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The St. Charles Motel is Getting a Facelift

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Business, Featured.


Renderings reveal the future design of The St. Charles Motel, which will be renovated and rebranded as The Ambler Hotel. Image via Weekender Hospitality, LLC.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The long-standing St. Charles Motel on South Broadway will be renovated and rebranded by Weekender, a Saratoga Springs-based hospitality brand that purchased the St. Charles earlier this year.

“I saw an opportunity to take a well-positioned, solidly located, well-built brick hotel at the gateway to Saratoga and turn it into something really cool and new; an offering that the current market doesn’t really have,” said Keir Weimer, the founder and CEO of Weekender. 

The 18-room, two-story St. Charles will be completely redesigned inside and out to create The Amber Hotel. Weimer described the creative concept of The Ambler as “Palm Springs meets an urban New York market.” The brick exterior will be painted white, while the rooms will feature some bold pops of color. The hotel will also be a smart one, meaning it’ll offer WiFi-enabled keyless doors that allow guests to check in at any hour, large-screen TVs loaded with apps, and WiFi thermostats.

As a brand, Weekender prides itself on creating rooms that function as basecamps for adventurers. The Ambler will be within walking distance of downtown Saratoga Springs, allowing its guests to explore the vibrant Spa City on foot.

“You come, leave your stuff, and get out of your room and enjoy all that Saratoga has to offer, from the amazing restaurants and retail to Yaddo and SPAC and concerts to the track in the summer,” Weimer said.

Nearby on South Broadway will be the currently under-construction AC Hotel by Marriott, which replaced the old Turf and Spa Motel. Together, the two new establishments may help to beautify an area of Saratoga that serves as an entry point for many visitors.

“To push some investment south onto South Broadway is [something] we’re doing and several other companies are doing,” Weimer said. “I think that’s important.”

The plan is to have the Amber Hotel open in time for the upcoming Belmont Stakes Racing Festival in early June. To receive updates on the hotel’s progress, visit theamblerhotel.com.

City Names McTygue Neighborhood Park in Historic Square 

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.


Cherub atop fountain in Franklin Square.
Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos. 

Current signage at Franklin Square. The park will soon include new signage indicating the name of the McTygue Memorial Neighborhood Park.
Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — A west side park that served as the center square of Saratoga Springs social life in the mid-19th century has been named the McTygue Memorial Neighborhood Park, in recognition of the McTygue Family’s public service to the city.

In acting to approve resolution on Dec. 3, Mayor John Safford specifically cited Michael E. McTygue (City Court Judge, 1918-1924); Charles A. McTygue (Commissioner of Public Works, 1947-1965); Thomas G. McTygue (Commissioner of Public Works, 1972-1978, 1982-2008), and William J. McTygue (Public Works Deputy Commissioner and Director, 1999-2010).

“When you talk about the depth and length of service to our community, it’s astonishing,” Accounts Commissioner Dillon Moran added during the Dec. 3 meeting. 

Among the achievements noted were the restoration of the historic Canfield Casino and Congress Park, acquisition and preservation of the historic Congress Park Carousel and the creation of the Franklin Square neighborhood park. 

The park sits just west of Broadway where Division and Franklin streets meet, flanked by nearby columns and porticos of ornate 19th century design tied to Greek Revival and Victorian style of historical architectural significance. 

It is where the town’s former railroad station stood nearby and Franklin Square – “one of Saratoga Springs’ oldest and most distinguished neighborhoods,” was “a center of Saratoga Springs social life,” according to historical documents sourced at The Saratoga Room of the Saratoga Springs Public Library. 

Following an era of Victorian extravagance, a decades-long preservation effort was initiated in the 20th century, largely due to the effort of local lawyer and developer Bob Israel, a native of Newburgh who came to Saratoga Springs in 1977. Israel took to renovating multiple buildings around Franklin Square , itself created in the 1840s, according to the Glens Falls Business Journal in an article published June 1990. 

Israel subsequently approached then-DPW Commissioner Tom McTygue when the two worked out a plan to create new curbing, benches and a fence on the city-owned land, to include as its centerpiece the installation of a 100-year-old cast-iron fountain topped with a concrete replica of a Grecian cherub statue which was purchased at an auction downstate.       

