Month: February 2025

Historic Buildings On South Street In Glens Falls Are In Midst Of Revitalization

February 25, 2025

When completed next year, the South Street Apartments and Market Square buildings will provide residential and commercial space in downtown Glens Falls.
Rendering by SWBR

By Rod Bacon

South Street in Glens Falls is undergoing a significant revitalization, and Saratoga Springs-based Bonacio Construction, Inc. is at the forefront of the effort.

Construction is underway on what the company is calling the Market Square project, which is the revitalization of the buildings at 41 and 45 South Street and 36 Elm Street. Forty-one South Street is the former Sandy’s Clam Bar and 45 South Street is the former Hotshots building. Thirty-six Elm Street is a three-story warehouse known as the “incubator” building.

“This is a historical renovation project so we’re keeping a lot of the historical significance of those buildings,” said Director of Project Development Amber Mathias.

She noted that all the buildings qualify for historic tax credits so the company is working closely with the State Historic Preservation Offices (SHPO) and the National Park Service (NPS) to ensure compliance with all regulations. Bonacio Construction was approved for two of the three stages of the process, according to Mathias. Upon completion of the project an application is submitted for the final stage to confirm all work was done correctly.

New Owners Say Quality Affordable Houses Remain The Mission Of Bill Lake Homes

February 25, 2025

A modular home section is being framed at the Bill Lake Homes climate controlled 140,000 square foot manufacturing plant located in Sprakers, NY.
Courtesy Bill Lake Homes

By Susan Elise Campbell

Only 15 months since purchasing Bill Lake Homes, the new owners have started prepping an additional space for manufacturing the quality modular homes that the name “Bill Lake” has been associated with for more than 48 years.

“The modular world is fascinating,” said Jeff Knox, CEO and principal owner. Knox is a new construction residential/commercial developer who got his start buying and selling homes in the Albany-Saratoga area while a young man on Wall Street.

Partnering with Knox are his daughters, Katharine Pelletier and Abigail Sisson, son-in-law Garrett Sisson, and Christa Swistak, a non-family member. The team has a history of flipping homes together and builds modular homes on spec for residential developers, he said.

“Visiting factories in Pennsylvania showed me how quality modular homes, like the stick homes I built for decades the traditional way, can be constructed all year long indoors,” he said. “I always wanted to build my own manufacturing facility.”

Stewart’s Shops Expands With $70 Million Investment And Jolley Store Rebranding

February 25, 2025

45 Jolley convenience stores recently acquired by Stewart’s Shops will be rebranded.
Saratoga Business Journal Business Journal

By Paul Post

Stewart’s Shops is spending $70 million this year to build new stores and rebrand some of the 45 Jolley convenience stores it recently acquired.

With the acquisition, completed on Dec. 16, the Malta-based company’s footprint now covers a territory from Oswego to Lebanon, N.H., and the Hudson Valley to the Canadian border including its first-ever entry into northern Vermont.

“We’re going to rebrand the stores within the geographic area we currently service first, from Central New York to southern Vermont,” Chief Operating Officer Chad Kiesow said. “Once that’s done, we’ll go north from Rutland into Burlington, St. Albans and northern Vermont.”

There are 48 Jolley stores in Vermont, two in New Hampshire and five in New York including three in Queensbury, one at 777 Upper Glen Street, another on Aviation Road near Northway Exit 19 and a third on Route 9 near Exit 20 across from Lake George Outlets. Albany Business Review has reported that Stewart’s paid $9.6 million for the five New York stores alone.

Adirondack Sports Council Names Karlan Devlin-Jessen Executive Director

February 25, 2025

The Adirondack Sports Council (ADKSC) announced today Karlan Devlin-Jessen as its new executive director. Devlin-Jessen succeeds Tracy Smith, who after nearly two years at the helm of the ADKSC has been appointed director of events for the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA).

“We are thrilled to welcome Karlan Devlin-Jessen as our new executive director,” said James McKenna, chair of the ADKSC Board. “Karlan’s extensive leadership experience, innovative vision, and dedication to using sports tourism as an economic driver will elevate the Sports Council to new heights throughout the Adirondacks and beyond.”

Devlin-Jessen has been a key member of the ADKSC team since April 2021, playing a pivotal role in the lead-up to the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games. During her tenure, she spearheaded the Games’ legacy and sustainability initiatives, including the development of a globally recognized sustainability strategy, the first of its kind for any FISU Games. She also organized the FISU World Conference which featured over 40 international speakers.

