Month: July 2023

By Christine Graf

Green Harbour Mansion, situated at the tip of Cooper Point on Lake George, was sold in June for $6.5 million. 

Buyers Joe Russell and John LaSalandra of Bolton Landing have plans to restore the property.

The mansion is situated on Millionaire’s Row, a 10-mile stretch of road between Lake George Village and Bolton Landing. The palatial homes that were built there during the early 1900s served as summer residences for wealthy businessmen.  

Frederick Peabody, partner in Troy shirt factory Cluett, Peabody & Co., was the original owner of Green Harbour Mansion. Built in 1913, the three-story 11,579-square-foot residence sits on 3.3 acres of property. The waterfront compound includes a 14-bedroom home, a four-bedroom guest cottage, and 33 income-producing rental boat slips.

Nic Ketter and Spencer Bray of Realize Brokers were the listing agents for the property. They represented the estate of Ken Ermiger, a local businessman who passed away in 2021. One of Ermiger’s other properties, the Depe Dene Resort, was sold last year.

Ketter and Bray conducted 30 showings of Green Harbour during the year that it was on the market. The original listing price was $8.4 million.

By Paul Post

Some 30 firms have requested construction packets as potential bidders for a proposed new Market Center on South Street in Glens Falls.

 The 6,000-square-foot building would be at a currently vacant lot at 51-63 South St. where an Off Track Betting outlet was previously located.

 Plans for the project, estimated to cost $4 million, call for a pavilion-type structure with numerous exterior doors that would house Glens Falls Farmer’s Market, and host many other events throughout the year.

Quotes are due by the end of July and it’s hoped that a contractor will be selected in early August.

“We’d love to have shovels in the ground by late summer and have it completed by next summer,” said Jeff Flagg, Glens Fall economic development director. “It’s not strictly a low-bid contract.”

 The building will be funded in part with money from a $10 million Downtown Revitalization grant that Glens Falls obtained from the state in 2017. The money is also being used to rehabilitate the former Sandy’s Clam Bar and Hot Shots tavern on South Street, and a business incubator behind Hot Shots at 36 Elm St.

By Christine Graf

Pallets Inc. in Fort Edward, a third-generation family owned business, was recently acquired by Damabois, a Canadian company that operates nine factories in Quebec and the Maritime provinces of Eastern Canada. 

A leader in the transformation of wood and wood derivatives, Damabois was founded in 1986. The company harvests its own timber to manufacture pallets and uses milling by-products such as shavings and sawdust to make eco-friendly, slow-burning energy logs. 

Damabois’ first U.S. acquisition was Essex Box and Pallet (renamed D Pallet Shop) in Keeseville, N.Y. After acquiring Pallets Inc., the company consolidated its U.S. operations in Fort Edward. 

According to Jean-Philippe Bertrand, director of operations for Damabois, the company is seeking to grow its business in the United States.

“On the north side of the border in the province in Quebec, we are a key player in the pallet manufacturing business. We reached a point where our market shares were maxed out, and we needed to go into a larger market. We chose the northeast of the United States,” he said.

The Adirondack Folk School (AFS) in Lake Luzerne, a nonprofit organization that celebrates and preserves the cultural history of the Adirondacks and promotes creativity and self-reliance by teaching the arts, crafts and traditions, has hired Terri Cerveny as executive director.

Cerveny comes to AFS after having retired to Lake Luzerne from a career in fundraising and development work with some prominent Capital Region nonprofit organizations.  

In her most recent role, Cerveny served as vice president of college relations for Union College from 2014-2019.  Prior to that, she served as senior vice president and chief development officer for the Albany Medical Center Foundation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Terri Cerveny to The Adirondack Folk School,” said 

Tanya Tobias, president of the AFS board of directors. “Terri brings a unique blend of expertise, passion for the School and what we do, and a strategic vision that aligns seamlessly with our organization’s values, goals, and plans for the future. In Terri, we have a new leader who will inspire our staff, faculty, students, and stakeholders, lead strategic planning and operations, and be the engaging voice of our school.” 