The Bonacio and Robert Israel families donated just over $650 for a park plaque dedicated to the McTygue family and recognizing their service to the community.  

Note: an earlier version of this article mistakenly referred to the park’s location as being on the east side. The park is located west of Broadway, on the west side of Saratoga Springs.

Black Horses Gallop to Syracuse for Class C Championship

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Featured, Sports.


The Schuylerville varsity football team poses for a team photo after winning the state semifinals on November 30. Photo via the Schuylerville Central School District. 

SCHUYLERVILLE — The Schuylerville varsity football team advanced to the New York State Class C championship after defeating Valhalla in the state semifinals 24 to 7. The championship game will be played against Salamanca on Saturday, December 7 at Syracuse University’s JMA Wireless Dome.

The Black Horses began their playoff run with a dominant 45 to 6 win over Gouverneur on November 22 for the Class C regional title, then bested Valhalla on November 30. Prior to that, they won the Class C Super Bowl 35 to 21 over Cobleskill-Richmondville.

Schuylerville hasn’t lost a game since September 20, when they fell to Warrensburg/Lake George/Bolton by only two points. Their record stands at 12-1 on the year.

The undefeated 13-0 Salamanca Warriors will be a tough opponent, though the Horses have a slight edge in their scoring average this season, netting 43.4 points per game to the Warriors’ 41.6. Salamanca’s victories in the playoffs thus far have been fairly one-sided, with a 34 to 13 win over Chenango Forks on November 30, and a 42 to 20 win against East Rochester-Gananda the week prior.

The state Class C title game in Syracuse will kick off at noon. A student spectator bus will leave Schuylerville High School at 8:30 a.m. on December 7. To attend, students need to return a permission slip and provide proof of a purchased ticket to the main office by Thursday, December 5. Game tickets are $12.50, with advance purchase highly encouraged. Spectator parking will cost $20 in the Stadium West lots.

700-Unit Albany-Saratoga Speedway Development Stalled By Malta Town Board

Written by Jonathon Norcross on . Posted in Business, Featured.


A conceptual plan for the proposed Camber Ridge development in Malta includes hundreds of residential units, senior housing, and retail space. The development would replace the existing Albany-Saratoga Speedway on Route 9. Image via Five Corners Development. 

MALTA — Plans for a 700-unit development that would replace the Albany-Saratoga Speedway in Malta were derailed on Monday night when the Town Board decided not to move forward with a public workshop that would include further discussion of the project. The board held a vote on the matter, with two members voting “yes,” two voting “no,” and one abstaining.

“I’m concerned we’re missing out on an opportunity but that’s the rule of the board,” said Town Supervisor Cynthia Young, who voted “yes.”

Members of the board, along with a number of residents who spoke during the public comment period, were skeptical of the project due to its size and potential impact on traffic along Route 9. Some, both at the meeting and in local Facebook groups, have also lamented the loss of the speedway, which will celebrate its 60th anniversary next year.

The speedway’s current owner, Howard Commander, said via a real estate agent who spoke at the December 2 town board meeting on his behalf, that he “fully” supported the proposed project. Commander decided to sell the speedway due, in part, to the financial challenges of maintaining and operating the track.

Sumeet Gupta of Five Corners Development laid out the broad strokes of his proposed development, Camber Ridge Malta, in a ten-minute presentation. He said he was approached by a broker hired by Commander, who had been trying to sell the land for years. 

“Over the last four or five months, we’ve spent a considerable amount of time going out to the community and getting feedback from as many people as possible,” Gupta said. “We’re not done with being in front of the community and making sure their feedback is heard, which is a critical part of our process.”

Gupta said the development would incorporate the need for a strict workforce housing program, senior housing, retail amenities, and community benefits (which could include things like a pool and splash pad, a year-round community center for seniors, walking trails, and a daycare center). Proposed rents for the development would range from $1,326/month for a 1-bedroom unit to $1,838/month for 3 bedrooms; prices which are below current market rates.

The Albany-Saratoga Speedway sits on a 50-acre parcel along Route 9 North in Malta. The track originally opened in 1965 and features racing on Friday nights from April through September. Racing is still set to occur at the track in 2025, though the speedway’s future is uncertain after that.

