BALLSTON SPA — A Stewart’s Shop in Ballston Spa is now equipped with Tesla Superchargers that can be used by both Tesla and non-Tesla vehicles, one of the first of its kind.
This newly installed Supercharger can be found at the Stewart’s Shop, located at 2951 State Hwy 9, Ballston Spa, right off Exit 13N of Interstate 87. There are only a few locations in the United States where you can access this charger. This Supercharger is open to Tesla vehicles and non-Tesla vehicles with CCS compatibility. This shop is equipped with 8 Superchargers that are available 24/7 and charge up to 250kW.
“Stewart’s is proud to support our EV customers by working with Tesla to bring these chargers to our location in the Town of Malta,” said Chad Kiesow, Senior VP of Facilities at Stewart’s Shops. “Now not only Tesla, but any EV owner can stop by to refuel the car and themselves.”
Stewart’s Shops currently has 11 locations equipped with electric vehicle charging stations, six of them being Tesla Superchargers and five with NY EVolve stations. All Stewart’s EV chargers are Level 3 Direct Current Fast Chargers or DCFCs.
These types of chargers take about 20-30 minutes to reach full battery and the cost to charge depends on a variety of factors. All Stewart’s EV charging stations, Tesla and NY EVolve, are placed in strategic locations that make sense in their respective market areas to reduce range anxiety and boost daily convenience.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — The business professional group Networking @ Night is teaming up with the Saratoga Center for the Family for a night of networking for good.
The organization is holding an event on Thursday, April 13 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Bailey’s Cafe in Saratoga Springs (37 Phila St) as an opportunity for local professionals and entrepreneurs to grow their businesses by connecting with like-minded people.
Featuring a taco bar, drink specials from local breweries, a silent auction, and networking, there’s no charge for this event. However, a suggested donation of $20 per guest benefits the Saratoga Center for the Family.
Made possible by community support, the Center offers individual and group counseling for children, families, and adults through their main office in Saratoga Springs and through their Student Empowerment Services in local school districts, regardless of the patient’s ability to pay.
This event is capped at 70 people, so interested individuals should register beforehand at NetworkingAtNightEvent.eventbrite.com.
Networking @ Night was founded in 2022 by Andrea Gorgen and Shelagh Conley for the greater Saratoga region. Meetings are held on the second Thursday of every month. Follow the group on Instagram: @Networking_at_night.
Dr. Richard Falivena, Saratoga Hospital vice president, chief medical and physician integration officer, and Jill VanKuren, Saratoga Hospital president and CEO, join Dr. David Strauss and Dr. David Hindson, Millennium Medical Imaging president and vice president, respectively. Photo provided by Saratoga Hospital.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Millennium Medical Imaging will continue its longstanding philanthropic support of Saratoga Hospital by donating $337,500 over the next five years.
The radiology practice has provided medical imaging services at Saratoga Hospital locations since 2000 and has contributed over $1 million to support Hospital programs and fundraising efforts.
Millennium’s latest pledge includes $250,000 for advanced imaging equipment. The remaining $87,500 will provide five years of sponsorship support for Saratoga Hospital’s three annual fundraising events: the Cantina Kids Fun Run, the Gala, and the Golf Invitational. The Fun Run supports children’s health care services, the Gala benefits the Hospital’s Saratoga Community Health Center, and the Golf Invitational supports the Hospital’s Nursing Scholarship Program.
For Millennium, philanthropic support is another way to serve Saratoga Hospital, their patients, and the community that is home to many members of the medical imaging practice.
MILTON — The town of Milton and the village of Ballston Spa continue to discuss an agreement for Milton to purchase the Woods Hollow Nature Preserve from the Village.
The nature preserve is located in the town of Milton but is currently owned by the village of Ballston Spa. Milton Town Supervisor Scott Ostrander said the town has been paying for maintenance of the preserve for “probably the last 30 years,” at a cost of roughly $8,000 to $10,000 per year.
