MVP building to become apartments
June 21, 2007 at 9:44 am by Chris Churchill
Schenectady county and city officials this morning said taxpayer money will be used to help convert the MVP Building in downtown Schenectady into 32 luxury apartments.

The building, vacant since health insurer MVP relocated to new headquarters, has 43,000 square feet of space.

The Union Street building is located near to the Stockade Historic District. The building is owned by Reza Mahoutchian, president of Maxim Engineering.

Mahoutchian, as part of a retrofit expected to cost about $2.5 million, plans to utilize the ground floor for office or retail space, and upgrade the Union Street facade. Housing in the building is expected to be ready by the end of 2008.

Metroplex, a taxpayer-funded county economic development agency, will provide a $100,000 loan at 4 percent interest and a $60,000 facade grant to support the project. Mahoutchian paid Metroplex $75,000 to purchase a nearby parking lot.

The City Planning Commission has already approved the project.

Storefront upgrades planned on upper Union Street
May 10, 2007 at 10:38 am by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
The Schenectady neighborhood will get $250,000 in matching funds from the Metroplex Development Authority to continue work on thre Upper Union Street Facade Program.

At least four projects to rehabilitate a total of 10 storefronts are in the works for the current construction season.

So far, 12 buildings representing 23 businesses have had their facades improved. Businesses include Northeastern Fine Jewelry, Gershon’s Deli, Scotti’s Restaurant, Ferri Formals and Union Street Aquarium.

“Metroplex is pleased to work with (the Upper Union Street Business Improvement District) and is proud to co-sponsor and help fund this program,” said Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen.

Applicants can contact Anne Savage at 273-8980 for more information about the program.

The Katbird Shop, a craft store on Liberty Street in Schenectady, will hold hold a grand re-opening Thursday after completing a $50,000 facade-improvement project.

The three-month rehab resulted in a new stucco finish and a new awning, among other things. Half of the cost was paid through a matching program offered by the Metroplex Development Authority and the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp.

The store did not close during the renovations.

The event takes place at 11:30 a.m. at the store at 425 Liberty St. The store sells unique gifts, pottery, jewelry, kids clothing, natural soaps and other items.

Bechtel agrees to keep jobs in Schenectady
February 21, 2007 at 10:19 am by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
The company said it would move just 70 jobs to Pittsburgh, considerably fewer than the 260 it planned to transfer under a consolidation of Bechtel Plant Machinery Inc. units in the two cities.

In return, Bechtel will share in the benefits of a $3 million package of investments and assistance at its downtown facility, part of which will be turned into a technology complex.

Instead, 130 of the 290 Schenectady jobs will remain here, another 30 employees will have the chance to interview for positions at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory in nearby Niskayuna, and 60 will retire.

Workers at the plant engineer and procure parts for the nuclear propulsion systems of Navy ships.

The decision by Bechtel and the U.S. Navy came in a joint announcement this morning from U.S. Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, U.S. Rep. Michael R. McNulty, Schenectady County Legislature Chair Susan E. Savage, and Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton.

Bechtel Plant Machinery plans to sign a long-term lease for the Schenectady facility ensuring that Schenectady County will continue to play a major role in the Navy nuclear program, the joint statement said.

“Because of the outstanding leadership and quick response from Senator Schumer, Senator Clinton, Congressman McNulty and Governor Spitzer, we were able to save 130 good-paying jobs from leaving New York State, and keeping them in downtown Schenectady for good,” said Stratton. “Working together with the county, and with our congressional delegation in Washington, we have pulled victory from the jaws of defeat. Indeed, when upstate New York stands together, nothing can stand in our way.”

Schumer said that while “every job loss truly hurts, there is no question that today we have achieved a significant success for Schenectady and all of the Capital Region.”

Savage said the jobs saved represented more than $20 million in direct economic impact annually in the Capital Region.

Empire State Development Corp., the state’s economic development arm, will provide a $2 million grant to the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority to subdivide the space at the Bechtel plant, creating an engineering center for the company and office space that is in move-in condition for other employers interested in locating at the complex.

ESD also will provide a total of $1 million to help underwrite lease and operational costs.





The democrats actually consider offering Bectel a $3 milllion bribe to continue to do business in our state a victory.  If we lowered taxes, and made our state more business friendly, comanies would want to do business in NY.

