John Fogerty, George Thorogood Bring It All Back Home on a Night in Saratoga
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Once, there was a thing called rock and roll, a phrase either derived from 17th century mariners atop a shaky ship, or early 20th century actors engaged in acts of carnality – depending upon whom you believe.
The music and the lifestyle ushered in with it inspired the kids to dance with abandon and smile with glee, and caused some of the elder statesmen of the time to claim it an art sent to humanity by none other than the devil himself.
Before the bean-counters and the money-hoarders got a hold of it some decades later, effectively causing its demise, there were some who believed the amplified output streaming from its electrified guitars and rhythmic drums could change the world. John Fogerty, lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, was of the generation that believed it could be so.
On June 12, Fogerty came to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center where he performed a slew of tunes he created during an especially prolific burst of songwriting, mostly in the 1960’s.
He kicked off his 18-song or-so set with the lyrically ominous “Bad Moon Rising,” and continued the CCR re-imaginings with “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Down On The Corner” and “Up Around the Bend,” “Who’ll Stop The Rain” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”, “Fortunate Son,” “Born on the Bayou,” and “Proud Mary” – the latter invoking his cajunistic dialectical inventions (“Big wheel keep on toy-nin,” he sang, “Proud Mary keep on boy-nin).”
From more recent work (the 1980’s at least) the double-denim draped songwriter led his six-piece ensemble in performances of “Centerfield” (written about centerfield at Yankee Stadium, don ’t cha know), and “The Old Man Down The Road.”
Fogerty was amiably assisted (in the dance-til-you-drop part) by George Thorogood & the Destroyers, who provided opening support.
Dressed in basic black – shirt, shoes, pants with dripped-sequined sides, and sporting dark shades to shield his eyes, Thorogood led his five-piece band through a 60-minute set that explored the Bo Diddley-infused rock ‘n’ roll-isms of “Who Do You Love?” as well as Destroyer staples “Bad to the Bone,” the wildly popular “I Drink Alone” (which inspired a bevy of lager consumers to stand tall and raise their brewski’s high above their heads) and of course, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.”
Overall, for this night, Fogerty and Thorogood combined to deliver a thoughtful reminder of a music that once had inspired the kids to dance with abandon and smile with glee, sometimes think about the conditions of the world-at-large and figure out ways to make it all a better place.
Officials Call for “Unity Against Hate and Bigotry” in Milton
MILTON — The section of Rowland Street runs through a mostly residential neighborhood rich with a variety of flags where the hanging cloths depict floral arrangements, and star-spangled banners, bright yellow streamers stitched with the words “Don’t Tread On Me,” blue-backed flags that read “Trump 2024,” and an arrangement of rainbow colors that fly atop a pole.
It is a discussion of the flag with the rainbow pattern that this week brought a group of Milton area residents on a sun-filled June afternoon to the brick compound that serves as the seat of town government. The rainbow Pride flag, which stands on private property, was torn down by vandals last week. It was not the first time.
“We call upon the Milton Supervisor and Council members to express their solidarity and opposition to hate,” said Martha Iacolucci, a long-time resident of the community who also serves as the chair of the town Democratic Committee. “I have lived here for 39 years and a lot has changed, mostly for the positive, and we would like the positive to continue happening.”
Iacolucci was joined by Minita Sanghvi and Joe Seeman - Democrat candidates for State Senate, and Assembly, respectively – and local residents to ask the Milton Board to allow for the raising of the Pride flag on town property.
The group said the tearing down of the rainbow flag flown on private property in Milton are the actions of a hate crime targeting the LGBTQ+ community and are calling on elected officials to publicly denounce the act and demonstrate their support for inclusivity.
“Tearing down the Pride flag isn’t a partisan issue,” said Sanghvi. “Everyone should feel safe in their community, everyone should feel safe in their home…as attacks on LGBTQ community are rising around the country, we need our community to stand up and be allies.”
The FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program in late 2023 revealed a 13.8 percent increase in hate crimes based on sexual orientation compared to date of the previous year, and a 32.9 percent hike in those targeting gender identity.
“Repeatedly tearing down a Pride flag on private property is not just ordinary vandalism,” added Seeman, referring to the incident as an act of destruction to intimidate against all who support equal rights. “That’s an attack on decency and civility,” he said.
In 2020, a Pride flag on display in the Milton park was stolen at least three times, according to a WRGB News 6 report.
In May 2022, the five-member town board approved a resolution stipulating that only the U.S. flag, state Government flags, U.S. military and veteran flags, and state Militia flags be allowed to be flown on town property.
In Milton, Town Supervisor Scott Ostrander serves as the town’s Chief Executive Officer and presides over the Town Board, which is an elected body that votes on matters concerning the town.
“In ’22…we saw an increasing number of groups coming forth at that point, so in order for us not to offend anyone we thought it was best that we would fly only the American flag, the state flag and the military flag to not leave anybody out,” Ostrander told Saratoga TODAY on June 18, shortly following the county Board of Supervisors monthly meeting in Ballston Spa.
The most recent Pride flag torn down was flown on Rowland Street on private property offered by a resident because the town wouldn’t allow it to be flown on public property.
“My suggestion is if you’re having a problem with people destroying it, obviously somebody’s offended by your flag or whatever what they’re doing it for I don’t have a reason for it, I suggest she puts a camera up, she’s going to catch who’s doing it, and turn it over to the authorities,” Ostrander said.
Some neighboring communities such as the city of Saratoga Springs and the village of Ballston Spa hold Pride flag raising ceremonies in June at their respective city and village halls. By comparison, some residents of Milton view their town’s measure as specifically prohibitive and would like to see it changed. The Milton Town Board next meets on June 26.
Seasonal Parking Scheme Underway in Saratoga Springs
SARATOGA SPRINGS —The installation of pay stations towards the implementation of a city garage parking program got underway this week.
In its inaugural year, the seasonal program will run through Labor Day and in effect in three city owned parking garages - Walton/Woodlawn Parking Garage, Woodlawn Ave. Parking Garage, and Putnam St. Parking Garage, and three city surface parking lots – specifically located at Woodlawn Ave., Spring Street, and High Rock.
To park in any of the six facilities, fees up to $2 per hour will be charged. An online portal where city residents and downtown business owners could apply for permits to park for free was created earlier this year.
The City Council unanimously approved the plan in April, and the city anticipates nearly $1.6 million as first-year estimated revenue, with about $450,000 in expenses.
John Fogerty, George Thorogood Bring It All Back Home on a Night in Saratoga
SARATOGA SPRINGS - Once, there was a thing called rock and roll, a phrase either derived from 17th century mariners atop a shaky ship, or early 20th century actors engaged in acts of carnality – depending upon whom you believe.
The music, and the lifestyle ushered in with it, inspired the kids to dance with abandon and smile with glee, and caused some of the elder statesmen of the time to claim it an art sent to humanity by none other than the devil himself.
Before the bean-counters and the money-hoarders got a hold of it some decades later, effectively causing its demise, there were some who believed the amplified output streaming from its electrified guitars and rhythmic drums could change the world. John Fogerty, lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the band Creedence Clearwater Revival, was of the generation that believed it could be so.
On June 12, Fogerty came to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center where he performed a slew of tunes he created during an especially prolific burst of songwriting, mostly in the 1960’s.
He kicked off his 18-song or-so set with the lyrically ominous “Bad Moon Rising,” and continued the CCR re-imaginings with “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” “Down On The Corner” and “Up Around the Bend,” “Who’ll Stop The Rain” and “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?”, “Fortunate Son,” “Born on the Bayou,” and “Proud Mary” – the latter invoking his cajunistic dialectical inventions (“Big wheel keep on toy-nin,” he sang, “Proud Mary keep on boy-nin).”