A memorandum of agreement was signed between the municipalities on March 17. The agreement is not a formal contract nor legally binding but is a mutual understanding between the two parties to work toward the listed terms.
The memorandum states the sale price would be $360,000, and that the preserve would receive a conservation easement designating it as ‘forever wild,’ with minor exceptions.
Exceptions would be for maintenance and emergency response vehicles, for forest management work, and construction of minor unenclosed structures and benches, Ballston Spa Mayor Frank Rossi, Jr. said in a Facebook post.
The deal would also ensure that the Village of Ballston Spa does not face any liability for the cancellation of its contract with the Saratoga Land Management Corporation (LUMAC), who the Village had hired to conduct tree-cutting on dead or dying trees in the preserve. Rossi said that no trees in the preserve were taken down under the contract.
Milton has raised funds for the purchase through “the sale of land to the Community Emergency Corps, monies paid in lieu of parklands by our development committee, and through the Saratoga County Open Space Preservation Grant Program,” according to a statement released on the town’s Facebook page.
As part of the agreement, Milton would establish water districts within four to six months of the sale, and handle snow removal, treatment, and brush pickup in the Colonial Hills neighborhood for the next five years. The town would also recognize the need to increase its annual support for the Ballston Spa Public Library and the Ballston Spa Village Pool, according to the memorandum.
The Town of Milton would plan to make some improvements to the preserve, but Ostrander said they are mainly looking at “preserving it the way it is.”
“We basically want to keep it forever wild, like it looks now,” Ostrander told Saratoga Today on March 22.
He said the town would look to pave the main parking lot off Northline Road and pull-in entrances off Rowland Street, add more benches throughout the preserve, and clean up trails and surrounding areas.
The Town of Milton voted to approve the terms of the memorandum at their Town Board meeting on March 22.
Ballston Spa held a Board of Trustees meeting on March 27, where the Board voted against placing Woods Hollow into the village surplus. Some trustees at the meeting raised concerns over proper publicization of the agreement, as well as rights to water in the preserve.
The memorandum states, “The Village retains any and all water and mineral rights but neither party can mine.” Rossi said that while some Village trustees spoke of concerns over potentially signing away future water rights in the preserve, he felt it was “resolved” based on feedback from the audience at Monday’s meeting.
Declaring surplus is a needed step to move forward in the sale process, Rossi said.
“That was disappointing that we weren’t able to get there, but we’ll see where it goes,” said Rossi.
Ostrander also said it was “disappointing” that the Village was unable to move forward.
“At this point, the attorneys are trying to work out the details,” Ostrander said on Wednesday. “Like I said, we signed the memorandum. The Town of Milton’s all set on their end.”
The Ballston Spa Village Board of Trustees will hold a special meeting on April 6 to discuss sidewalk and ethics codes, Rossi said. The next Board of Trustees regular meeting will be 7 p.m. on April 10. Rossi said on Wednesday he was unsure of which meeting the topic will be brought up again, saying the Village has to advertise the terms of the agreement.
“I’m just not sure what the timing will be on that,” said Rossi.
Gateway House of Peace Thrift Store. Photo by Dylan McGlynn.
MILTON — The Gateway House of Peace Thrift Store officially opened its doors this month, helping to raise funds for end-of-life services provided by the Gateway House of Peace.
Located at 408 Geyser Road, proceeds from all of the thrift store’s sales go toward the Gateway House of Peace’s services. Elaine Pearson, director of the Gateway House Thrift Store, said they began renting the space in December before officially opening on March 1.
“It’s been wonderful,” said Pearson of the experience since opening. “We’ve been blessed with a lot of donations from the community. Our sales have been great. The community has been very supportive.”
The Gateway House of Peace offers end-of-life care at no cost to its residents or their families. Typically, the Gateway House has raised money through a variety of fundraisers. Pearson said the thrift store will allow Gateway to see a year-round revenue stream.
