March 17, 2026 – WCLDC Audit & Finance Committee Meeting to be held in person at 11 South Street, Suite, 201, Glens Falls at 1:00 p.m. March 19, 2026 – WCLDC Monthly Board of Directors Meeting to be held in person at 11 South Street, Suite 201, Glens Falls at 11:00 p.m. March 19,...
Habitat For Humanity Expands Efforts To Address Regional Housing Shortage
Glens Falls Business Journal
By Ann Donnelly
When Sharon Horton took over as executive director of Habitat for Humanity of Northern Saratoga, Warren and Washington counties in June 2025, she brought extensive nonprofit experience and a deeply personal understanding of the power of homeownership. Today, she is leading the organization through a critical period of expansion to address a severe regional housing shortage.
The need for affordable housing in the area is dire. According to Horton, “Warren County’s overall housing vacancy rate is 3.6%, and the rental vacancy rate is an exceptionally low 0.4%, well below the 5% threshold that signals a housing shortage. Nearly 47% of renter households in the county are cost-burdened, and affordable rentals priced at levels accessible to minimum-wage workers are almost nonexistent.”
“The Warren County Housing Needs Study identifies significant gaps for households earning 0–50% and 50–80% AMI, particularly those seeking affordable starter homes and ownership opportunities below $300,000,” Horton shared. “These shortages are especially acute in communities outside Queensbury and Glens Falls. Also in Hudson Falls in Washington County. The combination of near-zero vacancy, long waiting lists, rapid absorption, and rising costs demonstrates a clear and urgent unmet need for affordable homeownership opportunities in our region.”
To address the crisis, Horton is leaning into Habitat’s core purpose, “to bring people together to build communities, homes, and hope.”
Her path to Habitat was shaped by personal adversity and a strong desire to serve. Horton began her career as a general manager in the hospitality industry before transitioning into nonprofit work with the American Cancer Society in Florida, the American Heart Association in New York and later serving as statewide executive director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Sales Director Builds Business Through Community Ties At Saratoga Casino Hotel
By Ann Donnelly
Colleen Carlson’s career at Saratoga Casino Hotel began long before the property added a luxury hotel, a premier steakhouse or a busy casino floor. At 15, Carlson sold race programs at the harness track where her mother also worked. Today, as director of sales, she oversees a thriving corporate and events business built on the property’s decades of expansion.
“I have a long history here,” Carlson said. “I started here when I was 15 years old, selling programs. I moved up the line and worked in the press box, doing all sorts of interesting things. It’s like home to me being here.”
The property’s evolution has reshaped Carlson’s sales portfolio. Years ago, the on-site restaurant Fortune’s regularly hosted 350 guests for lunch and dinner. Today it operates exclusively as a private-event space, reflecting the venue’s broader focus on large-scale hospitality.
“Through the whole changeover of getting a hotel, casino, it’s been a great ride,” Carlson said. “When we got the hotel, it made it more interesting. It really ramped up everything.”
Carlson now oversees multiple event spaces across the Saratoga Casino Hotel campus, including conference rooms, a ballroom, Morton’s The Steakhouse and the Vapor nightclub. A standout venue is The Lodge at Nelson and Crescent avenues, featuring a dark green exterior and Adirondack-style woodwork. A large tent installed on a stamped-concrete slab outside The Lodge allows the property to host larger weddings and galas.
A Leading Advocate Of The Arts In Glens Falls Is Honored With J. Walter Juckett Award
Glens Falls Business Journal
By Rod Bacon
Dr. Jacquiline S. Touba, the founding director of the World Awareness Children’s Museum, was the recipient earlier this month of the 37th J. Walter Juckett Community Service Award.
It was presented at the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce’s annual dinner on March 6 at the Sagamore Resort in Lake George.
“Even though I got the award it really belongs to so many people who have participated and supported the museum over the years,” said Dr. Touba. “Some have served on the board of directors, others have volunteered. They’ve helped in so many ways to make it a success.”