From more recent work (the 1980’s at least) the double-denim draped songwriter led his six-piece ensemble in performances of “Centerfield” (written about centerfield at Yankee Stadium, don ’t cha know), and “The Old Man Down The Road.”
Fogerty was amiably assisted (in the dance-til-you-drop part) by George Thorogood & the Destroyers, who provided opening support.
Dressed in basic black – shirt, shoes, pants with dripped-sequined sides, and sporting dark shades to shield his eyes, Thorogood led his five-piece band through a 60-minute set that explored the Bo Diddley-infused rock ‘n’ roll-isms of “Who Do You Love?” as well as Destroyer staples “Bad to the Bone,” the wildly popular “I Drink Alone” (which inspired a bevy of lager consumers to stand tall and raise their brewski’s high above their heads) and of course, “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer.”
Overall, for this night, Fogerty and Thorogood combined to deliver a thoughtful reminder of a music that once had inspired the kids to dance with abandon and smile with glee, sometimes think about the conditions of the world-at-large and figuring out ways to make it all a better place.
New Security Protocols for City Council Meetings
SARATOGA SPRINGS — This month, the city implemented new procedures designed to enhance security throughout City Hall.
Beginning with the City Council meeting on June 4, members of the public were subject to search and wanding prior to entering meetings, and a metal detection system sited on the building’s first floor, just outside council meeting chambers.
The change follows a Department of Public Safety review of security options and the recommendation of the city’s Insurance Carrier, NYMIR, to install a metal detection system prior to entering the City Council Meetings. At this time, the procedures will only be in place at City Council meetings.
Some of the specifics: all members of the public entering the City Council meetings will be subject to search and wanding, with all bags, packages, containers and property items subject to search. If any prohibited items are found on a person or in their belongings, they will not be allowed entry, according to the city.
Among prohibited items: firearms, alcohol, noxious materials (including Pepper Spray and Mace), edged weapons (these could be utility, pocket or Swiss army knives, and scissors), “nuisance” devices (such as bullhorns and whistles), stun guns, and a variety of other items deemed to be a security risk or disruptive to governmental activities, at the discretion of Saratoga Springs Police Department. Note, there will be no storage facilities at City Hall, such as lockers, to store any personal belongings.
The council is in general agreement that the first-level council chambers, with a maximum allowable capacity of 49, offers a superior locale for meetings, compared to the much larger capacity music hall on the third floor where occasional meetings have been staged in the past.
“We’re going to always try to meet in this room,” city Mayor John Safford said.
Opera Saratoga Celebration Kicks Off 62nd Season
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Opera Saratoga kicked off its 62nd season with a gathering and press event May 31 on Broadway at Saratoga Arts.
General and Artistic Director Mary Birnbaum discussed highlights of the season, her first as curator, director and producer, and performers entertained the crowd with a live abbreviated showcase of the upcoming season’s staging of “Guys and Dolls,” and “Cosi fan tutte.”
Saratoga Springs Finance Commissioner Minita Sanghvi was in attendance representing the city and presented Opera Saratoga with a $15,000 check, which community members authorized by a public vote in the city’s Participatory Budgeting process.
Opera Saratoga 2024 season will feature three new productions this summer at Universal Preservation Hall. These are:
-Guys And Dolls, June 29, July 2,3,5,6,7. Guys and Dolls features Mikaela Bennett (City Center Encores’ The Golden Apple, West Side Story at Glimmerglass), as Sarah Brown. The gambling musical features direction by Mary Birnbaum, choreography by Caili Quan, and musical direction by Andy Einhorn (Broadway’s Carousel and Hello, Dolly!), with scenic design by Kristen Robinson, lighting design by Anshuman Bhatia and costume design by Oana Botez. In addition to those already announced, the cast of Guys and Dolls will feature William Socolof as Nathan Detroit, Ariadne Greif as Miss Adelaide, Shavon Lloyd as Sky Masterson, Maximillian Jansen as Nicely Nicely Johnson, and Aubrey Allicock as Arvide Abernathy.
