SARATOGA SPRINGS — A prime piece of downtown architecture is looking to grow taller. 

Prime Group Holdings founder Robert Moser is seeking city Land Use Board approval to add two stories to the company’s existing two-story brick masonry office building at 395 Broadway. If approved, the combined four-story building would serve as office space for Prime Group Holdings on all four floors, with a retail store component on the first floor. 

The red-brick building located on the southwest corner of Broadway and Division Street was originally developed in 2000 to house Borders Books & Music, and in in 2018 was purchased by Ed Mitzen and the Fingerpaint Marketing firm. It was sold to Prime Group Holdings for $11 million in July.

On Sept. 5, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced it had charged Prime Group Holdings LLC for failing to adequately disclose millions of dollars of real estate brokerage fees that were paid to a real estate brokerage firm that was owned by its CEO. “Prime Group agreed to pay a $6.5 million civil penalty and more than $14 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest to settle the charges,” according to a statement released by the SEC on Tuesday. 

It was not immediately known what effect the company’s payment of $20.5 million to settle the charges may have on its previously expressed plans for adding two stories to its Broadway building.  

Prime Group had previously planned to build a six-story complex with a restaurant, retail and offices at 269 Broadway – adjacent to Saratoga Central Catholic School – until construction estimates climbed well beyond the initial $30 million projection, Robin Cooper reported last month in the Albany Business Review. A decision about what will become of that property has not been decided.   

Plans, proposals and alterations related to Saratoga Springs developments and architecture make their way through one or more of the city’s three Land Use Boards. Those boards are the Planning Board, Design Review Commission and Zoning Board of Appeals. Meetings are open to the public. For a list of regularly scheduled meetings, go to: saratoga-springs.org.      

Some of the other projects currently making their way through the city’s Land Use Boards.

•A project at 78 Church St., between Clinton and West Harrison streets, involves the demolition of an existing retail business to make room for a 61-foot multi-use residential and commercial building. The proposed five-story building will include 23 condominium units, commercial space on the first floor, and a garage. Applicant: Spring City Development Group, LLC.  

•Station Lane Site Plan West Ave. & Station Lane. Consideration of SEQRA review for a proposed mixed-use project including 9,500 square feet non-residential space and 68 multi-family residential units. The non-residential space is proposed to feature the development of about 6,900 square feet of retail space and 2,600 square feet of restaurant space. The approximate 2-acre project is currently vacant. 

•Adult Use Dispensary: 95 West Ave./250 Washington St. Special use permit for a marijuana dispensary. The applicant – Ten Cees, LLC – says it plans to institute a digital queue system in which customers will order in advance, then wait in their vehicles until being notified via app of their turn to enter the dispensary.  To ensure orderly queuing, physical lines will be established outside the dispensary’s front door at 95 West Ave. and wrap around to the back door, according to documents filed with the city.   

•Stewart’s Shop is looking to re-develop its Express at 177 South Broadway, with the razing of an existing house at 28 Lincoln Ave. and the construction of a new near-4,000 square foot Stewart’s.

•Chipotle area variance: removal of a vacant existing building at 12 Ballston Ave. and in its place the construction of a one-story restaurant.   

The question of modern urban parking is answered by pairing the Saratoga Springs City Center’s three-story parking structure with the adjacent Flat Rock Park.

Maximizing parking spaces and green spaces within a city are often conflicting ideals. In Saratoga Springs, the odd pairing equals success. 

Saratoga has been grappling with how to add more parking spaces downtown for at least thirty years, said Saratoga Springs City Center Executive Director Ryan McMahon. 

Plans have come and gone since then, but the one that gained enough momentum to reach fruition was spearheaded by former City Center President  Mark Baker beginning in 2015, at the end of his 33-year career. 

Championed by Joe Dalton, Chairman of the Saratoga Springs City Center Authority Board, then Mayor Meg Kelly, and others; in 2018 the plan for the parking garage and adjoining park was approved. 

