By Christine Graf

When longtime friends and business partners Michael Dubb and Larry Roth began redevelopment of the historic Rip Van Dam in downtown Saratoga Springs, they planned for the 200,000-square-foot building to include 84 apartments. 

They are now considering marketing the units as condominiums. 

“Nothing about the building is changing,” said Michael Dubb who is also the owner of Beechwood Homes on Long Island. “The only question is whether it will be rental or sale on the apartment side of it.”

As part of the redevelopment project, The Adelphi and the former Rip Van Dam will be connected and operate as one entity. The building that housed the Rip Van Dam is being expanded and renovated, and the exterior façade has already been updated. In addition to the 84 apartment or condominiums, the building will feature 31 hotel rooms, underground parking, a spa, a state-of-the art gym, meeting rooms, and a business center. 

Saratoga Springs city officials and SiFi Networks celebrated the official groundbreaking of the Saratoga Springs FiberCity project on Oct. 25, a fiberoptic network being built citywide to improve digital connectivity in the city. 

Once complete, the $32 million venture, being funded privately, will see high-speed fiber infrastructure available to every household, business, and institution within city limits, officials said. 

Work to construct the network began earlier this year with the first homes scheduled to go-live in the fall of 2023. The entire city is slated for completion in 2024. Officials also announced that the internet service provider GigabitNow has signed on to be first provider on the network, offering speeds up to 10 Gigabits per second—among the fastest internet speeds in the United States, according to SiFi.

“This is a once-in-a-generation infrastructure project that will usher in a new era of high-speed connectivity, digital inclusion, digital readiness, and new opportunities to expand and innovate in our local economy,” said Jason Golub, city commissioner of Public Works.

The Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce is running its Love Our Locals $20.22 promotion at local restaurants through the remainder of the year.

The campaign supports local businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout Saratoga County.

“When the pandemic hit, we were focused on saving our locals,” said Todd Shimkus, president, Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce. “The outpouring of support to help boost the county’s economic recovery over the last few years has been monumental and we want the momentum to continue. Our community is so vibrant thanks, in part, to our local businesses and nonprofit organizations. We want to continue to show them the love.”

Residents and tourists can support a Saratoga County business or nonprofit by spending or donating $20.22 or more at participating eateries. They will be eligible to enter a gift card giveaway. Individuals are encouraged to email a photo of their receipt of $20.22 or more to loveourlocals@saratoga.org for entry.

By Jill Nagy

A 5,520-square-foot lumberyard, building supply, and design center has been added to Saratoga Quality Hardware at 110 Excelsior Ave. in Saratoga Springs.

The new addition was partially opened in July and now is fully expanded.

“We had some kinks we wanted to work out,” said Louise Eddy, who owns Saratoga Quality Hardware and its sister store in Hudson Falls, Burgoyne Quality Hardware.

“This lumberyard has been on the drawing board for a long time,” Eddy said. “We are excited to expand our selection for our Saratoga area customers and bring them the same premium lumber and high quality building materials we have been selling in our Hudson Falls lumberyard.”

The Hudson Falls store added a drive-through lumberyard—consisting of two flatbed trucks with forklifts—in 2002. The Saratoga yard is a conventional store, not a drive-through. In addition to lumber, it sells roofing materials, siding, and other building materials.

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame recently named Jessica Cloer as its new museum curator.

Cloer comes to the museum with more than a decade of experience working in museums. She began her career sharing the story of America’s founding as a park ranger at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Since 2013, she has been a registrar at the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum at Texas A&M University, Harvard Art Museums in Cambridge, Mass., Rose Art Museum at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass., and the Stanley Museum of Art at the University of Iowa.

Also, Matt Reichel was hired as museum educator.

A graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Mass., where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History, Cloer went on to earn a Master of Liberal Arts from Harvard University. In her free time, she enjoys visiting museums and historic sites, exploring the outdoors and traveling.

“Jessica and Matt are great additions to our team at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame,” said Cate Masterson, museum director. “Both are talented and proven professionals in their respective disciplines and will be tremendous assets to the museum in their new positions.”

The Christmas tree that will stand in Rockefeller  Center in midtown Manhattan for the 2022-23 holiday season is one that was grown in Queensbury.