A precursor to the museum was the International Arts and Culture Association, established in 1985 to formalize participation by a group of community arts leaders in the International Festival of the Adirondacks. In 1988 the group started the International Youth Art Exchange to share children’s artwork from around the world. In 1995 they applied for a charter for a museum, which absorbed the assets of the association. After years of moving from place to place the board of directors was able to purchase the building at 89 Warren Street, where the museum is currently housed.
East End Rising Effort Advances With Survey On Glens Falls Revitalization
By Paul Post
Plans call for a survey of residents, business owners, developers and lenders as a next step in long-range efforts to revitalize the City of Glens Falls’ East End.
The area encompasses roughly four square miles from Ridge Street east to the Queensbury town line and from Dix Avenue south to the Hudson River.
An East End Rising steering committee is seeking inclusion in the state’s Brownfield Opportunity Area program, which would open the door to a variety of funding and technical assistance.
The panel held its second meeting March 5 at Abraham Wing Elementary School with about three dozen residents on hand.
The survey seeks to obtain input from a cross section of stakeholders about ways the East End could be improved.
Committee members also plan to make a walking tour of sites considered prime for economic development. Several parcels have more than 3 acres each, and more than 6,000 cars per day travel both Dix Avenue and Warren Street.
The East End has an eclectic mix of single-family, multifamily, small retail and old industrial buildings spread across deep-rooted ethnic neighborhoods comprised largely of descendants of Irish and Italian immigrants.
The East End also has the greatest concentration of arts venues in the city, from the renowned Hyde Museum to Troy Shirt Factory, which is home to dozens of arts studios and craft vendors.
The Hyde’s Chief Executive Officer John Lefner said Glens Falls may have the “strongest small-city arts and culture sector in the country.”
Washington County Pursues Economic Growth After Loss Of Major Employer
By Paul Post
Washington County officials are pursuing several efforts to strengthen the local economy, from industrial development to tourism initiatives tied to America 250.
But the county faces one overriding challenge.
“The loss of our single largest employer, Great Meadow prison, continues to impact the local economy,” said Laura Oswald, county director of economic development. “We are currently working on several initiatives that aim to foster the growth of private-sector industries to mitigate the loss of 659 public-sector jobs as well as working with the state to find possible solutions for redevelopment of the site.”
“The governor has proposed a constitutional amendment that would facilitate redevelopment of prisons within Forest Preserve communities, but unfortunately Great Meadow is not among those proposed for inclusion, which severely limits redevelopment options.”
County officials recently secured approval from Empire State Development to establish a land bank.
A land bank allows the county to acquire, manage and return distressed, county-owned or donated properties to productive use, reducing blight, stabilizing property values and creating opportunities for housing and community development.
The program would not apply to Great Meadow but could help revitalize other sites throughout the county.
“A land bank allows us to turn challenges into opportunities and position our county for sustainable growth,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Robert Henke of Argyle.
Lake George Protection Efforts Could Spark New North Country Industries
Courtesy EDC
By Paul Post
Eurasian milfoil, a harmful aquatic invasive species, might have a new use as compost or an ingredient in fertilizer.
Trucks could be modified with a device that works with brine and rock salt to reduce the amount of salt on highways that impacts lakes and streams.
These are just two examples of potential business opportunities that would support ongoing efforts to protect the North Country’s natural resources.
“We should launch companies here that know how to do those things,” said Jim Siplon, president of the Warren County Economic Development Corporation. “You’ll never site an Amazon distribution center in the Adirondack Park. What we have to do is, beyond tourism, what are things we can invest in that will bring economic value and be aligned with the values of the park. Launching industry around protecting natural resources and having it based here is one of those things.”
The EDC is collaborating with other entities such as RPI, the Darrin Fresh Water Institute and the Lake George Association to develop ideas that could be presented to the state for economic development.
At present, there are 16 different clusters, such as financial services, green energy and chip manufacturing, that the state has identified for investment and to attract companies to launch and conduct business in those fields.