Resilient By Design

In 2020, Saratoga Springs City Center parking structure construction was completed. Built of precast concrete, this durable material is not even in the same world as the asphalt used in surface lots, said McMahon. 

“Blacktop is a soft material that needs repaving and constant attention. Concrete is a lot more resilient,” he said, which keeps maintenance costs at a minimum. 

The structure’s three levels steadily accommodate 620 vehicles in a pay-to-park system; the first hour is free, parking costs $2/hour after that, for a maximum of $15/day.

During peak times, from 8am – 6pm daily, and during events, usage exceeds 14,000 transactions/month. Average usage equals 8,000 transactions/month.

Smart Parking

In addition to protection from the weather, lighting, signage, and other safety measures let customers know they (and their property) will remain safe. 

The largest operating expense of the City Center’s $17 million project is the security services provided by US Security. In addition to full-time, overnight building and parking structure security, they monitor the pedestrian bridge and loading docks, two elevators and multiple exits; provide crowd control and services at events with alcohol. The facility’s approximately 35 cameras are monitored remotely, and their blue emergency telephones are directly connected to the Saratoga Springs Police Department. 

Originally built in 1984, today’s expanded City Center and adjoining Saratoga Hilton boast a combined 58,000 sq. ft. of multi-functional leasable space. A positive economic engine for downtown Saratoga Springs, the unique conference complex hosts conventions, corporations, New York State associations, trade groups, northeast regional organizations, and more. Direct economic impacts from visitor spending, as well as indirect and induced economic impacts from business-to-business activity and growth of personal income for residents, result. 

“We’ve had a generally positive reaction to the plan and now, our closest neighbors are supportive and are experiencing the benefits,” said McMahon. 

Flexible Green Space

Last October, Flat Rock Park, at 37 High Rock Ave, officially opened, providing an additional outdoor venue in an advantageous downtown location with easy access to amenities. 

A downtown connector to the Saratoga Greenbelt Trail (a planned 24-mile walking and biking path looping through Saratoga) this public green space offers recreational opportunities while also creating a wildlife corridor connecting nearby High Rock Park with Congress Park. The plantings naturally control water, reduce air pollution and the urban heat island effect.

“It’s a great addition to the area, and a great place to eat lunch,” said McMahon. 

Expanded Event Offerings

In addition to its environmental and health benefits, Flat Rock Park contributes to the city’s economic vitality by hosting events in conjunction with the City Center parking garage. 

In July, when a monumental storm poured down on the Celebrate Saratoga! events (welcoming people downtown for Saratoga Race Course’s Opening Day) the party moved from the Flat Rock Park outdoor stage to the parking garage’s sheltered lower level. 

On July 4th and New Year’s Eve, the third-floor parking deck is used for the city’s fireworks displays, giving everyone in the area a terrific view of the festivities. 

Beginning Sunday, September 3rd, Saratoga Springs’ first Cannabis Growers Showcase will host licensed growers and retailers selling cannabis products. Running Tuesdays and Sundays from 12 noon until 6pm, the Showcase will continue through the end of the year. 

On September 23rd, from 9am – 4pm, the Saratoga Giant PumpkinFest, a free family-friendly event, returns to the Saratoga Springs City Center parking garage and Flat Rock Park.

For more information, go to https://www.saratogacitycenter.org

BALLSTON SPA — Saratoga County officials last week unveiled a Mobile Command Vehicle featuring state-of-the-art technology that they said provides First Responders a unified incident command space and allows for more effective and efficient coordination of response efforts in the field.

“During an emergency response incident, having effective, efficient command and communications capabilities is critical for public safety and successful response efforts,” Saratoga County Sheriff Michael Zurlo said, in a statement. “This new Mobile Command Vehicle will provide us the flexibility to bring the full capabilities of the Sheriff’s Office anywhere in the County, allowing us to engage in operations that might otherwise be impossible.”