“We’re hoping the thrift store is going to help alleviate all the fundraising that we have to do,” Pearson said. “That was our ultimate goal. We’ve talked about it for five to ten years now, doing this, and we just never did it. Finally, we said, ‘We’re just going to do it.’”
After searching for a location for roughly two years, Pearson said the Geyser Road location became available “out of the blue.” She said having the space available is “a wonderful feeling.”
“It’s an accomplishment,” said Pearson. “We’ve been planning for so long, and for our dream to come true, it’s an absolutely wonderful experience and wonderful feeling.”
The Gateway House of Peace runs an annual yard sale to help raise funds, with Pearson saying the thrift store began as an extension of the yard sale.
“We have hundreds and hundreds of people that come through,” said Pearson of the yard sale. “That’s really why we wanted the thrift store, because the yard sales were such a big hit, and great fundraiser.”
Pearson said the funds raised at the thrift store will go toward day-to-day operations at the Gateway House, including paid nursing staff, utilities and bills, and more. The thrift store has just one paid employee, manager Cassandra Roner, who is assisted by a variety of volunteers.
Roner said it has been “amazing” to see how many volunteers have offered their time to the store.
“I’m involved in a lot of organizations, from sports to my church, and sometimes it’s hard to get volunteers,” said Roner. “So to see people come in here and want to volunteer their time, it shows you what the mission of Gateway House means to people.”
Pearson also mentioned the community has been very supportive, noting that many local businesses helped provide various donations when the store was being prepared for opening.
“So many of the businesses, there’s so many of them that have donated to us with paint, and jewelry counters, and shelving,” Pearson said. “They’ve been absolutely wonderful, donating items to us to get started.”
The store’s location on Geyser Road is also an advantage, just over a mile from the Gateway House of Peace. Pearson said that while the thrift store’s current location is “a little bit too small,” it provides strong connectivity between the two locations.
“I really wanted to stay close to Gateway House,” Pearson said. “I didn’t want to leave the area for a bigger space. It’s connected. People know, just go around the corner and there’s Gateway House.”
The store will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony “once the weather gets nicer,” said Pearson. She said they hope to eventually raise $100,000 yearly for the Gateway House of Peace.
“What I’d like to see is $100,000 a year,” said Pearson. “That’s my ultimate goal. If we make that, I’d be very happy.”
BALLSTON SPA — The Speckled Pig Brewing Company opened its doors just under six months ago, and business has been strong for the local brewers.
Located at 11 Washington Street in the Village of Ballston Spa, Speckled Pig offers a variety of beers, seltzers, and pizzas, all of which are produced in-house.
Larry Heid, a partner at Speckled Pig, said the first six months have gone “better than we had expected,” noting the strong response from local community members.
“The Village of Ballston Spa, the residents here have been so warm,” said Heid. “They were super receptive to having a brewery. It’s become kind of like a home base for the village. We’re very happy with how it’s progressing.”
That progression has gone quickly, as Speckled Pig has already ventured into the distribution market, partnering with Saratoga Eagle to offer kegs of their beers at local bars.
“To be six months in and doing that is insane,” said R.J. Elliott, a partner at Speckled Pig. “So it’s been hectic, brewing as fast as humanly possible to keep up.”
The brewery is registered as a New York Farm Brewery, meaning that 60% of grains and hops used in the making of their beers must be sourced from within New York State. All of their beers and pizza are made on-site, with Elliott saying, “Local is kind of the name of our game.”
“Everything we do, we tie back to the people around here, supporting local businesses,” Elliott said, noting the Speckled Pig has a partnership with Coffee Planet, and has hosted a variety of fundraisers for booster clubs from Ballston Spa High School.
Elliott, a graduate of Ballston Spa High School, said it is meaningful to be able to establish a business in the village.
“It’s all anyone talks to me about now, ‘How’s the Pig?’,” Elliott said. “It’s the first thing that’s on everyone’s mind.”
Heid said the brewery is seeing “a lot of repeat customers.”