 Cerveny succeeds Scott Hayden, who led AFS for five years before moving to a nonprofit organization that serves children’s needs. 

She was selected following a search for a permanent executive director led by the board of directors of AFS.

“I’m excited to take on the role of executive director of the Adirondack Folk School where the work we do to teach the arts and crafts of the Adirondacks—from basketry to blacksmithing, to fiber arts, woodworking, and many more—will ensure the traditions of this historic region live on through our students and their children,” Cerveny said.

Ledge Rock Hill Winery has moved from their location in Corinth to at the new location at 1776 Route 9 in Lake George.

Ledge Rock Hill Winery has been specializing in craft winemaking for over a decade using high quality New York grapes and fruit infusions. 

“Ledge Rock Hill Winery is incredibly excited,” co-owners Kevin, Will, and Connor Morgan said in a statement. “We have moved from our ‘winery in the woods’ location in Corinth to beautiful Lake George. Come to our tasting room and sample our varieties of dry and sweet wines, listen to live music, and sit by the campfire.”

The winery celebrated the move with a ribbon cutting facilitated by the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce on July 1. The festivities included wine tasting, live music, food truck, giveaways, yard games and a campfire.

“The new location is beautiful and conveniently located in Lake George. We’re thrilled to have Ledge Rock Hill Winery back on our Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail Digital Passport, which now includes 13 stops,” said Lake George Regional Chamber Executive Director Gina Mintzer.

Ledge Rock Hill Winery is a family-run operation “with knowledgeable and dedicated staff, all sharing a true love and appreciation for the art of fine wine making,” the owners said. 

It was established officially as a winery in 2010 by the Akrop family and operated out of the original location in Corinth. This year, the tasting room was moved to the Lake George location.

“We specialize in limited vintage productions of hand-crafted wines made from premium grapes. We take great pride in producing wines that are custom crafted from the highest quality fruit available. The fruit is harvested from our own vineyard as well as a select few partner vineyards that have been able to consistently meet our high quality standards,” the Morgans said.

By Paul Post

Paul and Pattie Harkness are just the kind of people former Mayor Bob Blais envisioned coming to Lake George when Charles R. Wood Festival Commons first opened nearly a decade ago.

 “This is my first time here. My wife made me come,” he said, smiling, while sampling tasty products at the June 24-25 Adirondack Wine & Food Festival.

 “This kind of event is on my bucket list,” Pattie said. “So I thought we’d start in Lake George. I saw it on Facebook.”

 The festival is one of 16 major events scheduled for the Commons this year, which have a combined economic impact in the tens of millions of dollars, according to local officials. Also, they attract and expose first-time visitors such as the Harknesses, who live near Rochester, to everything the Lake George region has to offer, which quite often results in repeat visits, further fueling the area’s vital tourism and hospitality industry.

 The Wine & Food Festival alone drew more than 7,000 people from three dozen states, generating more than 10,000 overnight stays with an economic impact approaching $5 million, organizers said. More than 120 vendors provided wine, liquor, craft beer and artisan foods.

A new land acquisition will allow Adirondack Adventure Center to upgrade its Lazy River Tubing Adventure on the Hudson River.

The upgrades include a private access point, a smoother and safer bus ride to and from the river, a more flexible schedule, on-river tube storage, Internet and telephone service, and trip customization for customers including a private beach and island.

The announcement was made during a ribbon cutting ceremony on  June 16, with the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“These upgrades allow us to expand our business and make it safer and more convenient for everybody to come up and experience tubing and the beauty of our area. One of the things that gets us up and going in the morning is being able to share this experience with everybody,” said owner Dane Morton. “It’s a huge deal for us. It’s really going to help us expand our business further.”

This acquisition of 165 acres of land along the Buttermilk section of the Hudson River is the first phase in a thee-phase plan to upgrade the tubing experience.