The National Racing Hall of Fame and Museum announced a $20 million project that will create a multi-screen theater in the round inside the facility at 191 Union Ave., Saratoga Springs.

The project was announced Aug. 3 by John Hendrickson, museum president, at the ceremony where new members of the Hall of Fame were inducted.

The theater is expected to be completed by 2020.

The Whitney family, long a friend and benefactor of the thoroughbred racing industry, donated $1 million toward the project.

MD/Muroff Daigle Hospitality Group announced the sale of the Wingate by Wyndham – Lake George, 4054 Route 9L, Lake George, for $7.4 million.

The seller was Adirondack Lodging LLC and the Buyer was HELI IP LLC, according to Mitch Muroff of Muroff Daigle Hospitality Group.

The Wingate Lake George is a modern limited-service hotel that opened in 2007 and is located near the lake and the center of the village of Lake George.

It has 96 updated guest rooms and suites, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, a fitness facility, meeting rooms, a two-story atrium lobby and a complimentary breakfast area. There is free WiFi, plentiful parking and easy access to Northway Exit 21.

Pranav Parekh, principal owner of HELI IP LLC, resides in Massachusetts and has experience with franchise hotels in Florida, Muroff said.

New York state has awarded a $343,000 grant to the town of Lake George to repair and upgrade wastewater collection infrastructure and to protect the water quality of Lake George. 

The funding is provided through the $2.5 billion Clean Water Infrastructure Act and is part of the state’s ongoing efforts to improve water quality statewide.

“I enthusiastically supported the Clean Water Infrastructure Act to help small communities that lack sufficient financial resources fund important projects just like this one,” said Sen. Betty Little. “Investing in infrastructure that protects our lakes and rivers has so many benefits and will pay dividends for local residents and bolster our tourism-based economy for many years to come. So many visitors are attracted to our region for the beauty and quality of our waterways.”

By Maureen Werther

The Adirondack Civic Center Coalition made its final payment of $50,000 to the city of Glens Falls in June, completing the lease-purchase of Cool Insuring Arena. 

While the monetary component of the agreement has been fulfilled, the arena is still under lease from the city until the end of 2019, at which time the coalition will exercise its option to purchase the arena for the sum of $1. The total cost of the agreement was $600,000.

Dan Burke, president of the coalition, said that the final payment was the result of “years of hard work by the Adirondack Civic Center Coalition board and a dedicated staff.”

By Jill Nagy

The last vestige of General Electric Co.’s  manufacturing presence in Washington County will soon disappear when work is completed demolishing the last building of the manufacturing plant on Route 4 in Fort Edward.

The plant in Fort Edward was built in 1942 and used for manufacture of motors and, later on, industrial capacitors. It was also the source of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) used in the manufacture of the capacitors. General Electric recently spent several years and millions of dollars to dredge those PCBs from the Hudson River.

A nearby manufacturing site in Hudson Falls has also been stripped of its buildings. That operation was discontinued several years ago and the building was removed last year.