Standing at 82 feet tall, 50 feet wide and weighing in at 14 tons, the approximately 90-year-old Norway Spruce was selected from a private property, not a tree stand.

It is arriving at Rockefeller Center in New York City on Nov. 12, according to center officials.

They said last year’s tree, from Maryland, was only 79 feet tall and weight 12 tons, but was decked out with 50,000 lights and topped with a star weighing 900 pounds.

This year’s spruce will be topped with a star made from 3 million Swarovski crystals, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind in 2018.

The iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree tradition dates back to 1933 and has endured for eight decades as a catalyst for some metropolis holiday spirit.

The annual tree lighting ceremony will be televised on “Christmas at Rockefeller Center” on Nov. 30, courtesy of NBC at 8 p.m.

By Christine Graf

Capital Region native and real estate company owner Marcia Murray recently opened her third office at 56 Clifton Country Road, Suite 102A, in Clifton Park. 

Murray, a former ReMax agent, has 20 years of real estate experience. Four years ago, she ventured out on her own and opened Marcia Murray Realty & Associates on Putnam Street in Saratoga Springs. Last year, she opened a second office in Albany.

When Murray announced plans to open a third office in Clifton Park, many people questioned her timing, she said. The real estate market had cooled and interest rates were on the rise. 

“No one would have opened an office in this market. But I’ve always looked around, and what everyone else is doing, I don’t do. And it’s always been successful for me,” said Murray, noting that the Clifton Park office is now her busiest.

According to Murray, she had no idea what to expect when she opened her own real estate company just four short years ago. 

By Jill Nagy

Inspired by a perceived commonality between coffee and motorcycles, Jamie Rock and Ray Newberry opened the Kickstart Cafe at 33 Ferry St. in Schuylerville. 

According to their website, “Coffee and motorcycles share many fundamental values. Everyone has their own personal taste and the two things bring everyone together.”

Although, “there is a sprinkle of motorcycle people” among the clientele, the cafe is attracting mainly a family-oriented crowd, according to Rock. 

They specialize in coffee and breakfast sandwiches, he said. The coffee comes from Iron Coffee Co., in Hoosick Falls whose owner, Mike Milliron, provided advice and taught the new barristas how to brew and serve coffee. 

“I guarantee it’s some of the best coffee you ever had,” Rock said, adding that it is a bold Italian roast. They also offer a full menu of teas.

By Christine Graf

Bill and Judy Morris, owners of MORR-IS-Stored, have responded to the increase in demand for self-storage units by expanding their storage facility at 210 Old Gick Road in Wilton. 

They opened their storage business in 2000 and now have two locations.

“We started out with four buildings. The facility that we built was nicer than average, and it really took off right away,” said Bill Morris. “We continued to expand slowly. We started out with 100 units, and we will be up to around 1,800 units. This was our fourth expansion.”

Their flagship location at 210 Old Gick Road is a nonclimate-controlled storage facility. When the expansion is complete, it will be home to 800 units. 

“We got approved by the Town of Wilton for 100,000 square feet a little over a year ago. That included our boat and RV expansion. We completed half of that in May of this year. We’re going to let that fill up, and then our next go around will probably be next spring,” he said. “The problem with self-storage is that you build a building with absolutely no tenants. We take a fairly conservative approach. As it fills up, we will move on.”

By Christine Graf

Local builder and real estate broker Cecil Provost has relocated his company’s headquarters to 570 Maple Ave. on Route 9.

Provost is the owner of Saratoga Construction, Saratoga Modular Homes, Saratoga Log Homes, and ProRealty New York Inc. He specializes in building energy-efficient custom and modular homes at affordable prices.

Before making the move to the new headquarters, the company spent 10 years in a leased space on Lake Avenue. Prior to that, they were located on Putnam Street.

According to Provost, the decision to relocate occurred after the perfect property became available. It was purchased in May for $610,000.

“This opportunity came along, and it’s a great location. The building needed some renovations, but we think it will be a nice investment.”

As part of the renovations, Provost transformed the four-bedroom residential home into an office. A 45×50 foot metal garage is now being used as a warehouse.