A prior, unplanned presentation outlining the proposed Camber Ridge development at a Malta Town Board meeting in June was met with resistance, prompting meeting attendees to call the presentation “totally inappropriate” and “absolutely ridiculous.” The presentation had interrupted many Malta residents who wanted to speak about a proposed State Police barracks in the town’s Luther Forest neighborhood.

Saratoga Casino Hotel Celebrates ‘Giving Tuesday’ by Donating $130K To Local Non-Profits 

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.


Sam Gerrity, Chief Executive Officer Saratoga Casino Hotel; Officer Dean Gaetano with Lepa, a certified New York State Explosives Detection Canine; Officer Oliver Aldrich; and Skip Carlson Vice President of External Affairs Saratoga Casino Hotel, at Vapor on Dec. 3, 2024.
Photo by Thomas Dimopoulos. 

SARATOGA SPRINGS —Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters sang a song that piped through on the overhead speakers about Santa Claus coming to town, and a Christmas tree towered over an assortment of wrapped gifts in the hotel lobby. 

A few yards away, dozens of stations boasted well-lighted games of fortune or chance, and a crimson-colored lounge provided a respite for weary legs to rest atop a pair of ottomans dressed up as die cubes, a decorative “4” and a ‘3” rolled forward, respectively.

Inside Vapor, Saratoga Casino Hotel celebrated ‘Giving Tuesday’ on Dec. 3 by donating $130,000 to 13 different Capital Region non-profit organizations during the organization’s annual ‘Make A Difference’ holiday luncheon.

“Twenty years later, this is still the event we look forward to most every year,” said Skip Carlson, vice president of External Affairs at Saratoga Casino Hotel, and the acting emcee during the event, attended by approximately 100 people.  

“Giving back to organizations that improve the lives of so many,” said Carlson, who introduced the disbursement of oversized, four-feet long checks that were bestowed upon the 13 different agencies at $10,000 each.

Representatives from each of the benefiting organizations were present to accept the donations. It would not be unfair to report that performance-wise Lepa stole the show. The 2-1/2-year-old certified New York State Explosives Detection Canine, was joined on stage at Vapor alongside members of Saratoga Springs Police Department K9 Unit. 

“There’s a special bond between a handler and his dog and the dogs are an extension of how we do our business,” said Lt. Paul Veitch, who is in charge of the K-9 unit. 

The specialized unit provides essential support to the Patrol Division in various operations, including tracking, building and area searches, item location, narcotics and explosives detection, and suspect apprehension. Handlers and their canine partners undergo a rigorous selection process, followed by extensive training to develop effective teams that are deployed in a wide range of situations.

“The K9 unit handles about 400 calls per year, that’s more than one per day. They are used routinely, and in Saratoga Springs we have four K9 units – two explosive detection dogs and two narcotic detection dogs and they are on the road almost 24/7,” explained Lt. Veitch, who was on hand to accept the $10,000 donation to the Saratoga Springs Police Department K9 Unit.   

The 13 organizations that each received a $10,000 donation are:  AIM Services, Inc.; Capital Roots; The Donna M. Crandall Memorial Foundation; Folds of Honor; Franklin Community Center; Jake’s Help from Heaven; Saratoga, America’s Turning Point; Saratoga Community Health Center; Saratoga Regional YMCA; Saratoga Sponsor-A-Scholar; Saratoga Springs Police Department K-9 Unit; SNACpack Program (Saratoga Nutrition Assistance for Children), and The Wesley Community. 

Over the past 20 years, Saratoga Casino Hotel has donated more than $3.5 million to different charitable groups in the Capital Region. Their Make a Difference initiative that started in 2004 has since been their main charitable event to honor and provide funding to local non-profit organizations.

Five days of Belmont,Four Days in July added to40 Day Meet at Saratoga in 2025. Updated Numbers of Impact of 2024 Belmont Fest

Written by Thomas Dimopoulos on . Posted in Featured, News.


Current Sales Tax and Occupancy Tax Collections in Saratoga Springs.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Race Course will host an expanded racing meet next summer, with nine live race days in 2025 outside of the traditional 40-day summer meet.  