The MCV will serve as an on-scene command post, allowing for surveillance, communications support, and mobile dispatching during incidents requiring long term deployment of emergency resources. These may include natural or man-made disasters, missing persons searches, hazmat responses, and similar incidents.  The vehicle can also be used for special security events, emergency service exercises, and community outreach events.  

The vehicle can be deployed anywhere in the county and is equipped with everything emergency management staff need to do their jobs effectively from the field. 

The MCV was paid for by a $250,000 grant facilitated by Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner.  Saratoga County was provided a State and Municipal Facilities Program (SAM) grant from the NYS Dormitory Authority for the specific purpose in purchasing a new Mobile Command Vehicle.  In 2021, the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution to purchase this 2022 Mercedes Mobile Command Vehicle for $241,815.  The remainder of the grant was used to outfit the MCV to make it fully operational.   

The MCV’s High Power User Equipment (HPUE) provides a range of features that staff can use to increase communications coverage, improve data speed, and enhance security during an emergency. 

Additional features include: Radio with the ability to talk on marine, aircraft, on primary and back-up talk groups, and on national inter-op channels; Three computer positions outfitted with video conferencing and access to computer-aided dispatch; Ability to collect and share real-time video and photograph information from a scene; Mast-mounted camera allowing for situational awareness.

SARATOGA SPRINGS —A decorative planter rests easily atop the kitchen island, greeting all who enter with letters that spell: H-O-M-E.  

The two-story haven, which stands at Kirby Road near Washington Street, will serve as the SunRise Retreat – an intensive crisis residence that is the first of its kind in the greater Capital Region and the second one sited in the entire state. 

“It is a short-term retreat for people experiencing a mental health crisis,” explained RISE Executive Director Sybil Newell, offering a tour of the building during a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Aug. 24. The residence is expected to be open and fully operational in a few weeks.  

“Experiencing a mental health crisis can mean different things to different people,” Newell said. “We will be providing stabilization services, treatment on-site, and discharge planning so that people can return safely to the community. 

“We know that people often experience mental health distress where they may not immediately meet criteria to be in the hospital, but, without additional support and oversight they continue to deteriorate and eventually do end up needing hospitalization,” Newell said. “We hope that SunRISE Retreat will fill that gap and give people the extra support they need to avoid going to the hospital, or to give them the extra time they need to get solidly on their feet after hospitalization.”

The two-story building houses approximately 12 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and 6 showers. The bedrooms offer a living space about 15 feet long, 15 feet wide, and site a bed, desk, dresser and closet space. There is a multi-purpose kitchen with a free-standing island where meals will be prepared for those in residence, as well as a dining area, conference room, offices for staff and a large living room fitted with multiple couches, a TV, and a fireplace.  

The program is open to everyone with or without a diagnosis and there is no long referral process to get into the facility, Newell said.  “If you, or someone you know is in a mental health crisis – whatever that looks like – you can call here and we will have 24/7 availability, to be assessed by a professional to determine whether or not they are appropriate for this level of care.”  

“The wonderful thing is that it’s for everybody and anybody: your brothers and sisters, your mothers and fathers, your kids, for all of us,” said NYS Office of Mental Health Deputy Commissioner Moira Tashjian, who attended last week’s ceremony. She was joined by local and regional political dignitaries or their representatives, and health specialists.  “Hopefully it will be a safe haven for individuals who are in a behavioral health crisis,” Tashjian said. The project has been in the planning stages for nearly five years. 

Administered by RISE, SunRISE Retreat will host short-term voluntary program residencies up to 28 days for those who are in mental health distress or experiencing symptoms of a mental health crisis.  The program provides stabilization services and features four nurses currently on staff with additional nurses to be hired. A nurse practitioner acts as medical director.  

The center, available to those aged 21 and over, has contracted with managed care organizations in the area regarding insurance and accepts Medicaid, as well as being open to people who do not have the ability to pay. 

