Category Archives: Commercial / Residential Real Estate

By Rod Bacon

According to area professionals, the commercial real estate market in the region is, while somewhat challenging, doing well.

In Glens Falls, there has been a significant resurgence of activity in this segment of the market. Projects by Bonacio Construction on South Street and one in conjunction with the Galesi Group on Hudson Avenue have led the way but other development has contributed as well. Developers like Chris Patten and Tim Barber have helped shape the look of the area.

Craig Darby, an associate with Albany-based CBRE Upstate NY, has brokered deals in Glens Falls for years.

On September 30, Behavioral Health Services North Inc. closed on a +/-8,800-square-foot office building at 25 Willowbrook Road in Queensbury.

Native Partners’ owner Tim Barber sold approximately 10 acres at 377 Corinth Road in Queensbury to F.W. Webb Company, which is constructing +/-90,000-square-foot showroom/office/warehouse facility. 

Barber is building an addition to the former Native Textiles facility at 24 Native Drive. The building houses multiple warehouse tenants.

Currently on the market for $2,900,000 is 3 Highland Avenue in Queensbury, a property zoned commercial/light industrial being offered by F.W. Webb. According to Darby, who is representing the seller, multiple commercial/industrial uses are permitted.

“All of this activity is very positive for Glens Falls and the region in general,” said Darby. “We are definitely experiencing an improving economy and a renewed interest in developing viable projects in the area.”

By Rod Bacon

The Schultz family has a long history of providing high quality construction services in the Capital District and beyond.

Between a company started by William J. Schultz in 1970 and another subsequently launched by his son, William M. Schultz, in 2000, clients have benefitted from their expertise for 55 years.

William J. Schultz left his family’s 30-acre vegetable farm in Colonie in 1955 to join the U.S. Navy, where he was trained as a radioman. According to his son, following his four-year hitch he decided he “wanted to do something else with dirt” and took a job with Hoffman Excavating, a utility company in Colonie. He worked there for several years and in 1961 moved to Rosen-Michaels, a precursor to The Michaels Group. The company had its own land development arm called Glenmont Development Corporation and he was its general manager. 

“They would buy a parcel of land and it might be wooded or a farm field, and they would hire an engineer to design street layouts and determine the maximum number of houses permitted by zoning codes,” said Schultz. “Then Glenmont Development would do all the land clearing, utility installations, and road construction.”

There was a recession in late 1968 resulting in very little call for new housing starts. Because builders no longer wanted to develop raw land Rosen-Michaels decided not to continue with its Glenmont Development subsidiary. 

By Mitchell Muroff

Muroff Hospitality Group

As someone deeply rooted in hospitality real estate—having owned and operated multiple franchised hotels across the Northeast and Canada, and now brokering and advising hospitality assets throughout New York State and New England—I’ve witnessed plenty of market cycles. My firm’s nationwide database connects regional hotel owners with serious buyers and investors. Lately, one thing stands out: while the industry has faced its share of headwinds, hotel transaction activity has remained surprisingly steady.

Market Stability and Buyer Confidence

Across much of upstate New York and New England, occupancy levels have softened slightly since their post-pandemic peaks. Still, average daily rates (ADRs) have held firm, signaling that buyers continue to value well-located, well-run assets even as they become more selective.

Meanwhile, interest rates have started to ease after a long tightening cycle, bringing renewed attention to hotel acquisitions that show clear upside. Financing remains cautious, but deals are getting done—particularly when buyers combine traditional bank debt with other creative lending programs.

Financing and the Role of Local Lenders

In markets like Warren County, Saratoga, and the greater Lake George region, regional banks remain essential to hotel lending. Their familiarity with seasonal demand and tourism patterns allows them to underwrite transactions that larger national lenders might overlook.

Many buyers also rely on SBA 504 and 7(a) loans, which give lenders added protection and allow borrowers to secure 20- to 25-year fixed-rate financing on the SBA portion at competitive rates. This structure reduces lender risk while giving buyers predictable long-term debt service—an especially attractive option for smaller or first-time investors.

Even so, banks continue to scrutinize borrowers closely and often require more equity than before. Seller financing can help bridge the gap, though not every owner is willing to extend it.

By Paul Post

Craig Darby knows all about ups and downs.

He went back and forth between the minors and NHL for six years before landing a full-time job skating for the Montreal Canadiens.

“There’s negative and positive things that go on during hockey,” said Darby, a retired 15-year pro. “You get called up, you’re encouraged then a week or two later you’re sent down. It’s all about tomorrow’s a new day. You’ve got to be as positive as you can about the next day because good things can happen.”

This outlook has served the 52-year-old Darby well in his second career as an experienced real estate broker for CBRE Upstate, a division of Dallas-based CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate services and investment firm with clients in more than 100 countries.

Business cycles are sometimes more volatile than hard-nosed hockey players battling it out in a Game 7 playoff contest.

But Darby believes demand for Glens Falls-area office space is definitely on the upswing, another key aspect of the city’s economic revitalization that’s transformed downtown in recent years.

