Front photo: Outside of the Saratoga Springs office, by www.photoandgraphic.com; and a rendering of the proposed Ayco offices in Colonie provided by Tara Ryan, the company’s vice president of communications.
SARATOGA SPRINGS – Ayco officials announced this week that a location has been selected in the Town of Colonie for construction of a regional corporate headquarters.
The final design and development approvals are pending in Colonie, officials say.
Still, starting about two years from now, all jobs in Ayco’s offices at 321 Broadway in Saratoga Springs are expected to be transferred to a modern, 150,000-square-foot office structure built at the site of the former Starlite Music Theater near Adirondack Northway Exit 7.
Tara Ryan, Ayco’s vice president of communications, indicated that the company employs a total of 870 people in the Capital Region. She declined to share the precise number of people who work in the Saratoga Springs office.
Ryan added that “a multitude of factors” led to the decision among corporate officials to select the Colonie location.
The financial planning and investment firm’s offices, which serve clients worldwide, are currently separated among the Broadway location and two other buildings in Albany and Latham.
In a statement, Ayco President and CEO Tim O’Hara said: “We’re excited to progress our plan to consolidate our people in the Capital Region. We believe this will allow us to better serve our clients and increase opportunities for our associates to collaborate and connect.”
The statement from Ayco reported how “initial moves into the building would begin no earlier than late 2019,” and that company officials are expecting to add 160 new jobs within two years after that date.
Saratoga Springs Mayor Joanne Yepsen, a strong supporter of Ayco expanding their offices on Broadway, responded to the announcement in a hopeful tone.
“We are pleased that Ayco will still have a significant presence in the city, but very disappointed, despite all our efforts, that they have decided not to build an expanded structure to their current location in Saratoga Springs to meet all their needs,” Yepsen said, in a statement provided by her executive assistant Lisa Shields.
“I know their employees love the quality of life, working and living in our city,” the mayor said. She added that the opening of new corporate offices for Ayco in Albany County “will be a very different experience.”
“This is a loss for Saratoga Springs, but I am confident we will partner with other great companies in the future,” Yepsen said.
