Author: Thomas Dimopoulos

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Wesley Community celebrated its 50th Anniversary at the Saratoga Springs City Center last month with a fundraising dinner attended by about 150 people.

“It was a nice crowd with some folks who dated back quite a bit and it was a wonderful evening of reminiscing and acknowledging what Wesley has meant to the community,” said CEO J. Brian Nealon. “We got to catch up with a lot of board members from some years ago and also see some folks we don’t see enough of.” 

Original board member Bill Dake spoke about the community’s earliest days and the trials and tribulations involved getting the project off the ground, Nealon said. The nonprofit organization has supported seniors in the community since opening its doors in 1972.

In 1966 a motion approval established what was called the Saratoga Retirement Center. Groundbreaking for the Embury Apartments took place in 1969 and the doors opened in 1972.  Mrs. Selma Ogden was its first resident. The Victoria Building expansion came in 1985, the Wesley Health Care Center opened in 1973, an 80-bed expansion – the Hathorn building – was added 21 years later. Woodlawn Commons opened with 60 independent and 40 assisted living apartments in 1999.

In all, the Wesley Community is a 37-acre, not-for-profit agency which serves the needs of the elderly, as well as active seniors, adults and pediatrics. It is comprised of Wesley Health Care Center – the nursing home, Embury Apartments – subsidized senior apartments, and Woodlawn Commons – assisted living and market-rate senior housing. 

“All told, that’s 11 buildings. A little over 600 folks live on campus,” said Nealon, who first began working in the community in the mid-1980s. He became the organization’s third CEO after succeeding Neil Roberts in 2003.  

An aging population across the country has resulted in changes in both needs and services over the past half-century since the Wesley Community first opened its doors.  

The life expectancy 50 years ago was just over 71 years of age in America, the National Center for Health Statistics reported. In the pre-pandemic year of 2019, life expectancy had increased to nearly 79. 

Citing declining fertility and aging baby boomers by the year 2034 older adults are projected to outnumber children for the first time in U.S. history, according to a 2019 U.S. Census report titled “The Graying of America.” 

“As one of the largest generations in the country, boomers leave a substantial imprint on the population. They swelled the ranks of the young when they were born and then the workforce as they entered adulthood,” according to the report. By 2060, it is anticipated nearly one in four Americans will be 65 years and older, the number of 85-plus will triple, and the country will add a half million centenarians. 

A larger number of people living longer is coupled with people expressing the desire to live on their own to a greater age.  

“People are living at home longer and that’s a significant change,” Nealon said. “Now, folks are typically older and more frail than we were seeing 40 or 50 years ago. That’s also a trend nationally, and I do think that trend will continue as boomers want to be as independent as possible,” he added. “In housing at Woodlawn, an average move-in age is in the mid-80s, at Embury it’s a little bit younger, I would say mid-70’s, and the nursing home tends to be older.”

The continuum-of-care campus provides independent and assisted living for seniors, affordable independent senior housing, short-term rehabilitation and long-term care, as well as home care services and outpatient therapies available for people of all ages.

The organization is looking at meeting the changing needs of modern-day and future populations, which includes expanding certain practices, remodeling existing buildings and exploring services it can provide to help people remain independent as long as possible.  

In conjunction with its 50th anniversary, a commemorative book and video that chronicle Wesley Community’s journey have been issued.  For more information, go to: www.wesley50.org.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —The First Baptist Church of Saratoga was established in October 1793.  Saratoga Springs’ oldest church has provided services at 45 Washington St. since 1855. This weekend, the church is kicking off a drive aimed at replacing its near 50-year-old organ.   

“We always celebrate our birthday in some unique way – to let people know we’re here, that we’re excited do our ministry for our congregation as well as the community, and to help those around us,” said Doris Seagrave, chair of the board of Deacons at the church. 

On Sunday, Oct. 16, organist Farrell Goehring will feature the music of Bach, Mendelssohn and others in a fundraising event that begins at 2 p.m.  