With over 30 years of experience in sports and event management, Devlin-Jessen is recognized for her ability to merge strategic project management with stakeholder engagement and organizational leadership. Her portfolio includes a career that began in the marketing department with ORDA in the late 1980’s. More recently she served as director of operational efficiency for the 2024 IIHF Women’s World Championships, director of volunteers and sustainability for the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games, director of the courage classic Bicycle Tour, community engagement manager for REI, and as a multi-store retail business owner.

Local Child Care Referral Services Trying To Improve Situation For Working Parents

February 25, 2025

By Rod Bacon

The difficulty working parents have finding reliable child care has been an issue for decades. Various government and private sector programs have attempted to solve the problem to no avail. Now that many employers are requiring employees to return to the office, at least part-time, following the COVID-19 pandemic, many in the social services field are calling it a crisis.

The child care situation in Warren and Washington counties is no different than that in the rest of the country. According to Colleen Maziejka, executive director of the Southern Adirondack Child Care Network, the organization received 274 requests for child care referrals last year. They operate in conjunction with nine day care centers and 14 in-home programs in Warren County. Washington County has no day care centers but does have 35 in-home programs.

The day care centers in Warren County can accommodate 765 children. The in-home programs in both counties combined can care for 608 children.

A problem across the spectrum is finding qualified staff for day care centers because of low pay, long hours, and lack of benefits. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median salary for child care workers in May of 2023 was $14.60 per hour, putting them in the lowest 4 percent of wage earners.

“There is an increased awareness of this problem,” Maziejka said. “Last year we received a workforce retention grant from the state so providers were able to pay themselves and their staff a one-time bonus, but that was short-term. There is no long-term solution at this time.”

According to Abbe Kovacik, executive director of Brightside Up, Inc., a child care resource center that serves Albany, Fulton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Schenectady, and Saratoga counties, the child care issue is multi-faceted.

“Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic it was a challenge for families to find and afford regulated high quality child care in Saratoga County as well as across the state and country,” she said. “The pandemic had a significant impact on child care centers with two-thirds of working parents changing their child care arrangements.”

2025 Job Market: An Employer’s Market Dominated By Competition And Caution

February 25, 2025

Rene A. Walrath is the president of Walrath Recruiting Inc. Courtesy Walrath Recruiting Inc.

By Rene A. Walrath

As we move into 2025, the job market has experienced a significant transformation, evolving into what many are calling an “employer’s market.” This shift is characterized by increased leverage for employers during hiring, a wider pool of candidates, and heightened competition among job seekers. It is essential for both employers and employees to understand the factors driving this change and its implications in the current landscape.

Global economic challenges, including inflation, rising interest rates, and geopolitical tensions, have led many companies to adopt more cautious hiring practices. Layoffs in certain sectors, particularly in tech, have created a surplus of skilled professionals competing for fewer job openings. Although the pandemic initially expanded opportunities for workers through remote work, companies are now recalibrating their operations by consolidating roles, enforcing stricter return-to-office policies, and reevaluating workforce needs, which has resulted in fewer available positions.

With more individuals re-entering the workforce post-pandemic—including retirees, part-time workers seeking full-time positions, and international talent—employers now have access to a larger and more diverse talent pool.

Business Report: Compliance with the NY State Salary Transparency Law

February 25, 2025

Jeffrey B. Shapiro, Esq., Associate Attorney at Bartlett, Pontiff, Stewart & Rhodes, P.C.

By Jeffrey B. Shapiro, Esq.

New York State has enacted the Salary Transparency Law (S.9427/A.10477), now in effect since September 17, 2023. This legislation requires employers with four or more employees to disclose the compensation or range of compensation in all advertisements for job, promotion, or transfer opportunities.

Employers need to be aware of the new salary transparency requirements to avoid fines and other legal consequences. There might be small businesses, especially those without regulatory compliance support, who might not be fully aware of these new requirements.

What Needs to Be Disclosed?

New York State Pay Transparency Law mandates private employers with four or more employees to disclose a salary or pay range in all advertised job, promotion, or transfer opportunities. This applies to positions performed wholly or partly in New York State, and even to remote roles that report to a New York-based supervisor or office. The law covers advertisements across various platforms, such as newspapers, social media, or job-listing websites. The pay range should be a good faith estimate of the employer’s offering, with a defined minimum and maximum, and if it’s a fixed rate, that rate should be specified.

Drafting the Pay Range

The New York State Pay Transparency Law outlines that a pay range, reflecting the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly rate, must be included in job advertisements. If a fixed rate like $30 an hour is to be offered, it must be listed. Pay ranges can’t be open-ended (e.g., “$20+ an hour”) and should only reflect monetary compensation, not other benefits like insurance or paid leave, though these can be disclosed separately. For commission-based pay, it must be clearly stated in the advertisement. Employers are required to make a good faith effort in determining and presenting the pay range.