By R.J. DeLuke
The Village of Lake George made a series of changes to its zoning laws last month that officials hope will spur economic development in the small municipality. Most notable among the expectations is a six-story hotel on the main thoroughfare, Canada Street (Route 9).
But one is a block where Guiseppe’s Pizzeria and John Barleycorn’s Pub now sit, just south of Lake George Central School and across the street from the public library. That is where the owner of that land, developer David Kenny, previously proposed an eight-story Marriott Hotel, with conference center.
The old law only supported three-story development.
Though Kenny could not be reached for comment, both Blais and Michael Consuelo, executive director of the Lake George Chamber of Commerce fully expect Kenny to return with revised plans that fit the six-story scheme. They also expect him to be successful.
“He’s a successful developer that does what he says he’s going to do,” said Blais. Kenny already owns many businesses, including the Inn at Erlowest, Marine Village Resort, the Clarion Inn & Suites and some outlet stores.
The Adirondack Park Agency approved the village’s zoning amendments, but projects still need to go to the agency for approval and Kenny will have to go through that. He is expected to appear before the village Planning Board soon with new plans.
The mayor said the project–estimated at about $15 million in its last incarnation–would be the biggest in the village in a decade, since the Fort William Henry Hotel.
The hotel, with conference center, “will be a turning point as far as the economy of the village goes,” Blais said.
Consuelo said the hotel project would be “a very nice catalyst for economic development and the economic future of the village.”
Lake George is a hot spot from late spring to early fall, particularly as a summer tourist destination. The hotel and conference center would help bring in people year-round, Consuelo said.
“In general, it will be a very good thing for the village,” he said. “When all is said and done, I can see nothing but positives from this.”
In particular, with an added conference center, it allows the Chamber to be “a little bit more aggressive” in competing in that market with areas like Saratoga Springs and Lake Placid.
“We need to put people on our streets in the spring and fall and winter, and not become a ghost town” in those periods, said Blais. It would encourage existing businesses to remain open longer.
Consuelo said the new hotel could benefit other hotels and motels in the area, because the convention center could bring overflows of people. The influx would also have a positive impact on many area businesses.
In general, changes in zoning were needed in the village, the mayor said. During the past three years, with lack of places to develop in the 11-square-mile village and with assessed valuation of many properties lowered through assessment challenges, Lake George started to see an erosion of its tax base.
For about a year, a steering committee evaluated the situation and its recommendation that to grow assessed valuation and become economically viable, “there was no room to grow sideways. We had to grow up,” Blais said.
The planning and zoning boards felt it was a much more reasonable approach than sprawling development, he noted. The APA leans toward growth in the hamlets, not in forever-wild areas, “so it made sense to us.”
The areas allowing for higher buildings “are areas where height would not really bock anyone’s view of the lake,” said the mayor.
While that aspect seemed to get the bulk of the publicity, Blais said there were other important things village officials worked on to improve the village. New design standards were set up regarding color, architecture, the amount of windows per square feet and so on.
Formerly, the village only had guidelines for developers to follow. Now there are standards built into local law. As the mayor described it, “‘We recommend’ became ‘You shall.'”
Now, “developers know exactly what we expect, which saves time and money. It’s meant to be more developer-friendly,” but also result in better looking façades in the commercial areas.
A tax exemption was also put in place to spur development. Blais said that new construction or major renovation in the business district can get a tax exemption for 10 years, starting at 50 percent in the first year and graduating down on a sliding scale over that decade until full valuation is used.