“This marks the start of the organ fund, and on Sunday there will be a good will offering after the concert,” said Seagrave. The church has begun reaching out to the community and will be pursuing donations and potential grants during its drive to replace the organ, which Seagrave estimated at a minimum cost of approximately $50,000.   

Over the past few years, renovation projects on-site have resulted in restoring some of the church’s stain glass windows, after being awarded grants from The Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation, the New York Landmarks Conservancy, and the Alfred Z. Solomon Testamentary Trust.   

The mission of the First Baptist Church in Saratoga focuses on three areas: homeless students and homeless adults, families subjected to domestic violence, and migrant workers at local dairy farms and racetrack.

 “We’ve been a very active in the community and we do a lot of ministry with the homeless shelter, with Wellsprings, and many of the other organizations in the area,” Seagrave said. 

For more information about First Baptist Church, go to: fbcsaratoga.org, or email: firstbaptistsaratoga@gmail.com.    

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Members of the Temple Sinai community were joined by religious school students and their families Oct. 2 to seal and place a time capsule on the synagogue grounds on Broadway. 

According to the Hebrew lunar calendar, every 7 years is known as a shmita, or sabbatical year. The cycle of Jewish time points to this year as a shmita year, a year of “release”
and regeneration.

The cycle of shmita invites all to reflect, contemplate, and recharge every seven years, said Sylvia Bloom, the director of education for the Temple Sinai religious school.

“In addition to all the challenges of COVID and this year’s hopeful emergence from its shadow, our Rabbis of 36 years will be retiring in December. It’s a good moment to take stock of who and where we are, and where we’d like to head as a community,” said Bloom. Rabbis Jonathan Rubenstein and Linda Motzkin are retiring this year.

More than one dozen objects that represent something important from the past year, or something individuals wish to release, were prepared for the capsule. The goal is to capture this moment in time.

WILTON — A proposal initiated last year that would see the development of nearly 400 apartments and townhouses alongside the Wilton Mall continues on its path forward. 

The parties behind the development proposal recently launched the website “Reimagine Wilton Mall” that points to a detailed timeline of upcoming public meetings with local and regional officials for the purpose of seeking approval for the project.     

The project, proposed by the Macerich Corporation and Paramount Development, includes 382 new “luxury, market-rate rental residences,” including both apartments and townhomes, and will feature “premium resident amenities with a sophisticated design,” according to the companies.  

“What we see in the Wilton Mall is something that’s got some momentum. We do really well around retail,” Tom Snell, a partner with Paramount Development, told Wilton town officials during a public meeting earlier this year, when Paramount announced its plans to purchase two lots totaling just over 13-1/2 acres on the northeasterly side of the mall for the $100 million-plus project. 

Santa Monica, California-based company Macerich has owned and operated the mall land since 2004. They own about 95 acres in all; JC Penney – owns just over two acres, and LBW Saratoga – occupied by BJ’s, owns just under four acres. 

Paramount Development, based in Florida, has developed 200 rental apartment communities in dozens of states. 

The potential project, which would be developed in two phases, would occur on the northeast side of the mall past Dick’s Sporting Goods, and see the removal of the former BonTon location, which closed in 2018. That was followed by the closure of Sears two years later. 

At its peak in 2016, the mall generated about $95 million in sales. Figures provided by Wilton Mall Property Manager Mike Schafer earlier this year showed those figures were down to $55 million. “That’s about a $44 million sales tax loss with the retailers that we’ve lost,” Schafer said. “The sales in the mall dropped in half.” The addition of hundreds of residents to a new space is being viewed as a catalyst for growth, he added.   

An application for establishing a Planned Unit Development District (PUDD) at the Wilton Mall to allow the development of 382 luxury rental residences was forwarded for review to the Town of Wilton Planning Board. Upcoming meetings to discuss the project are anticipated to take place at the Wilton Planning Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 19, the Saratoga County Planning Board on Oct. 20, and at the Wilton Town Board meeting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 3. All meetings are open to the public.