“We have some state funding to cover individuals who have no insurance, but this is primarily a service billable through health insurance,” Newell said. “The maximum stay is up to 28 days, but it really is individuals for what a person needs. Sometimes they just need a couple of days to get away from their lives to get things back together, sometimes individuals need a longer-term stay.”

While located in the city of Saratoga Springs proper, SunRISE Retreat is a licensed office of the New York State Office of Mental Health.

“Someone just has to call here, see if there is space, and come in and be assessed by a medical professional to determine whether person is appropriate for this level of care,” Newell said.  On-site treatment such as individual and group therapy, family interaction is offered. Discharge planning will specify where the person will go after being stable.

What the facility won’t provide is a hospital’s level of care, but it will offer an intensive treatment model for individuals who are in need of additional stabilization after an inpatient mental health hospitalization, or need a diversion from inpatient hospitalization but do not need that level of care or are currently in distress.

“The need is significant, particularly for folks in acute mental health crisis, behavioral health crisis,” said Dr. Michael Prezioso, Saratoga County Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services Commissioner. “Not all those folks meet criteria for admission to a hospital setting but we do need an intensive setting for them to get some relief from the symptoms they are suffering from. This is a needed addition to the continuum of care we have in the county.”  

The retreat is located within a building owned by RISE that was previously functioning as Kaydeross House, a home for adolescent girls. RISE Housing and Support Services is a human service agency that has served people in Saratoga and the surrounding counties since 1978.
What’s in the SunRISE name? “We wanted to come up with a name that indicates hope,” Newell said.  “Hope and calm.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Five months after Barstool Sports founder David Portnoy purchased a Fifth Avenue home in Saratoga Springs, downstreet neighbor and Reality TV personality Bobby Flay has put his four-bedroom home on the market. 

Flay purchased the Tudor-style home for $1.7 million in 2021. It is up for sale at $3,295 million. 

The home, featured in House Beautiful magazine in April, was originally constructed in 1939, and features 3,087 square feet of living space with four bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms, and a two-car garage. 

“The outdoor living space is one-of-a-kind with an outdoor kitchen, expansive patio and unmatched views,” according to the real estate posting specifying JoAnn Potrzuski Cassidy with Julie & Co. Realty as listing agent of the property, in a story first reported by the Times-Union.      

Flay’s home, adjacent to the Oklahoma Training Track, is located approximately 100 yards away from property which David Portnoy’s company, Smokeshowcity LLC, purchased in March.   

SARATOGA COUNTY — A new gourmet marketplace. A downtown party shop in Saratoga Springs. A neighborhood deli family-operated for decades.

Three popular retail establishments announced imminent changes pending in their respective businesses with a potential of ramifications resulting for the people who patronize their stores. 

Tailgate and Party Shop, Saratoga Springs

Kirsten Lambert purchased the building at the corner of Phila and Putnam Streets in spring 2021, relocating the Caroline and Henry Street-based Tailgate and Party Shop she first opened one year earlier. The new Phila Street location, since 1990, had previously housed Four Seasons Natural Foods.  

Lambert, a near 30-year-teacher of sixth-grade students was looking for a business to operate during what she anticipated as her retirement years. 

“It’s been a wonderful experience, but it’s just not ‘retirement.’ I found myself exhausted and not as retired as I thought I would be,” she says with a laugh.  “We decided we really need to spin some things down in our lives. A need to really retire this time. It is time for me to pursue other retirement dreams.”

The role Retirement 2.0 will take for Lambert and her husband is in the form of a small animal rescue operation to potentially include retired racehorses. 

The shop meanwhile will see new purpose. 

“We have a lessee coming in who is going to do his own thing,” says Lambert. While not yet completed in scope, the new business operator has plans to install a bar along an upper section of the interior and a small convenience market style area on the lower section. Paper Dolls of Saratoga has expressed interest in taking over the party supply part of the business.  Lambert will maintain ownership of the building. 

“We will begin the closing process in September,” she says. “I’ll be putting things on sale, and we’ll be done by November first.” 