SEDC Spurs Major Capital Investment And Thousands Of New Jobs In Region
By Paul Post
Saratoga Economic Development Corp. continued to play a huge role in facilitating major capital investment, leading to thousands of new jobs throughout the area during the past year.
One of the most notable achievements is Regeneron pharmaceutical company’s $2 billion plan to transform the former 1 million-square-foot Quad/Graphics facility in Grande Industrial Park into a large manufacturing site.
Plans call for 1,000 full-time jobs and 500 temporary construction jobs over the next five years.
Other capital projects include, but are not limited to:
· The $48.5 million Coca-Cola investment in Halfmoon, retaining 127 full-time jobs while creating 11 new jobs and 95 temporary construction jobs.
· The $166 million 146 Marketplace investment in Halfmoon, the largest mixed-use project of 2025, calling for a blend of commercial, retail and residential uses with the potential for 385 professional, skilled and semiskilled new full-time jobs and 250 temporary construction jobs.
· In Wilton, the $52 million Wilton Commons mixed-use project is one of two health care facilities enabled in the last 18 months that will address the unmet health care needs of residents in northern Saratoga, southern Warren, Washington, eastern Montgomery and Fulton counties. It is also creating 127 residential units that address much-needed workforce housing.
· In addition, substantial investments in distribution, logistics, warehousing and workforce housing projects have been made in Clifton Park and Stillwater.
Restaurant Owner With Glens Falls Roots Honored For Feeding Those In Need
Courtesy Paul Post
By Paul Post
Lessons learned many years ago at a Glens Falls family kitchen are paying huge dividends for a Norwich, Conn., restaurant owner.
Toast Changemakers recently awarded Justin Burrows a $10,000 grant, one of only 15 U.S. businesses chosen, for his firm’s commitment to addressing local hunger and supporting individuals in need.
In 2019, he bought La Stella Pizzeria, an Italian eatery, and since 2022 has given thousands of free “Lefty Special” meals (pizza, pasta, soup or bread) to anyone who calls or walks through the doors to make sure no one goes hungry. They’re named for the late Vincent “Lefty” George of Glens Falls.
“My Uncle Lefty was one of the greatest influences in my life,” Burrows said. “He and my Aunt Barb were recipients of the highly prestigious Jefferson Award. But beyond that they had a home that was open to everyone. As a first-generation Italian-American, he believed wholeheartedly in feeding people whether it was the mayor or someone without a home. He treated everyone the same.”
“Some of my fondest memories are sitting at his table, sharing a meal and listening to his stories including those from his time in World War II,” Burrows said. “He embodied the kind of person I always hoped to become.”
Burrows’ grandparents lived a few doors away on McDonald Street, where Justin’s father, Rob, grew up. Justin, his wife, Kelsey, and their children still make frequent trips to Glens Falls to visit relatives.
Maple Producers Prepare For Open House Weekends And Agritourism Visitors
Courtesy Paul Post
By Paul Post
Maple producers in Warren, Washington and Saratoga counties are gearing up for Open House Weekends to celebrate the sweetest time of year.
With more than 2,000 sugar makers statewide, New York is the nation’s second-leading producer behind only Vermont, and the industry generates an annual economic impact of about $141 million.
In Warren County, Thurman Maple Days plays an especially important role in generating tourism as the ski season winds down before the onset of summer vacation months.
“We’ve kind of become known as the Maple Capital of New York,” said Randy Galusha, owner of Toad Hill Maple Farm. “What we’re practicing is agritourism. People get to see our farms and learn about the history of maple sugaring. It’s one of the shoulder seasons when not a lot of other things are going on.”
The Lake George Chamber of Commerce says off-shoulder hotel bookings increased dramatically last year, reflecting ongoing efforts to make the region a more year-round tourist destination. According to Visa Analytics, 45 percent of visitor spending in 2025 occurred during shoulder-season months, matching peak-season performance and signaling a more balanced annual tourism cycle.