Saratoga Business Journal

American Institute Of Architects New York State Gives Award To Phinney Design Group

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

Phinney Design Group in Saratoga Springs, recently won the People’s Choice award for this Bio Building, part of the Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake.

Courtesy Phinney Design Group

Phinney Design Group in Saratoga Springs, recently won the People’s Choice award for 2016 from American Institute of Architects (AIA) New York State.

The People’s Choice award winner was selected by popular vote online, open to the public.

The company was recognized for its design efforts on the Bio Building, part of the Wild Center/Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks in Tupper Lake. The mission of the museum is to “ignite an enduring passion for the Adirondacks where people and nature can thrive together and set an example for the world.”

Michael Phinney, principal architect, accepted the award on behalf of Phinney Design Group at the AIA New York State Design Awards event in Saratoga Springs on Sept. 30.

Earlier in the year, Phinney Design was awarded an Excelsior Award from AIA New York State for the Bio Building. The winners of the Excelsior Awards are chosen for providing a model of excellence for state-funded design, professional practice and advocacy.

Apartment Rentals In Saratoga County Are Strong; 'Walkable' To Downtown Is Important

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

Ellsworth Commons is one of the many apartment complexes in Saratoga County.

By Jill Nagy

A mix of millennials and empty nesters are keeping the Saratoga rental market booming.

One area property manager said that the proportion of those renters attracted to new, higher-end, apartments is far higher than the national average of 20 percent.

With rents on new luxury apartments ranging from approximately $1,600 a month for a studio apartment to $3,700 a month for a larger apartment, a significant portion of the apartment market is under-served.

“We are not serving the young professional needing something in the $1,000-a-month range,” said Jason Thomas of Roohan Realty in Saratoga Springs. They have to go to older properties with fewer amenities or, in some cases, join others in similar circumstances to rent a house together.

Be that as it may, Thomas and his colleagues in the business are optimistic.

Peter Rosecrans of Burns Property Management, which has numerous apartments in Saratoga Springs, said “things are going well,” both locally and in the rental industry as a whole. “Members of the millennial generation are really waiting on purchasing a house.”

Real Estate Agent Scott Varley Joins A New Group, Linking Up With Keller Williams Inc.

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

Scott Varley has joined Keller Williams Realty Inc. He has an office on Broadway.

By R.J. DeLuke

After 27 years with RealtyUSA, well-known real estate agent Scott Varley has parted company with the group with which he was a top seller.

Varley has joined Keller Williams Realty Inc., a company based in Texas that is said to be the largest real estate franchise, by agent count, in the world with more than 800 offices and 149,000 associates across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Varley serves customers in Saratoga, Warren, Washington, Albany, Schenectady and Rensselaer counties. He said the move enables him, potentially, to branch out even more.

With RealtyUSA he “reached the point where we had outgrown the model,” he said.

“RealtyUSA is local, not national,” he noted.

Varley said he did research Keller Williams for over a year and decided the time was right for a switch.

The Lofts In Malta Filling Up; GlobalFoundries Investment Expected To Spawn More Growth

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

The Lofts at Saratoga BLVD in Malta will have 214 townhouse-style apartments.

Courtesy Hayes Development

By Maureen Werther

The Lofts at Saratoga BLVD is one of Malta’s newest apartment communities offering maintenance-free living and many of the amenities that are becoming staples of apartment living.

According to Robert Hayes of Hayes Development, the company broke ground on the $36-million project in 2014 and, when the project is complete, there will be a total of 214 townhouse-style one- and two-bedroom apartments, with attached garages.

Hayes said the recent announcement made by GlobalFoundries to invest $1 billion at its Malta facility in the next few years will continue to fuel both residential and commercial growth in the surrounding area and his company will continue to pursue real estate development projects in Saratoga County.

To date, 122 units have already been completed and Hayes said they have a 95 percent occupancy rate. He expects the remaining 92 units to be ready for occupancy by Spring 2017. Hayes noted that the market studies his company performed all indicated that it would take approximately six months to achieve full occupancy once the units were finished.

Latest Data Shows Sale Of Homes In Saratoga County Remains Strong; Sellers Market Seen

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

In the Capital Region sales jumped 4 percent to 1,183 houses sold in the region during August 2016, according to the Greater Capital Association of Realtors (GCAR).

According to data released in September, the city of Saratoga Springs had 61 new listings in August, compared to 46 in the same month of 2015, a hike of 32.6 percent. There were 39 closed sales, up 11.5 percent from August of 2015.

The number of closed sales in the city rose from 35 to 39, an 11.5 percent hike for the month, and the median sales price dropped in August from $381,000 to $351,000, a dip of 8.1 percent.

Overall in the region, GCAR said the number of homes for sale was down compared to this time last year. Inventory levels market-wide decreased 24.7 percent to 6,554 units. Months’ supply of inventory was down 34 percent to 6.6 months. Demand is showing no signs of changing as inventory continues to decline.

In the Capital District, new listings dropped 3 percent from August 2015 to 1,652 homes placed on the market last month. Sellers are receiving 95.2 percent of original list price, with homes spending an average of 63 days on market until sale.

Greater Capital Association of Realtors President Marie Bettini of Albany Realty Group said now is the time to sell.

“As inventory continues to drop, the contradictions in this market are evident. Sellers should feel confident enough to list homes at fair prices and receive meaningful offers in a healthy residential real estate and overall positive economic environment,” Bettini said.

Maria Billis Says Inspiration and Motivation Are Keys To Her Success As A Businesswoman

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

Maria Billis is an independent consultant for Young Living Essential Oils.

By Jennifer Farnsworth

Maria Billis just might have the key to success. She lives the mantra that if you believe in what you are doing, and love doing it, then success will follow.

