Category Archives: Business News

Charles R. Wood Park will be the site of a new holiday event called the Holiday Festival of Lights.
It will be a recurring event weekends through Dec. 20.
The Holiday Festival of Lights includes over 20 light displays that have been crafted by local businesses and organizations. It has been organized by Events To a T, a local event planning business.
“The interest and generosity of our region never ceases to amaze me,” said Letizia Mastrantoni, Events To a T owner. “Within minutes of releasing the information of this event, several businesses replied with an enthusiastic ‘yes.’”
Attendees are required to purchase a ticket to this outdoor, walk-through event. Each ticket gives access to the event for a 40-minute session. Tickets are $5 with proceeds benefiting local charitable organizations such as Operation Santa Claus, WAIT House and 11th Hour Rescue.
Tickets can be purchased on Eventstoat.net, Facebook/Eventstoat123 or on eventbrite.com under Holiday Festival of Lights.
The event will run every Friday, Saturday and Sunday until Dec. 20 with sessions starting at 4 p.m. until 9 p.m.

by Andrea Harwood Palmer
Gore Mountain opened recently with procedures in place to satisfy health and safety guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have several health and safety protocols in place to keep our guests and employees safe throughout the season,” said Stephanie Backes, Gore Mountain marketing director.
“Most importantly, we have face masks or coverings required at all times,” she said. “When you’re in the base area, on the lift, inside the lodge, wherever it may be. Guests can take their mask off when they’re actively skiing or when they’re seated, eating and drinking. “
“We’re also strongly encouraging our guests to be ready when they leave their vehicle, to minimize the amount of items they have to store in the base area, and to minimize the amount of time they need to spend inside.”
Like other skiing locations, Gore Mountain has a 50 percent capacity limit. In the dining areras, there are grab-and-go options this year.

By Jennifer Farnsworth
For the past 43 years, the Glens Falls company Donohue & Higgins Candy & Tobacco Co. has been a supplier of all things candy, operating at Maple Street since 1985.
But the company has purchased the former JUST Water facility at 31 Broad St. in Glens Falls, a space that gives them an additional 4,500 square feet.
JUST Water has moved into a new facility at 276 Dix Ave. in Queensbury.
April Higgins, Donohue & Higgins vice president, said the building does not need any major renovations or reconstruction. Currently the company is operating out of two smaller warehouse spaces.
“We are consolidating two separate warehouse spaces into one space. We will not be doing any major renovations,” said Higgins. “In the warehouse we just need to set up racks for our product.”

The West Mountain winter season is set to begin Saturday, Dec. 12, weather permitting, with rules in place to adhere to CDC and state guidelines to reduce the risk of exposure to COVID-19.
Winter activities include day and night skiing, snowboarding, snow tubing and lessons.
While ski area opening day is Dec. 12, the tubing park opens Saturday, Dec. 19.
During non-holiday periods, West Mountain will be open Monday, 3-9 p.m.; Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The tubing park will be open Friday’s 4-9 p.m.; and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
During holiday periods, Dec. 19 to Jan. 3, Jan. 16-18, and Feb. 13-21, West Mountain will be open for skiing and snowboarding Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. The tubing park will be open Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

As the nation and the meetings industry continue to grapple with the effects of COVID-19, the Lake George Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau (LGRCVB) has pivoted its marketing efforts to develop an incentive program called Meet Safely Now and Save.
Officials said the goal of the program is to help generate bookings for new traditional and hybrid meeting business as well as benefit the meetings and local hotel industries.
“With so many meetings getting cancelled or re-booked, and budgets getting slashed, we wanted to provide an opportunity that was beneficial to both the meeting planner and the hotel properties by offsetting some of the audio visual costs that might be incurred when trying to create hybrid meetings,” said Kristen Hanifin, CSEE, Lake George Regional CVB special event and convention sales director, who devised the program.

The Arts District of Glens Falls is beginning to roll out physical markers as well as colorful banners and numerous sidewalk markers featuring the Arts District logo.
In addition, branded bicycle racks are also in production and will be installed at key arts institutions to facilitate bike traffic from the nearby Warren County and Feeder Canal trails, officials said.
Arts District organizers said the markers are only the beginning of the overall plan for public art in Glens Falls.
As part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, spearheaded by the late Ed Bartholomew of EDC Warren County, artwork ranging from painted electrical boxes to large-scale murals and sculptures are slated to begin production this fall and into 2021.
“This will create an Arts Trail within the Arts District accessible to both pedestrian and vehicular traffic highlighting downtown, Warren Street and neighborhood arts organizations,” the group said in a news release.

By Lisa Balschunat
“Glens Falls is a city on the rise,” said Peter Hoffman, developer and president of Glen Street Associates. “I have seen such positive growth in this community and am happy to be a part of it.”
The developer recently acquired two buildings in Glens Falls—at 74 Warren St., formerly the American Red Cross, and 80 Warren St., formerly Mailings Made Easy.
There are also 50 to 60 parking spaces between the two buildings.
Hoffman is also preparing to develop another building in the city and recently sold one of his anchor properties, the historic 1786 Power’s Inn and Pub in Clifton Park, to longtime chef and manager Bryah Gifford.
At 74 Warren St., the first floor of the 12,000-square-foot building will be home to the Dance Center of Queensbury. The second floor has been remodeled into a quaint two-bedroom apartment with an open floor plan.

By Lisa Balschunat
The Warren-Washington County Association for Mental Health (WWAHM) will open a 29-unit apartment complex at 47-50 Cooper Street in Glens Falls in the spring. It will provide permanent supportive apartments to homeless people in the community.
Mercer Construction Co. of Ballston Lake, is constructing the building on the former site of Mullen Iron Works, adjacent to a portion of the Warren County Bikeway.
Despite some challenging road blocks over the past three years—including unexpected litigation expenses totaling $60,000 as a result of a lawsuit attempting to cease or delay construction of the apartment project—Chief Executive Officer Andrea Deepe said she anticipates opening in four months.
“Thankfully, our project was deemed essential by New York state at the beginning of the pandemic, so our contractor and the subcontractors were able to continue building throughout these difficult times,” she said, “Our organization began the process three years ago to design a building that would offer not only apartments, but also common areas for socialization and education programs.