An expanded Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will take place Wednesday June 4 – Sunday 8, and for the first time, a special July 4 Racing Festival, which will take place from Thursday, July 3 through Sunday, July 6. The traditional 40-day summer meet will be held July 10- Sept. 1. 

The Belmont Stakes was first shifted to Saratoga in 2024 due to ongoing construction at its normal staging ground at Belmont Park. 

In advance of last year’s event, regional officials estimated the hosting of the Belmont Stakes Festival at Saratoga would have an overall economic impact in the region of upwards of $50 million. That $50 million projection came from applying a mathematical formula taking the overall economic activity of the annual 40-day summer meet at Saratoga and assigning it to the number of days of the upcoming Belmont festival.   

That overall 40-day meet figure, at just over $370 million, was detailed in a study commissioned by the Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency based on data from 2021 and released in 2023. The study additionally cited nearly $2.1 million of tax revenue in Saratoga Springs, almost $2.4 million in Saratoga County, and over $7.3 million of tax revenue in New York State as attributable to the 40-day meet. 

Were regional officials to apply that same mathematical formula to the nine race extra days planned for 2025, that economic income estimate would top $80 million for the extra days.  

In Saratoga Springs, city Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi explained during a City Council meeting in August that initial financial returns in the city were “not a huge windfall.” 

The city finance department, at Saratoga Today’s request, has provided updated revenue numbers regarding Sales Tax collections, and Occupancy Tax collected in the city of Saratoga Springs, bringing the impact of the Belmont 2024 Festival in the city into greater focus. Those figures may be viewed in the graphic attached. 

More Racing Days Added to Saratoga 2025 Calendar

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Featured, Neighborhood Buzz.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced on Tuesday that Saratoga Race Course will host an expanded Belmont Stakes Racing Festival and, for the first time, a special July 4th Racing Festival in 2025. Both events will fall outside of the traditional 40-day summer meet.

The upcoming Belmont Stakes Racing Festival will include one additional day and be conducted from Wednesday, June 4 to Sunday, June 8. In addition, Saratoga will host a special July 4th Racing Festival from Thursday, July 3 through Sunday, July 6. Typically held at Belmont Park, the 2025 July 4th Racing Festival will serve as a prelude to the traditional summer meet and conclude the Belmont at the Big A spring/summer meet.

With the addition of the Belmont Stakes and July 4th racing festivals, Saratoga will host nine live race days in 2025 outside of the traditional 40-day summer meet, which will open on Thursday, July 10 and continue through Labor Day, September 1.

Ticket information for both the Belmont Stakes and July 4th racing festivals will be available in early 2025.

SPAC Announces 2024“Sounds of the Season” Holiday Series 

Written by Saratoga TODAY on . Posted in Entertainment, Featured.

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) announces that its popular “Sounds of the Season” holiday series will return from Dec. 13-15 in Spa Little Theater with genre-defying trio Time for Three (Dec. 13), Damien Sneed (Dec. 14) leading “A Gospel Holiday” celebration, and GRAMMY-nominated vocal ensemble VOCES8 (Dec. 15). 

“Our ‘Sounds of the Season’ concerts, which feature artists that span everything from classical to jazz, gospel and pop, have quickly become an adored holiday tradition in our region. We look forward to bringing our community together in the intimate Spa Little Theater for this weekend of celebration,” said Elizabeth Sobol, President and CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center, in a statement. 

Kicking off the series is Time For Three, back by popular demand following their “Sounds of the Season” appearance in 2023. Known for energetic performances that seamlessly merge classical, Americana, modern pop, and singer-songwriter styles, the trio will bring special arrangements of holiday favorites alongside original music. 

Making his return to the Spa Little Theater stage on Dec. 14 is multi-genre recording artist and instrumentalist Damien Sneed alongside his band. Sneed will present his new production of “A Gospel Holiday” featuring his original arrangements of gospel, jazz, and classical holiday favorites including Silent Night, The Christmas Song and Jesus, Oh What A Wonderful Child. 

The “Sounds of the Season” series will culminate on Dec. 15 with British vocal ensemble VOCES8 for its “Winter Tales” program. Following their SPAC debut in 2019, the a cappella group will perform a mix of holiday music.

Ticket information, go to: spac.org.