Rensselaer architect new Schenectady facade czar
February 19, 2007 at 5:07 pm by Alan Wechsler, Business writer
Dave Sadowsky, an architect in Petersburgh, was hired by the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp. to oversee the city’s facade improvement program.

The program, now in its fourth year, provides matching grants to business owners looking to improve the public face of their storefronts. To date, more than 49 projects have received money.

The new part-time position was created last year, and Sadowsky is the first person to hold the job.  He will be paid on a per-project basis, with a cap of $90,000 per year.

Sadowsky, who has been practicing for more than 20 years, has worked on a number of Schenectady projects in the past 15 years.

His job will be to look at existing facades and come up with plans to restore the buildings to their original character.

Building owners can get up to $30,000 per facade under the matching-grant program. The grant money comes from the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority. In 2006-07, $400,000 in facade grants is available.

New Schenectady restaurant goes to the frogs
February 1, 2007 at 11:55 am by Alan Wechsler, Business writer
The Backstage Pub & Grille in Schenectady opens at 5 p.m. today, offering premium sandwiches, gourmet burgers and beer-battered frogs legs known as “Stage Jumper” — a name inspired by nearby Proctor’s Theater.

The restaurant, originally to be called “Boboreno’s,” is located at 501 Smith St., just behind the theater.

Owners Bob and Shelby White have invested nearly $500,000 in the facade and interior renovations. The facade, which resembles an Adirondack Camp, was partially financed by a $60,000 grant from the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority via the Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp.

The 8,000-square-foot space can hold up to 90 patrons. It will also offer free delivery.

Kingston attorney has plans for Schenectady
January 10, 2007 at 12:14 pm by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
Barrett Street Realty, owned by Kingston attorney Ralph M. Kirk, has purchased a 12,000-square-foot building at 146-148 Barrett St. around the corner from Proctor’s Theatre in downtown Schenectady.

Kirk said he plans to open a law office in the building, and will work with the Metroplex Development Authority and with Miranda Realty Group to market the remaining space in the four-story building to other businesses.

The Downtown Schenectady Improvement Corp. and Metroplex will work with the new owner to renovate the building’s exterior. The project is eligible for a facade matching grant of up to $30,000. Barrett Street Realty also is eligible for Empire Zone and Federal Renewal Community Credits.

An adjoining building at 154 Barrett St. also is undergoing exterior renovations with a $24,000 matching grant from Metroplex and the Downtown Schenectady facade program.

No purchase price was revealed. Kirk plans to open his office in April. His firm concentrates on workers compensation and occupational injury claims.

Advertising agency to move to downtown Schenectady
December 22, 2006 at 11:55 am by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
The Mossey Group, now on Balltown Road, will take space in a new mixed-use retail, office and residential project being developed in a row of buildings next to Proctor’s Theatre downtown.

Developers of the space are Angelo Mazzone and Paul Sciocchetti, who recently acquired the buildings from the Metroplex Development Authority.(for how much $$$) The advertising agency will occupy 4,000 square feet on the third floor of the complex between Proctor’s and the new cinema being built at Broadway and State.

“As a lifelong Schenectadian, I’m very excited to be joining the downtown community at a time of tremendous growth and creative energy,” said Larry Mossey, the agency’s president. “We hope to lend support and momentum to downtown’s revival for many years to come.”

The Mossey Group’s clients include Saratoga Gaming and Raceway, The Gazette Newspapers, WRGB, Ch. 6 and SEFCU.

Mazzone plans to open a new restaurant on the ground floor of the four-building complex. He already operates the high-end steakhouse 677 Prime in Albany and the Glen Sanders Mansion in Scotia, and provides catering services at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center.

Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen called the project one “that will add vibrancy to downtown.”

It wasn’t clear how quickly the agency plans to move downtown, nor whether it will receive any assistance from Metroplex or other agencies.

Tech firm takes space and brings jobs to downtown Schenectady
December 13, 2006 at 12:15 pm by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
Alarius Systems, which has offices in Las Vegas and Albany, has leased space at 411 State St. in downtown Schenectady and will create 25 jobs there, the Metroplex Development Authority announced this morning.

The company develops Web-based information management software used by small and medium-sized businesses for management of documents, Web content and customer relationships. The company is working with California-based Corent Technologies on a business combination that will lead to development and sales operations being established in Schenectady. The company will no longer have an office in Albany.

