850 to 1882 and was
speaker in the 1860s. (The house was built in 1835
by County Judge Duncan MacMartin).

However, the current host can offer guests use
of the Grant Library and rooms named for the
former presidents.

That history has helped attract guests to the
inn.

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Group Proposes Aquatic Center In Malta With Multiple Pools For Teaching, Training, More

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BY ANDREA PALMER

An aquatic center is being proposed in Malta
would have multiple swimming pools for training,
competing and fitness swimming.

“A group of us got together about three years ago
and said, ‘wouldn’t it be great to have a 50 meter pool
in the Capital District?’ The closest Olympic-sized
pool is about two hours away, and we all thought
there was a need in our market for it,” said Tara
Sullivan, one of three officers for what would be
called the Adirondack Aquatic Center.

The group hired a consulting company to conduct
a feasibility study.

“Our consultant is very highly regarded in the
competitive aquatics world. He was president of
USA Swimming, and he writes for FINA (the governing
body of Olympic swimming and aquatic
sports),” said Sullivan.

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Scholarship Created At Empire State College In Memory Of Environmentalist Amy Stock

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Amy Stock was an adjunct lecturer and
professor with SUNY Empire State College.

The Amy Stock Memorial Scholarship in
Sustainability has been established by the Stock
family and the Empire State College Foundation,
in memory of Amy L. Stock, who died July
19, in Albany at the age of 48, the victim of a
drunk driver.

An adjunct lecturer and professor with
SUNY Empire State College’s Center for
Distance Learning for nearly a decade, she
designed many of the courses she taught on
ecology and the environment. In 2008, Stock
co-founded Sustainable Saratoga, a grassroots
advocacy group established to educate people
living in the greater Saratoga Springs community
about the benefits of achieving environmental
sustainability.

In reflecting on her life, the Stock family
shared their thoughts with the college.

“Whether Amy was composting, gardening,
taking the bus, riding her bike or reusing plastic
Ziploc bags, she lived her life in a sustainable
way every day,” said a family statement. “She
believed and demonstrated how one person
could make a difference, which is why teaching
and advocacy for environmental sustainability
were such an important part of her life.

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Ballston Spa Business & Professional Assoc. Gives Out Its Annual Beautification Awards

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Henry’s Tavern at 19 Front St. in Ballston Spa won two awards for both interior and exterior
renovation at the BSBPA’s annual beautification awards ceremony.

The Ballston Spa Business & Professional
Association, in partnership with Curtis Lumber,
honored business owners, residents, and nonprofit
organizations whose renovations, restoration,
and beautification efforts have enhanced
the Ballston Spa community over the past year.

The winners were chosen from nominations
submitted by others in the community.

At a reception on Nov. 16 at the First Presbyterian
Church, each award recipient was given a
framed certificate along with a Curtis Lumber
gift card in recognition of their efforts.

The presentations were made by BSBPA board
member and beautification chairperson Michelle
Burlingame, Curtis Lumber representative Doug
Ford, and Pete Bardunias of the Chamber of
Southern Saratoga County.

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'Rebuild NY Now' Coalition Seeks State Funds For Infrastructure Projects Across The State

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Rebuild NY Now, a broad-based coalition
seeking to raise public awareness about the
issues impacting New York state’s infrastructure,
continued its campaign and call for
parity in November, meeting in Albany with
local elected officials, members of organized
labor, and private local businesses.

This coalition called on the State Legislature
and the governor to include funding
parity between the capital plans of the Metropolitan
Transit Authority and the New York
State Department of Transportation in the
2016-17 Executive Budget.

Mike Elmendorf, president and CEO of
Rebuild NY Now, said the coalition has come
together “because our crumbling roads and
bridges are in serious need of attention and,
more importantly, are in serious need of
a multibillion dollar capital commitment
from the state. Renewing a commitment to
the historic parity agreement between roads
and bridges and transit will not only create
jobs and save New Yorkers money, but it will
ensure the safety and well-being of Capital
District families who every day ride on roads
and bridges that are in a state of disrepair.”

Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy
said, “Capital Region drivers and their families
deserve safe and reliable roads and bridges
just as New York City commuters deserve a
transit system that is second to none. Many
commute every day on roads and bridges that
need to be fixed. We must restore parity to
New York’s millions of drivers who are pay
billions only to travel on unsafe roads and
bridges.”

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Adirondack Trust Co. Breaks Record In 2015 For U.S. Small Business Administration Loans

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The Adirondack Trust Co. announced that
2015 has been a record-breaking year for its
lending through the U.S. Small Business Administration.

For the year ending Sept. 30, the Adirondack
Trust Co. approved 38 SBA 7(a) loans, amounting
to more than $3.2 million, bank officials
said. In 2014, the bank approved 29 SBA 7(a)
loans, amounting to $1.8 million, making
2015’s year-over-year approvals an increase of
31 percent in volume and 78 percent in dollars.

“With this company record, we are showing
our community that we are committed to its
growth and the small businesses that make
this area strong,” bank President Stephan von
Schenk said. “Since our founding in 1901, this
has been the center of our work. Every day, we
work closely with locally owned and operated
businesses, and we are proud to be able to help
them grow by making SBA and other financing
programs available. We are only as strong as
our community, and the core of our mission is
to continually serve that community.”

In another milestone year, 2014 saw the
company’s transition from an active SBA
Small Community Bank Lender in the Capital
Region, to a Large Community Bank Lender,
which includes banks with $1-$10 billion in
assets, officials said.

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YMCA Of Greater New York Official Will Take The Helm As CEO Of Saratoga Regional YMCA

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Sean Andrews, a former YMCA official in
New York City, is the new CEO of the local Y.

The Saratoga Regional YMCA Board of Directors
named Sean Andrews, formerly of the YMCA
of Greater New York, the organization’s chief
executive officer.

The unanimous decision was reached after a
comprehensive, volunteer-led national search by
the Saratoga Regional YMCA CEO Search Committee
composed of board of directors and board
of trustees, officials said.

He begins his tenure on Dec. 15.

“We are thrilled and excited that Sean will be
at the helm of the Saratoga Regional YMCA as
we enter our 150th year of service to the broader
Saratoga community,” said Jason MacGregor,
president of the Saratoga Regional YMCA board
of directors.

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