“The tile work which we performed could only be compared in extent and quality with that found in such places as Newport, R.I. or Hollywood, California where price was of secondary consideration. The objective for the entire house and grounds was it be the finest that could be produced. The first consideration was always quality.”

– Excerpt of a letter written by J. Francis Purdy, of the J. Francis Purdy tile and marble company of Albany, to J.B. White, J.B. Realty of Saratoga Springs, Sept. 14, 1951.    

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Strands of rope and twisted wire span the metal gates and stone entryway stations of the Ballston Avenue estate. A pair of ornate lamps peek streetside across the busy Route 50 thoroughfare where motor vehicles speed on by. A large marquee standing tall atop all of it spells out the most recent use of the property: Villa Balsamo – Restaurant, Cocktail Lounge.      

The property, which measures 14 acres in all and features natural ponds, sites a nine-bedroom, six-bathroom mansion set back approximately 350 feet from the road. In its near-century of existence, the 10,240 square-foot structure has served a small handful of owners and has functioned as a private home and as a public restaurant. A return as either one of those options is possible in the future. 

“It’s waiting for its next owner and occupant,” says Patrick Gibson of the Diehl Done Team at Keller Williams. The property is listed at $4.3 million. 

Floyd J. Shutts, a bank manager-turned-knitting-business-wholesaler, purchased the land in 1927 and reportedly invested a half million early 20th-century dollars to build his 15-room mansion two years later.  Following his death – Shutts’ was buried at Ballston Spa Village Cemetery in 1934 – the estate was purchased in turn by restaurateur Gerald King (during whose ownership in the 1960s Bing Crosby was among the visitors, vintage scribes insist), and by Schenectady businessman Chester Hotaling – who turned it into the Chester House restaurant. 

At some point in the mid-20th century, Saratoga Springs realtor J.B. White, whose offices were at 100 Broadway, sought to put the property up for sale and apparently reached out to the J. Francis Purdy Co. of Albany for detailed information about the work Purdy had conducted during the initial development of the mansion. The historical files of the Saratoga Room in the Saratoga Springs Public Library provide a copy of the letter response penned by J. Francis Purdy to J. B. White dated September 14, 1951.    

“In reply to your letter of the 12th regarding the Shutts estate on Saratoga-Ballston Road – the tile work which we performed for Mr. Shutts in his home could only be compared in extent and quality with that found in such places as Newport, R.I., or Hollywood, California where price was of secondary consideration,” the letter reads. 

The tile used in the master bathroom “were of the most expensive produced,” Purdy writes, and “the tile work in the other bathrooms, solarium, game room, kitchen, halls, pavement over garage, etc., represented the best that our industry could produce according to the standards of 1929.” 

Purdy concludes: “It was a sad development that Mr. Shutts did not live long to enjoy with his family the beautiful home and grounds he developed.”  

An undated advert regarding “The King Shutts Estate” indicates the property would to be shown only through appointment by J.B. White. Price for the complete property: $85,000.  

In the mid-1970s, the property was purchased by Joseph Balsamo. Balsamo came to America in 1950 from Sorrento, Italy, served in the Merchant Marine, and was reportedly part-owner of a restaurant in Queens that stood half a mile north of Kennedy International Airport and half a mile east of Aqueduct Racetrack.

“When he saw this place, it took him a year of driving up here from Brooklyn once a week and waiting for the owner to come out to collect his mail,” Ralphie Balsamo told Saratoga TODAY regarding his father’s efforts to purchase the estate. 

The persistence paid off. Joseph Balsamo, who died in 2018, successfully convinced the owner to sell, and soon after Villa Balsamo began its offering as a restaurant, showcasing the culinary talents of the family’s Southern Napolitan cooking. 

BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Sunshine Kids and the Ribbon Café held their third annual fundraiser on July 29, raising money for local seven-year-old Aiden Rodriguez of Queensbury.

In September 2022, Rodriguez was diagnosed with Grade 3 Choroid Plexus Carcinoma, a rare form of brain cancer, and Li-Fraumeni Syndrome, which causes an increased risk for several types of cancer. Patricia Rodriguez, Aiden’s mother, said the community support shown on Saturday was “very overwhelming.”

“We are humbled, we are surprised, thankful,” said Patricia Rodriguez. “I mean, beyond grateful.”

“We didn’t ask for any of this, it just came around,” added Jason Rodriguez, Aiden’s father. “We’re very appreciative of how the community has put this together.”

The fundraiser was initially started by local parents Kate DuBois-Huskie and Tricia Stevenson, who said they have worked with Ribbon Café owner Kevin Myers and his sister Christine Pyle to hold the event each of the past three years.

