By Paul Post

The Saratoga Economic Development Corp.  helped secure $1.5 billion in new business construction, which created and retained thousands of jobs during Dennis Brobston’s tenure as the nonprofit agency’s president.

This doesn’t include the GlobalFoundries’ $15 billion investment at Luther Forest Technology Campus in Malta, where plans are in the works for a second computer chip manufacturing plant that might cost up to $10 million and create 1,000 more jobs.

Brobston, 63, retired Dec. 31 after 14 years with SEDC.

As he looked back at his tenure, he said he expects the Malta project to fuel a whole new wave of business and job growth. That’s why SEDC’s focus the past few years has been on providing the industrial space and workforce housing needed for related, support firms to locate here and succeed.

“We’re seeing the need for these things because of the economic viability of our county for new jobs,” Brobston said. “My concern with Global is that when they pull the trigger on Fab 8.2 and start to get new people in here, that we have enough capacity to handle that.”

“It’s hard to get workers if you don’t have workforce housing,” he said. “You’ve got to have a place for people to live. It’s something people all across the country are talking about. It’s definitely needed in our county because it’s difficult for some people to afford rents, which have grown to $1,200 to $1,500 for sometimes outdated apartments, let alone buy a house.”

The Wesley Community announced a series of management promotions among its senior leadership team. 

Katie Lahoff was named chief financial officer, Katelynn Ethier was appointed executive director of The Wesley Foundation and Greg Dixon was promoted to chief development and marketing officer. 

In addition, Heather Roselan was hired as director of assisted living at Woodlawn Commons.

“We are pleased to announce the promotions of these exceptional individuals to their new leadership roles at The Wesley Community,” said J. Brian Nealon, CEO of The Wesley Community. “It is always a source of great pride when our existing leadership team members advance with us in their careers. Additionally, we remain committed to identifying and recruiting new talent as we embrace the future of senior care.”

Lahoff began her career at Wesley in 2006 as controller before being promoted to director of finance in 2018 and charged with overseeing all business office operations. In her new role as CFO, Lahoff will expand her oversight of business office operations to include admissions to The Wesley Health Care Center.

“Working for a mission-driven organization has given my career more meaning and purpose. The compassion Wesley provides to our residents, their families and our staff makes me proud to be part of a community that cares for all who walk through our doors,” said Lahoff.

Ethier joined The Wesley Community in 2016 as a foundation assistant. She earned a series of promotions beginning in 2017 to marketing and advancement associate, development manager in 2018 and assistant director of The Wesley Foundation in 2021. During her tenure as assistant director, Ethier led The Wesley Foundation’s event series and oversaw its grant program. 

In her new role as executive director of The Wesley Foundation, she will work with Wesley’s Senior Management team and the foundation’s board of directors to generate funding to enhance the lives of Wesley’s residents and clients.

By Paul Post

Cohoes-based Prime Companies has a project approved in Saratoga Springs and is waiting for the stars to align, financially speaking, before going ahead with construction.

That’s the firm’s strategy for a proposed upscale apartment and townhouse complex to be called Saratoga Station Square on the south side of Station Lane, off West Avenue, in Saratoga Springs, near the Amtrak station.

Plans call for a 2024 construction start on four, four-story apartment buildings with 338 units, 48 townhouses, a 376-space underground parking garage and amenities such as a saltwater swimming pool, outdoor fire pits, pizza ovens and kitchen, putting greens and bocce courts.

“Saratoga Springs is arguably the best place in Capital Region to live,” Prime Companies principal Dean Devito said. “It’s regularly voted one of the best small cities in America. When you get people coming in from out of town, deciding where to live, Saratoga constantly gets ranked as having the best quality of life.”

“Anybody who wants to take a train, you can just walk from the property and go to Montreal or New York City,” he said.

By Paul Post

The largest athletic competition in Lake Placid history—the World University Games—is coming to the north country on Jan. 12-22. It will have a large positive economic impact on the area, officials say.

There will be activities from Clarkson University, where some hockey games will be played, to Gore Mountain in North Creek, which is hosting free-style skiing and snowboarding competition.

About 2,500 athletes and coaches from 50 countries will take part, much more than the 1,072 competitors from 37 countries at the 1980 Winter Olympics.

The Lake George Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau said the Games are expected to generate about 3,700 hotel room nights, including some right in Lake George for activity taking place at Gore Mountain.

“It factors in not only athletes, but potential spectators who might be drawn here,” said Amanda Metzger, chamber marketing director. “It is an incredible opportunity to showcase North Creek and Gore and we look forward to welcoming these top athletes and helping spread the word about businesses that are open and all there is to do après-ski.”

The Games coincide with the already busy Martin Luther King Jr. holiday week, when many schools are on winter break, which should benefit area hotels, restaurants and retail shops considerably.

“It is definitely benefiting the local area, North Creek and surrounding towns,” said Julia Johnson, Gore Mountain marketing director.

All athletes competing at Gore Mountain will be housed and fed at a Lake George lodging establishment, which cannot be named for security reasons, Johnson said.

The health group aptihealth, a tech-driven behavioral healthcare provider built for higher acuity care based in Saratoga Springs, has named Tim Koehler as president and chief operating officer.

Koehler was chief operating officer at Bluestone Physician Services, where he spearheaded the company’s market expansion and transition from fee-for-service to value-based care, including the creation of Bluestone ACO. 

At Bluestone, Koehler built and led teams responsible for on-site medical care for high-risk patients living in residential care settings. As CEO and founder of Bluestone ACO, he created one of the highest performing ACO’s in the country when measured by savings per beneficiary.

Prior to Bluestone, Koehler spent nearly two decades at UnitedHealth Group (UHG), the 11th ranked company on the 2022 Fortune Global 500, in executive and management roles, the last of which was as president of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA). At DPCA, Koehler  lead development of the business model to support all core operational functions including call center, claims, eligibility, payments, network operations, fulfillment, capacity planning, product development and a proprietary technology platform. 

DPCA contracted with 27 UHC health plans and five non-UHC plans including three independent BCBS plans and over 350 self-funded employers.