This Saratoga business woman was once the owner of a popular restaurant before she made a career change, which has led her to being a powerful entrepreneur.

Billis works as an independent consultant for Young Living Essential Oils, a wellness company that focuses on both the aspects of physical and emotional healthy living through everyday products. The company is centered around nature’s living energy, while allowing its consultants to enjoy a financial rewards program by selling its products.

Billis said she became involved with the company through a trusted friend.

“A close friend of mine gave me the Young Living Wellness products as a gift and I fell in love with them. Wellness has always been an integral part of my life and after sharing both the products and business opportunity, I knew this was would be both amazing and exciting and that I would be very successful at it,” said Billis.

Jesse Elwert Peters Uses Native Species To Create Beautiful Landscapes And Gardens

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

Jesse Elwert Peters starting her landscape design and installation on a part-time basis.

By Maureen Werther

Like many entrepreneurs, Jesse Elwert Peters’ path to start Jessecology and become Saratoga County’s only grower of all native plants and designer of all native gardens has been a circuitous one. But, like most winding paths, it has taught her a great deal about who and what she wanted to be.

She grew up surrounded by family members who were avid gardeners, farmers and proponents of ecologically-friendly forestation and sustainability. One aunt has a master’s degree in ecological forestry, and another has a working farm in Vermont. But the aunt who made the greatest impact on Elwert Peters growing up lives in Brooklyn and has had an elaborate roof garden for years. It was there, ironically, on a rooftop in the world’s busiest city, that she first became interested in gardening.

“She helped me plant my first garden and we also went to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens together. It was there that I got my creative inspiration,” she said.

After high school, she wasn’t ready to go on to four years of study. Instead, she travelled west, ultimately landing in Yosemite, where worked for four years in the Yosemite National Park.

When Elwert Peters made the decision to return home, she earned an undergraduate degree in horticulture, ecology and botany She has spent the past 11 years cultivating her greenhouse of indigenous plants and educating consumers on the benefits of using all-native plants in residential as well as commercial gardens and landscapes.

Starting out doing landscape design and installation on a part-time basis while paying off her school loans, she was able to turn her business into a full-time career six years ago and, by the end of that first year, her business was self-sustaining.

Jennifer Ricupero Gets Her Clients Outdoors As Much As Possible In RAW Fitness Programs

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

Jennifer Ricupero, owner of RAW Fitness in Saratoga Springs

By Lisa Balschunat

Four years ago, Jennifer Ricupero packed her bags and her business in Tampa and headed back home to the Capital Region. With three degrees in hand–a master’s in education, bachelor’s in recreation and leisure management, and minor in business administration, and years of experience as a fitness director in Vermont, Florida and then Albany–Ricupero landed in Saratoga Springs with an intention and a business plan to help people feel better about themselves through physical activities and recreation.

“When I started RAW Fitness, I wanted to get people outdoors. Deep down we all crave to be outside,” she said. “It’s human nature. The idea of RAW was and still is being ‘ready and willing’ to find a physical activity that makes you happy, then weaving physical and mental goals into that activity to develop the body as a whole.”

At first, some of her classes were held in a studio, but most were held outdoors–on a path, in the woods, in Congress Park, in a client’s backyard.

In 2012, Ricupero, an AFAA-certified fitness professional, opened RAW Fitness on Beekman Street in a small rented garage space, that she transformed it into a workout studio. She offered only three classes at the onset, but as word got out about her energetic and down-to-earth style of teaching, her classes started to filled.

She outgrew the 300-square-foot space in six months. She moved in April 2014, and then again in September 2015 to her present location at 51 Caroline St. RAW Fitness now employs five part-time instructors and two-full time staff. All instructors are certified in CPR, First Aid and AED, and they complete a one-month RAW instructor training, Ricupero said.

“Most of my instructors were in my classes before they decided they wanted to teach,” she said. “When they begin teaching they follow the basic vision of RAW, but they can build own class personality.”

Woman Flies Helicopter, Gives Flight Lessons, Provides Transportation Out Of Local Airport

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

Heather Howley is the owner of Independent Helicopters.

By Susan E. Campbell

Adventurous young women often make their dreams take flight by starting their own businesses. For Heather Howley, taking flight literally means putting a 1,500-pound helicopter into the air every day.

Howley is chief pilot and CEO of Independent Helicopters, a flight services company she founded in 2008 at age 25.

Originally from Niskayuna and educated at Hudson Valley Community College, Howley was in California working in her field of study, biology, when she decided to follow up on a new-found interest in flying that unfolded while traveling through Europe.

She took a flying course at a community college in San Diego, where her female instructor and mentor suggested piloting helicopters rather than planes “because the industry is more stable than the airlines.”

But it was a free ride for the helicopter students that changed her life.

“I was hooked,” Howley said.

M2CON Conference Oct. 19 In Lake George Offers Practical Digital Marketing Sessions

October 7, 2016November 8, 2017

Participants listen to a presentation at last year’s M2CON conference for business owners, executives and marketing-communications professionals. This year’s conference is Oct. 19. in Lake George.

Courtesy Mannix Marketing

Registration is open for M2Con, the one-day conference from Mannix Marketing designed for business owners, executives and marketing-communications professionals from small and medium-sized businesses.

The conference will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19, from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Fort William Henry Hotel & Conference Center in Lake George.

M2Con 2016 will feature tactical digital marketing sessions with advice attendees can immediately put into action at their companies.

“This conference will be jam packed with strategies businesses can employ to get more traffic through their doors,” said company founder and CEO Sara Mannix. “We received so many rave reviews after our previous conferences because businesses could take what we showed them and immediately put it to work for themselves and get results.”