During the COVID pandemic, many companies sent their employees home to work remotely. Tribune Media, for example, vacated its large modern building on Media Drive, a short distance from Exit 18 in Queensbury.

By Christine Graf

Queensbury’s Charlie’s Office Furniture has been serving the Capital Region and North Country for more than three decades. 

“My father started the business in 1988, and my mom came on board shortly after that,” said Charles McNeil, Jr. who joined the company in 1998, working alongside his parents, Charles, Sr., and Alyce. The family-owned company also has one long-time employee who works in the warehouse and assists with deliveries. 

“We offer both new and used office furniture,” said McNeil. “That includes all of the furniture for corporate offices—everything to panel systems to case goods, things like desks and filing and storage furniture. Of course, we also have a lot of seating.”  

Charlie’s Office Furniture also sells specialized furniture for health care environments. Product lines include furniture that is used in waiting rooms and lobbies as well as hospital sleep chairs and medical recliners. 

“We also have furniture for education, wellness, and hospitality,” said McNeil. “We’ve done wellness rooms for schools. We also did the SUNY Adirondack food court which was more on the hospitality side.”

By Susan Elise Campbell

The buying and selling of commercial buildings and properties in the North Country took a toll during the Covid pandemic, but two local real estate professionals describe the current outlook as “bullish” and “optimistic.” Respectively, these are Bob Sears of Berkshire Hathaway Home Services and Mark Levack of Levack Real Estate, LLC, each having more than the 35 years in brokering commercial real estate in and around Glens Falls and Queensbury.

“There is money in the system for people who have a history of developing properties,” said Sears. “The increase in interest rates put a little damper on things, but in general, the banks are willing to lend for projects that are worthwhile.”

Commercial projects are “anything beyond a four-family unit” and include apartments, office spaces, retail stores, medical buildings, malls, mobile home parks, commercially zoned lots, investment income real estate, and more, said Levack. At any given time, there is more activity or growth in some categories than others in this cyclical market, he said.

Trending are mixed use developments with both retail office space and three or four stories of apartments to occupy, Sears said. 

By Paul Post

Simons Heating & Cooling Inc. in Glens Falls, which serves customers from Ticonderoga to Albany,  recently moved into new headquarters with over three times more space to accommodate its rapidly growing business.

“We have 11,000 square feet compared to 3,000 at our old location,” said founder and co-owner Dave Simons. “Everything is under one roof now from sales staff to warehousing and we own this building, whereas we were renting before.”

The 28-employee firm recently moved from 47 Main St., Queensbury, to the former Glens Falls K9 building at the corner of Warren Street and Oakland Avenue in Glens Falls.

“It was real important to us to have great visibility from the road at a four-way intersection where people stop and see us,” said Jason McCormack, co-owner and director of operations. “Most HVAC companies don’t have walk-in traffic where people can go into a showroom and discuss with a salesperson about what’s new on the market and what’s trending, or just simply come in and schedule a service appointment.”

“We want to attract people to come to our building, not just be another warehouse they drive by,” he said. “We’ll have signage out front with special offers so people can notice it and come in.”

By Christine Graf

 It was while working full-time as a financial service representative at a local bank that Sacha Lewis took a part-time weekend job at Hogwash Cleaning Solutions, a company she now owns. The Whitehall-based business, one that specializes in residential and commercial exterior cleaning, was established by Lewis’ husband, Andrew Lewis, in 2009.

Lewis enjoyed working at Hogwash so much that she purchased the company from Andrew in 2015. Andrew has remained with the company as an employee, and the couple married in 2021.

“After I took over, I revamped everything. We are now better than we ever were, and we became an LLC in 2018,” said Lewis.

Hogwash had approximately 500 regular customers when she took ownership of the business. Since that time, Lewis said they have expanded their client list to include 4,000 individuals and businesses.

By Paul Post

Area realtors say the fourth quarter heading into 2024 continues to be a strong seller’s market as demand far outpaces inventory for prospective homebuyers.

Tim Combs, of HUNT Real Estate in Glens Falls, said, “Everybody is getting more money for their houses. People looking to sell are getting a lot more money if everything is maintained. If you want to get full value for your house, a lot of people are doing little projects before they sell to make them more attractive.”

“Smart buyers can find housing quicker in this market by using tools like getting pre-qualified, which means you’re ready to make a deal,” Combs said. “A lot of buyers go out there and just start looking at houses and they don’t even know how much they can purchase. Once they look at a house and fall in love with it, they have to wait until their financing is approved.”

“It seems that there’s been a decline in homes coming on the market during the past year because many people who are at lower interest rates are holding back, they don’t want to have to buy a house at a higher rate,” said Janet Besheer, of Equitas Realty in Saratoga Springs. “They’re just backing off. So there are fewer sales. We have a lot of disappointed people.”

The good news for sellers is that prices remain high.

“$500,000 is the new 300,000,” she said. “Homes in general are selling at 3.3 percent over list price. That’s huge. The actual median sale price in the Capital Region has climbed to more than $300,000. We’ve always been in the low- to mid-$200,000s. So it’s going up. There’s been a real up-tick in home prices in Saratoga County and Warren County around the lakes.”