The new office space is on the second floor of a building that is being redeveloped by Big House founder Steve Waite. Metroplex said the Big House helped revitalize a section of downtown Albany around Broadway.

Occupancy is expected next spring. Metroplex is providing a $25,000 relocation grant and a $50,000 loan to help the company move to Schenectady.

Metroplex chairman outlines plans for coming year
December 7, 2006 at 10:31 am by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
The downtown Schenectady post office might be turned into a marketplace like Faneuil Hall even while retaining its postal functions, several landmarks buildings would be converted into lofts and other above-market-price housing, and the old Foster Hotel might be taken over through the eminent domain process if the landlord won’t allow it to be sold, the chairman of the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority told a large audience at the Holiday Inn on Nott Terrace this morning.

Ray Gillen spoke at a breakfast meeting of the Chamber of Schenectady County, describing the progress that Metroplex has made in the past two years and what it hopes to accomplish in the next two years.

Throughout his talk, he emphasized the importance to the entire county of a vibrant downtown, and the efforts to make the city busy both during the day and evening hours.

Metroplex hasn’t been able to reach a deal with the owner of the Foster building, which continues to decay, leading Gillen to suggest taking the property through eminent domain procedures.

He also talked about the so-called “pizza block” across State Street from Proctor’s, which has several pizza parlors, and the possibility of demolishing the three buildings in that row closest to the Jay Street pedestrian mall and replacing them with a new structure that would be designed to fit with the historic character of the streetscape.

And talks are under way to redo the modern facade of the former Woolworth building, which now houses state offices, to make it fit in with the rest of the downtown streetscape.

Gillen also said the towns in Schenectady hadn’t been forgotten, describing improvements in Rotterdam, Niskayuna and Glenville. And he said that in the past two years, 32 commercial buildings have been added to the county tax rolls.

Insurer moving 20 jobs into downtown Schenectady
December 5, 2006 at 10:51 am by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
Security American Financial Enterprises, which recently acquired part of JLT Services, the former Jardine Insurance Brokerage, will rent 5,000 square feet in an office building now under construction on Clinton Street Extension.

The company offers life insurance, group dental and group vision products and does business in 42 states and the District of Columbia.

The company expects to move into the offices being built by Highbridge Development by March. The company is receiving $63,000 in relocation assistance over five years from the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority, and is eligible to apply for Empire Zone and Federal Renewal Community benefits.

Operator of Schenectady cinema adds to its theaters
November 9, 2006 at 1:59 pm by Eric Anderson, Deputy business editor
Bow Tie Partners, which will operate downtown Schenectady’s new movie theater, is more than tripling in size with an agreement to acquire 95 movie screens in 12 locations from Crown Theatres LLC.

Terms of the agreement weren’t disclosed.

With the acquisition, Manhattan-based Bow Tie, headed by Charles B. Moss Jr. and Ben Moss, will own 137 screens at 17 locations in Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, upstate New York and Virginia.

In downtown Schenectady, Bow Tie is building a theater called “Movieland” that will include six screens and 1,400 seats. The theater, at the corner of State Street and Broadway, is one of a number of downtown projects that have received financial support from the Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority. The building, to be owned by developer Galesi Group, received a $3 million Metroplex loan and a $750,000 grant.

Other downtown projects include a $22.5 million expansion of Proctor’s Theatre, a Hampton Inn hotel, and street and facade improvements.

Bow Tie Partners maintains offices in New York City and Aspen, Colo., with its headquarters in the Bow Tie Building in New York City’s Times Square.

Metroplex to donate land for new museum site
The Business Review (Albany) - March 26, 2007

The Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority plans to give a 2.5 acre site to the Schenectady Museum & Suits-Bueche Planetarium for its next site.

Metroplex chairman Ray Gillen said Metroplex will sell the property off Broadway in downtown Schenectady for $1. The Schenectady Museum board voted unanimously in favor of the site after considering numerous sites in the region.


The museum is currently located on Nott Terrace Heights in Schenectady, but officials would like to move into a larger space.

Gillen said the site still needs to pass environmental reviews and he expects it will be a couple years before the museum is built. The project now moves to the design and fund-raising phase.

Gillen said the site was a good one because of easy access to I-890 and proximity to Proctor's Theatre, the new cinema and downtown restaurants and coffee shops.