“On any given day, I will know, like, at least half the people that are here from just coming back,” said Heid.
The local support can be easily observed inside the brewery, as a wall across from the bar is covered with the names of members of the Speckled Pig’s ‘Founders Club.’ The Founders Club hosts private events and offers tastings of new beers, among other perks. Elliott said over 300 people signed up for the club within the brewery’s first two weeks of opening.
“And we capped it at that,” said Elliott. “We had a lot of people still asking us to join, but we stopped it because we want to be able to, on the Wednesdays that we do open for Founders, have them all get a seat when they come in.”
It has been a drastic turnaround for the property, which sat vacant for many years before Elliott’s family purchased it. However, they initially did not have any plans for a brewery.
“We just wanted to clean it up for the village,” Elliott said. “That was the only goal. For years, it had sat here. You’re talking 15 to 20 years without anything in it.”
Then Larry and Mary-Jo Heid came into the picture. Looking for a brewery in the area, they connected with Kelly Delaney-Elliott, R.J.’s mother and a real estate broker.
“We had no brewery intention in mind until we met the Heids,” said Elliott. “A year later, we were open. So it happened fast. It still feels like it was yesterday.”
The brewery came flying out of the gate, offering 11 beers and a seltzer on their first day of business, which Elliott said was “crazy.”
“Nobody told us we weren’t supposed to do that, we just kind of went for it,” said Heid.
“To do that right off the bat meant literally as fast as you could possibly turn the tank, we’re brewing the next cycle,” added Elliott. “For the first couple weeks, you’d look at the menu and you’d see a line through like three of them, because we just kicked the seven kegs we had, and we had three more days until we got the tank. Now, it’s a pretty huge achievement that we’ve got all our beers on tap and we’re ahead of it.”
The brewery also has big plans as the weather gets warmer, with Elliott saying the Speckled Pig is looking to open a rooftop deck in the summer. Currently, the brewery operates solely on the top floor of the building (roughly 4,500 square feet).
Looking further into the future, Speckled Pig also plans to deepen their roots in distribution. Heid said the company hopes to start selling cans of their beer “within a year.”
Ultimately, Elliott said being able to share the brewery with the people of Ballston Spa is “one of the coolest feelings.”
“I just get a ton of pride being able to do it in Ballston Spa,” said Elliott. “It’s my hometown, and it’s nice to be able to create a business that can manufacture right here.”
WILTON — Brooklyn-based developers The Markstone Group have proposed construction of an age 55-plus senior housing community on Route 50 in Wilton.
The community would have 390 units across three buildings at 4029 Route 50, according to minutes from the Town of Wilton Planning Board’s January meeting. The location is currently occupied by The Christmas Gift Shop.
Two of the buildings would be L-shaped and approximately 39,000 square feet, with a third, longer building of approximately 42,000 square feet set back from the other two. The buildings would each be four stories and have 130 units, according to the meeting minutes.
The project would be Markstone’s second senior living community in the Capital Region. Hamilton Parc, another adult living community, currently is under construction in Guilderland. Jacob Freund, COO of The Markstone Group, said on Monday that the company was drawn to the area after seeing a need for such facilities.
“We researched and we saw there’s a big, big need for quality senior living, so we threw ourselves into the market,” said Freund. “There’s nothing built that’s affordable, nice, and up-to-date, with amenities, services, the whole nine yards. That’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re trying to bring a product to the market that’s going to be affordable and beautiful.”
The group is proposing indoor amenities in the third building, including an exercise room, meeting rooms, game rooms, and a kitchenette. They have also proposed amenities such as basketball, pickleball, and tennis courts, as well as a putting green, community gardens, and a dog park, according to the meeting minutes.
Rent prices have not yet been determined, with Freund saying Monday the company is still going through the entitlement process. The community is proposed to have boulevard access off of Route 50, and would feature a center courtyard with parking in addition to parking lots on the side and in back of each building, according to the meeting minutes.
Freund said that it is important to Markstone to “make it work” for potential residents.