The Tailgate and Party Shop was Lambert’s first real retail business.  

“I started a party store. During COVID. And I had no idea what I was doing: genius!” she says with a laugh. “I thought: have a quiet, seasonal little place. Racetrack season, Christmas. It did very well, it became a year-round store and there never seemed to be an off-time. That’s what caught me off-guard.” 

“I do think it’s absolutely wonderful that Saratoga has really become a year-round destination and my favorite thing about having the store is that it is a really happy place,” Lambert says of her go-to, one-stop-shop for all things celebration. “And meeting the other business owners. I really learned a lot and it has me understanding with compassion and empathy all these other industries.”   

Cannone’s Deli, Wilton 

“We were 28 when we got here and we’re like 67 now,” says Theresa Cannone, tracing a line back to the earliest days of the deli she and her husband John opened in 1984. 

Things were different in Wilton then. “When we got here it was almost like a rural area. On Northern Pines Road, you had no traffic. Now there’s condos, houses, developments – it’s just booming,” she says. With the influx of population over the decades, business at Cannone’s Deli at 654 Saratoga Road is also booming. 

A few months ago, the Cannones began thinking about retiring. 

“It’s bittersweet and it’s kind of hard to leave, but it’s time. We worked seven days a week, ten hours a day for 39 years. We just need to relax for a little bit, enjoy our kids, enjoy our family,” Cannone says.  “Our kids are really looking forward to us spending time with them. We’ve got five grandchildren – and one on the way in November!” she adds enthusiastically.

“The people and the community are wonderful. We built this corner back in ’89 – we had the deli for 10 years, sold it to Kelly’s Deli, we had the liquor store, the pizzeria – Christina’s Pizzeria, which we named after our daughter,” Cannone says. A handful of years ago they returned to operate the deli.   

“That was five years ago in May. When we came back people showed up with flowers – I thought we had a funeral going on – they showed up with flowers and balloons, pictures and cards, and pa-pa-pa,”  says Cannone, having left Deer Park, Long Island several decades ago to relocate upstate, but the accent not entirely having left her. 

Sunday will be the Cannones’ last day of working at the deli, which they have sold to Matthew Sanchez. The deli business will continue into the future, Cannone says. “He is a good man for the job.” 

PDT Market, Saratoga Springs 

Less than six months after the high-profile unveiling of a new gourmet marketplace in downtown Saratoga Springs, Chef Adam Foti announced this week he will be leaving PDT Market.

“Just less than two years ago, my partners and I embarked on a great adventure.  The goal was to transform my passion, PDT Catering, into a marketplace that would nourish the community with amazing, prepared foods, specialty products, and a variety of educational opportunities. From this vision, PDT Market was born,” Chef Foti explained on a social media posting. 

Foti says he will fix his undivided focus on a return to PDT Catering, which will relaunch externally Sept. 1. 

“The effort required to build and sustain PDT Market, and simultaneously keep PDT Catering functioning at the very high standards we set for ourselves, was not always compatible. Time spent on catering was time away from the market. Conversely, time spent focused on the market was time spent away from catering,” Foti says. “Each demand and deserve complete focus and attention.”

The market will also continue, presumably in the partners’ hands, and announced it will be sharing more information “over the next several weeks.” PDT Market did not immediately respond to a media inquiry regarding specific plans of the market going forward. 

PDT Market is located on Railroad Place at 55 Railroad Place in a location that previously housed a Price Chopper market.

“It’s such a labor of love that I’m so passionate about, that it’s just so exciting to see everything here,” Foti told Saratoga TODAY in March as the signage went up inside the 19,000-square-foot PDT Market in preparation of the store’s opening.  An opening celebration ribbon-cutting ceremony took place April 24. 

“PDT Market will continue to grow, flourish, and perhaps, change in my absence,” Foti says. “Rest assured that as I leave, the market is in skillful hands. The team in place is one of the finest I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.”