Metroplex to start foreclosure process against Van Dyck
The Business Review (Albany) - January 11, 2007

The Schenectady Metroplex Development Authority said Thursday it would immediately begin the foreclosure process against the Van Dyck Restaurant & Brewery after owner Peter Olsen failed to repay the jazz club's overdue debt or provide a "firm financing commitment" to do so.

"We regret taking this step, but need to do so to protect the public financing involved in this project," Metroplex Chairman Ray Gillen said in a statement. "We are hopeful that new owners and investors will come forward so that we can stop the foreclosure process and have our loan immediately repaid by new investors."


Olsen met with Gillen earlier Thursday and asked for up to a week of additional time to secure bank or private financing to repay a $200,000 loan that was supposed to be paid in full last October. Olsen said Gillen told him he needed something by the end of the day Thursday or Metroplex would start the foreclosure proceedings.

"I believe he's under pressure by his board to act," Olsen said. "I fully understand and respect it and need to pay him."

Olsen expressed confidence he would be able to work out a deal with a lender or private investors to repay the loan and halt the foreclosure proceedings.

The Metroplex, a public authority subsidized by sales tax receipts in Schenectady County, approved a $200,000 no-interest loan and $75,000 line of credit to Olsen two years ago to assist him after Olsen bought out his former partners at the Van Dyck. The loan was intended as short-term financing to help Olsen until he could restructure the restaurant's finances.

The Metroplex also entered into a 10-year, $100,000 lease so the public could use the Van Dyck's parking lot during the day.

"Our loan was payable in full last fall and we provided a short grace period over the holidays," Gillen said. "At this time, we will immediately begin the foreclosure process to insure that our debt is satisfied. There is sufficient equity in the building and equipment to more than satisfy our debt."

The Metroplex has a second position on the Van Dyck lien behind Berkshire Bank.
      

Custom tailor sews up deal to buy Schenectady building and set up shop
The Business Review (Albany) - June 22, 2007
by Michael DeMasi

The Business Review
DONNA ABBOTT VLAHOS | THE BUSINESS REVIEW
Eventually, Vince Montesano would like to offer apprentice training to groom a new generation of tailors.
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By this fall, a man who wants to brush his hands across a roll of fabric to find just the right material for a custom suit can do so in downtown Schenectady.

And a woman in need of a skirt for a cocktail party can do the same.


Roughly 20 years after the last upscale clothing store closed downtown, Vincent Montesano, a veteran tailor, plans to open La Sartoria II at 447-451 State St., across from the Proctor's Theatre block.

Montesano's shop will be on the same street as two other clothing stores downtown: Lee's Four Seasons, which sells T-shirts, jeans and athletic apparel; and Rudnick's, which has been selling blue-collar work uniforms and rugged outerwear such as Carhartt jackets, wool hats, pigskin gloves and construction boots in Schenectady for more than 60 years.

"I wish him the best of luck," Rudnick's co-owner Norm Tolokonsky said. "If his price is semi-reasonable, I'll come up and buy a suit from him personally."

Montesano, 53, opened his first tailor shop in Glenville in 1976, three years after emigrating from a town near Bari, Italy. He later moved the store, Vince's Custom Tailoring, to Clifton Park.

About five years ago, he closed the store in Clifton Park and opened La Sartoria of Saratoga at 506 Broadway in Saratoga Springs ("la sartoria" means "the tailor shop" in Italian).

There, he caters to a clientele that likes to browse through racks of high-quality, high-priced clothing and can afford to spend $1,600, plus fabric, for a suit that fits to a T.

On a recent day, Montesano was sitting behind a sewing machine in the back room, hand-stitching a sport coat. The room was full of suits and other clothing hanging in plastic bags, spools of thread, irons and swatches of fabric.

A small TV sat high on a shelf in the rear, tuned to an Italian language cable channel broadcasting the Giro d'Italia bike race. But Montesano's eyes were focused on the needle between his fingers.

"If you know what you're doing, it's not a risk," Montesano said of his new store in Schenectady.

Downtown Schenectady has seen a resurgence of sorts over the past few years, with a major expansion of Proctor's, new hotels, a six-screen movie theater, bars, restaurants and other projects still on the drawing board. But it has nowhere near the caché or foot traffic of Saratoga Springs.

"To me, it makes no difference where you are located," Montesano said. "If you have the right price and service, the people come."