{"id":17107,"date":"2015-06-18T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2015-06-18T16:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/lawyer-starts-investor-group-renovation-masonic-temple.html"},"modified":"2015-06-18T12:00:25","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T16:00:25","slug":"lawyer-starts-investor-group-renovation-masonic-temple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/lawyer-starts-investor-group-renovation-masonic-temple\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawyer Starts Investor Group To Pay For The Renovation Of Former Masonic Temple"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n\"masonic\n<\/div>\n
The Masonic Temple in Hudson Falls was purchased recently and renovation is planned.\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

BY ANDREA PALMER<\/p>\n

William Nikas aims to renovate the Masonic
\nTemple in Hudson Falls with the help of Kendall
\nMcKernon and a stout following of supporters
\nand investors.<\/p>\n

Nikas, an attorney who has practiced law for 25
\nyears in the region, is also an interior designer and
\nphotographer. He also owns McKernon Designs.<\/p>\n

He purchased the building on his own, seeking
\ncommunity support for its renovation.
\n“It was a roll of the dice,” he said. “At the
\nvery least, I wanted to keep the building out of
\nunfriendly hands. I wanted to keep it preserved.”
\nNikas estimated it will take $2.5 million to
\nrenovate the building. Sixty percent of that
\namount can be financed, leaving a $1 million
\ncapital gap that would need to be raised.
\nNikas proposed the development of the Sandy
\nHill Coalition, a for-profit entity comprised of
\n1,000 shares purchased by area supporters for
\n$1,000 a share. A trust is currently being formed
\nfor the capital, which will be be held with NBT
\nBank.<\/p>\n

Money is not being collected yet.
\n“We haven’t wanted to take money until we
\nhad a better feel for what it was going to cost to
\nrenovate this property,” said Nikas. “We’ve gotten
\nsome criticism for that, but it’s just practical.”<\/p>\n

Money will be placed in the trust with the
\nagreement that it will remain there until at least
\nOctober 2016. At that time, investors will have 30
\ndays to make the decision to pull their money out,
\nor keep it in the trust to maintain their interest
\nin the property.<\/p>\n

“There will be no guarantee of return on investment,”
\nsaid Nikas. “By October next year, we’ll
\nknow if there’s enough money available to move
\nforward. At that time, you can take your money
\nback, no questions asked, or you can say, ‘I’m all
\nin.’ That’s how this is going to work.”
\n“Many have said they want to do something
\nwith this for their grandkids, buying a unit in each
\ngrandchild’s name,” he noted.<\/p>\n

“This is a very different investment model. It is
\na for-profit LLC. People will get their money back
\nthrough tax credits. The money raised is spent on
\nthe building rehab,” he explained. “Because the
\nbuilding is located in a historic district, investors
\nwill be entitled to a 20 percent state and 20
\npercent federal tax credit. Forty percent of $2.5
\nmillion of income tax credit flows down to those
\ninvestors who put up $1 million. Theoretically,
\nthey will get 100 percent of their investment back
\nin tax credit.”<\/p>\n

The investment model concept comes from
\nRick Hauser’s Main Street LLC model, which has
\nbeen successfully implemented in other regions
\nof New York, Nikas said.<\/p>\n

“If the place generates a positive cash flow”
\nthrough tenants and community use, “that’s
\ngreat–investors will get a dividend on that profit.
\nThey will be share-holders,” he said.
\nThe investment opportunity is for anyone interested
\nin the revitalization of downtown Hudson
\nFalls, and is not limited to Hudson Falls residents.<\/p>\n

The plan for renovation would involve a combination
\nof commercial and residential space. Office
\nspace is already on several floors. A gymnasium is
\nhoused in the building, as well as a large ballroom
\non the fifth floor that Nikas hopes to preserve for
\ncommunity use. The space would hold over 200
\npeople and was previously used for Christmas
\nparties and events.<\/p>\n

Said McKernon, “I love the downtown Hudson
\nFalls area. I always thought we had this architectural
\ntexture around {Juckett Park} that is
\namazing. We’re perched right over the river. We’re
\nin the middle of all this amazing history. There’s
\nso much going for the downtown area.”<\/p>\n

“There’s a lot of support in the community. A
\nlot of people are ready to jump on board, with
\nvery little prodding,” he added. “People have fond
\nmemories of the community. They are ready to
\nalign themselves with people moving forward.
\nThere’s momentum behind this movement and
\nit’s just terrific.”<\/p>\n

Nikas said McKernon has been a driving force
\nand inspiration behind the project.
\n“We started talking about revitalizing the
\ndowntown area, and like any other town, we
\nhave an abandoned house problem here,” said
\nNikas. “This goes for downtown as well. We have
\nbuildings in the downtown that are vacant and
\nnot doing well. The first thing you want to do is to
\ndeal with buildings that are empty. The Masonic
\nTemple is part of a much larger downtown revitalization
\nvision.”<\/p>\n

Nikas started communicating with the previous
\nowners in the fall of 2014. The building was
\npurchased in a short sale and closed in early
\nJune of 2015. The building currently has a small
\nnumber of tenants, including the rock\/country
\nMidnight Revival Band and professional tattoo
\nparlor Ink Sanity.<\/p>\n

McKernon says he’s in the project for the long
\nhaul. “Fine things take time to put back together.
\nI’m all about patience and attention to detail. It is
\nnot going to happen immediately, but everything
\ngood is worth the wait. It’s a long-term process.”
\nThe Sandy Hill Vision has a Facebook page.<\/p>\n

Photo\/Todd Bissonette Photography<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Masonic Temple in Hudson Falls was purchased recently and renovation is planned. BY ANDREA PALMER William Nikas aims to renovate the Masonic Temple in Hudson Falls with the help of Kendall McKernon and a stout following of supporters…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[66,99],"yoast_head":"\r\nLawyer Starts Investor Group To Pay For The Renovation Of Former Masonic Temple - Glens Falls Business Journal<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.glensfalls.com\/glensfallsbusinessjournal\/2015\/06\/lawyer-starts-investor-group-renovation-masonic-temple\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lawyer Starts Investor Group To Pay For The Renovation Of Former Masonic Temple - Glens Falls Business Journal\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Masonic Temple in Hudson Falls was purchased recently and renovation is planned. 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