“It’s just amazing to see people in the community that want to help,” said DuBois-Huskie. “I feel lucky to have the connections and the people that want to help. Hopefully every year we get a little bigger, and help more kids.”

The lemonade stand itself was run by DuBois-Huskie and Stevenson’s children; four-year-olds Dax Huskie and Sophia Stevenson, six-year-old Addison Huskie, and seven-year-old Scarlett Stevenson.

“I think any time the community can come together to support somebody, it’s just a really feel-good environment for everybody,” Tricia Stevenson said.

The portion of Prospect Street directly in front of the Ribbon Café was closed to traffic on Saturday, instead filled with the stands of numerous local businesses and organizations. The fundraiser featured a DJ, children’s games, miniature donkeys from Maple Rock Farm, and many local vendors.

The event also featured performances by dancers from the Carol Lawrence School of Dance, where DuBois-Huskie and Stevenson’s daughters participate. The two parents said they initially met after enrolling their daughters at Carol Lawrence.

“Again, it’s just great to see the community show up,” said DuBois-Huskie.

Aiden has undergone numerous procedures, and recently was the first person to be enrolled in a clinical trial in New York, where he underwent intra-arterial fusion of chemotherapy, his mother said.

Following the clinical trial, the tumor was removed on June 13, Patricia Rodriguez said. The family recently traveled to Rochester, where Aiden received what was described as “high doses of chemotherapy.” Aiden will return for another round of chemotherapy this month, his parents said.

The Rodriguez family offered thanks to several hospitals and medical centers that have assisted in Aiden’s treatment. Patricia Rodriguez emphasized she believes that everyone should be tested for Li-Fraumeni Syndrome at birth, and again mentioned the strong community support the family has received.

Saturday’s event raised over $4,300 as of Aug. 2, DuBois-Huskie said via email, while a GoFundMe page for Aiden (https://gofund.me/687adc9d) has received over $12,000 in donations.

“The community has been great for us everywhere,” said Patricia Rodriguez. “So much support. … There’s no words to describe it.”

SARATOGA SPRINGS — After more than 40 years of setting up shop on Williams Street, the Saratoga Senior Center this week began its physical relocation into the future: one mile southwest and to its new home adjacent to the Saratoga Regional YMCA at 290 West Avenue.    

“Shut down, packed up, and moving over here,” executive director Lois Celeste explained to hundreds of visitors attending the center’s first event staged at its new location. The senior expo was held July 20 and featured a variety of speakers, presentations and more than 40 community vendors.  

The new site hosts multiple classrooms, a kitchen and dining room, a chair-and-table area for card games, an art room, exercise room, employee offices, and an education center. 

The Meeting Room will host gatherings of the Alzheimer’s Association as well as various medical insurance organizations, and the Game Room will be fitted with computer stations, a TV, ping-pong tables and a pair of pool tables. 

“We actually have a sound system and a projector – we’re coming into the next century here,” said Celeste, flanked by the new-look gleam of marble and glass.  

The new location boasts plentiful parking and a quartet of columns that frame the entryway that lead to a main reception area inside. A physical therapist will be on-site five days of the week. There is still some work to be done prior to the new center’s opening.  

“We don’t know how long it is going to take to set up operations, but our goal is to have a soft opening with classes by the first or second of August,” Celeste said.  “It will be a kind of a one-stop shop.” 

The non-profit, non-residential community center welcomes adults aged 50 and over. Cost is $35 a year to participate in programs, trips and social activities tailored to adults and seniors.

The Center was founded in 1955, purchased its own building at 162 Circular St. five years later and in 1979 relocated to a larger facility at 5 Williams St. The Williams Street venue that is being vacated is owned by the city of Saratoga Springs. 

The city last year announced plans to use the location when empty to site a 24/7 permanent homeless shelter. Earlier this year those plans were quashed, however, after the proposal met with a backlash from some community members and parents of students of the nearby Saratoga Central Catholic School. Plans for the future of the city-owned property are not currently known.  

SARATOGA SPRINGS — “Even after 17 years, I’m still in a honeymoon period with Saratoga,” says Dan De Federicis. “It’s just a wonderful place to be in any stage of your life.”

The retired State Trooper relocated from his native Buffalo to Albany in 2001 after being elected president of the NYS Troopers PBA. “Each successive year, I found myself coming to Saratoga Springs more and more. It was 4th of July holiday weekend in 2005 when I drove to Saratoga from Albany four times! That’s when I said, ‘That’s it. I’m moving to Saratoga Springs.’” 

These days, De Federicis operates Saratoga Report – a local news aggregator website that collects and displays links to Saratoga-related stories. 

“It’s funny, for my website, Saratoga Report, I do all these searches every morning – anything to do with Saratoga – and I came across this sale offer,” he says. “I made some calls.”  