“It’s never too late to live a life. We want them to have quality living,” said Freund. “It’s crucial here in people’s lives, and it’s important that they have quality time with each other.”
The project will be presented to the Town of Wilton Zoning Board of Appeals on March 23, seeking approval of a variance for the occupied height of the buildings. A maximum of 55 feet is allowed, but the top 20 feet must be unoccupied, leaving 35 feet occupied. The plans call for the buildings to be within the maximum height allowed, but over the allowed amount of occupied space, according to the minutes from the Wilton Town Board’s meeting on Feb. 2.
Photo provided by Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga National Bank and Trust Company has announced the promotion of Leslie D’Angelico to Business Development Sales Manager.
In this new role, Ms. D’Angelico will be responsible for day-to-day management of the Business Development Team with a focus on developing, growing and deepening new and existing relationships across the bank’s footprint and business lines. She will also continue to support the bank’s Retail Branch teams.
Ms. D’Angelico has more than 20 years of experience in banking, 12 of which have been spent with Saratoga National Bank and the Arrow Family of Companies. In that time, she has successfully held leadership and individual producer roles within retail banking.
Ms. D’Angelico attended SUNY Adirondack and has completed several courses from the American Institute of Banking. She lives in Queensbury and is active in the community serving on two boards, Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Southern Adirondacks and Queensbury Community Scholarship Association.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — PDT Market, a specialty grocery store, is preparing to open in downtown Saratoga Springs in the coming weeks.
PDT Market is located at 55 Railroad Place, taking over the former Price Chopper location. The store has a wide variety of offerings, selling typical grocery items in addition to offering deli, seafood, and produce areas. PDT also offers a hot bar, a make-your-own charcuterie station, and a full-service bar, and will sell grab-and-go foods, flowers, personal items, and much more.
Adam Foti, owner of PDT, said it is “super exciting” to be nearing an opening date.
“I’ve been in here while they’ve been finishing all the shelves and stuff, but just to see what they’re doing on the shelves, and the signage up and everything, is beyond exciting,” said Foti. “It’s such a labor of love that I’m so passionate about, that it’s just so exciting to see everything here.”
PDT’s kitchen and bar will also offer limited menus, and cooking classes will be offered near the bar area. There are tables throughout, allowing spaces for people to sit and eat or have a drink. The bar area can also be rented out for private events.
“It’s exciting that people can sort of choose their own adventure, in a way,” Foti said. “Do you want to head toward the bar? Do you need to go shopping, because you’re looking for something specific on a shelf?”
PDT has developed its own coffee and jams that will be for sale. Foti said they are hoping to work with other local businesses, including the Schuylerville-based King Brothers Dairy.
Foti said the idea behind PDT’s wide variety of offerings is to “make your life easier,” offering a convenient space where customers can find a range of products and services.
“There’s so many different things you can do here, that you can experience it in all types of ways,” said Foti. “Our idea is that we want to make your life easier. … The idea is, no matter what you want to do, we sort of have that for you.”
James T. Cox. Photo provided by Continuum Wealth Advisors.
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Continuum Wealth Advisors, an SEC-registered investment advisor with offices in Saratoga Springs, has announced the addition of James T. Cox, CFP®, ChFC®, BFA™ to the firm’s wealth management team.
James has been working in the financial industry for more than 12 years and is excited to bring his skillset to a fast-growing firm. As a Certified Financial Planner™, he provides clarity to his clients’ financial lives.
“I am excited to join one of the premier boutique financial planning firms in the Capital District. I am impressed with the passion, knowledge, and experience that Tim, David, and Jen use to serve their clients. I believe my experience and focus on financial planning will be a strong fit with this firm that will help propel us forward,” Cox said about the move.
“We are very excited to welcome James to Continuum Wealth Advisors. With James joining our team, we will be able to expand the scope of our services and help more families in the Capital District,” said Tim Smith, who founded Continuum Wealth Advisors in 2010.