The calls led him to Charlie McCabe, handler of the estate of his dad Matt McCabe – a much loved Saratoga Springs businessman, musician and a former city commissioner. Notably, Matt McCabe operated Saratoga Guitar for more than a quarter-century until his untimely passing in January 2021 due to complications of COVID-19.    

In October 2020, McCabe had purchased a franchise in Discovery Map of Saratoga. The Discovery Map International brand was founded in 1981 and features hand-drawn maps of more than 130 largely tourism destinations with more than 90 franchisees. 

The maps, which are free, provide travelers a resource to find local lodging, dining, shopping, services and fun things to do in their focused locations. Overall, more than 16 million maps are printed annually, according to the company.  

Focus areas range from Santa Monica, California to the Berkshires and Hyannis in Massachusetts. Eight municipalities are showcased by Discovery Map in New York State alone – East Hampton, South Hampton, Lake George, Lake Placid and Saratoga Springs, among them.  

“As much as we rely on our smartphones, people still prefer printed-out maps,” McCabe said at the time of his franchise purchase. “The maps are truly like works of art and reveal the character of an area… and there is a lot of that in Saratoga Springs and the surrounding areas.”

“I did my due diligence, looked into the company, called other franchisees around the country and learned they’re really good to work with,” says De Federicis. “I saw it as an opportunity, and that it was Matt McCabe who had previously owned it, only added to it. I feel honored to follow in his footsteps.” 

Paper maps have made a resurgence in recent years, with maps and atlases selling 1.8 million units last year, up 20% over 2021, according to the NPD Group, an international agency that measures business data and analytics.   

The Discovery Map of Saratoga covers all of Saratoga County. It is colorful, two-sided, measures about 18 inches by 14 inches and is bordered by thumb-sized adverts. It folds neatly into quarters and depicts a large segment of Saratoga County on one side, and a close-up of downtown Saratoga Springs on the other.  

De Federicis found a business opportunity as well as something close to his heart. 

 “There is so much going on in Saratoga, there is a lot of opportunity to grow this. I not only wanted to work in Saratoga, but I wanted my work to be about Saratoga,” he says. “What I’m doing now, I love doing. It doesn’t even seem like work to me.”  

The franchise term is for 10 years, and the maps are updated and printed annually. De Federicis said his plan is to secure advert sales from those who want their establishments depicted on the map for next year’s edition through this calendar year and go to print on the 2024 issue in January.  Interested parties can contact Dan De Federicis at: dand@discoverymap.com. 

“The support (from Discovery Map) is incredible. For instance, let’s say I sign up a new restaurant. Well then, their staff adds the building to the map. And they’re not just going to draw a dot or a square, the building will look like the building it’s representing.” 

The maps are folded to a convenient 8.5-inch by 11-inch size and available free of charge up and down Broadway and all-around town, as well as across the county in local stores, restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions, among other places.  

While the maps will be updated annually, one characteristic will be preserved, De Federicis says. 

“On the map itself there is a caricature of Matt McCabe with his guitar. As soon as I saw that, I told Charlie that his father’s caricature will stay on there for as long as I own this map.” 

SARATOGA SPRINGS — There will be new parking rules in effect on public streets in proximity to Saratoga Springs High School this fall that are anticipated to affect neighborhood residents and student drivers alike.   

Citing public safety hazards and disruptions caused by Saratoga Springs High School students parking vehicles on residential streets near the school, a group of affected residents took their grievances to the City Council this week.  

The residents, led by speaker Melissa Thompson-Flynn, provided a presentation that they said illustrated issues created due to the number, and in some cases the manner, in which students park their vehicles on streets neighboring the school during the semester.  The issues stated include: allowing little parking for residents or delivery vehicles, blocking residents’ access to their homes, difficulties for other vehicles to navigate, and insufficient clearance for emergency vehicles. 

Thirty-five signatures from 21 households were presented to the council on behalf of signees supporting the implementation of two-hour parking restrictions on five streets. The presentation, a Public Hearing and council discussion and eventual vote were held at City Hall July 18.    

Ultimately, the City Council, by a unanimous 5-0 vote, approved an ordinance to implement the “Time Limit Parking” on Willow Lane and Ash, Hyde, Birch, and Joseph streets.  

While students may continue to park on the streets come fall, they must now move their vehicles every two hours. 

The council said it anticipates – with no further action – that this will likely create similar problematic scenarios on other neighboring streets as students will seek a place to park their vehicles a few blocks further from the school. As such, they noted they were approving the ordinance with the acknowledgement that “this now puts pressure on us” as a council, as well as the school and potentially other stakeholders, to find a long-term solution.