-Così Fan Tutte, June 28 & 30, July 3,6. Mozart’s opera Così Fan Tutte features Grammy nominated bass-baritone Aubrey Allicock as the cynical Don Alfonso. The opera also features Nicoletta Berry as Despina, Julia Stuart as Fiordiligi, Anna Kelley as Dorabella, Maximillian Jansen as Ferrando, and Michael Hawk as Guglielmo. Directed by Gisela Cardenas (Princess Grace Fellow) and conducted by Ryan McAdams (Crash Ensemble, Opernhaus Zürich).
-Inti Figgis-Vizueta World Premiere Opera, June 30 & July 5. A world premiere opera, devised and composed during the summer season by Composer-in-Residence Inti Figgis-Vizueta.
Additionally, Listen To This: Voices From The Future – will take place at Universal Preservation Hall June 4, June 11, and June 18. The three-part concert series hands the mic to cutting-edge creators who break through boundaries of what opera can be through the lens of access and healing.
Tuesday, June 4: The Other Side Of Silence will feature work by RPI Director of Institute Ensembles Robert Whalen; Tuesday, June 11: Winterreise, Director George Miller, Bass-Baritone William Socolof and Pianist Chris Reynolds collaborate on the workshop of a contemporary staging of Schubert’s seminal song cycle Winterreise; Tuesday, June 18: i woke up in the sky, composer-performer Catherine Brookman shares her album i woke up in the sky with Opera Saratoga’s audiences.
“This season pays homage to Saratoga Springs’ history as a pleasure-seeker’s paradise and betting destination while looking to the future by pushing the definition of what opera can be - and how it can be made - forward,” Birnbaum said. “We hope to tempt risk-takers to the festival by dazzling them with reinventions of two classics in addition to a totally unique creation that they can only see in Saratoga.”
For tickets and more information, go to: operasaratoga.org.
SPAC Reflects on Successful 2023 Season, More Than $100K in Operating Reserves; Announces Freihofer’s Baking Co. Partnership with Jazz Fest to Conclude This Year
SARATOGA SPRINGS – At its annual meeting on May 16, 2024, leadership and staff of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center reflected upon the successful 2023 season and looked ahead to the upcoming 2024 summer season.
In addition to welcoming back resident companies New York City Ballet, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival, SPAC will also continue to grow its year-round programming and educational outreach.
“SPAC has been transformed, while staying true to its identity as the long-time summer home of New York City Ballet and the great Philadelphia Orchestra,” said Elizabeth Sobol, president & CEO of Saratoga Performing Arts Center at the Annual Meeting.
Sobol, who completed her seventh year at SPAC in October 2023 added, “Over the course of these seven years, we have expanded our season into all 12 months of the year, exponentially grown our education program, and enlarged and deepened our sense of purpose to serve art, artists, our community, and to be agents of change for a more harmonious world.”
The organization also announced its 27-year relationship with Freihofer’s Baking Co. supporting the Saratoga Jazz Festival will be coming to an end after this year.
“It is with sadness, but also deep gratitude, that we share that our treasured partnership will come to an end following the 2024 Festival,” Sobol said. The bakery and its parent company Bimbo Bakeries USA have committed more than $2 million in sponsorship over the course of its 27 years of support. “We are firmly committed to honoring the legacy that we have built together, while also looking forward to the festival’s vibrant future, which will continue to embrace community, connections and great live music.”
The Saratoga Jazz Festival, now in its 47th year, is one of the largest, most prestigious, and longest consecutive running jazz music events in North America.
This year’s festival takes place June 29 & 30 and features two stages during the course of the two-day event with 22 artists, Norah Jones, Stanley Clarke, and Lake Street Dive, among them.
In all, the 2024 summer season will span three months, with 28 performances, 21 artists and groups making their SPAC debut, and nine SPAC premieres.
Closing the summer season on Aug. 25 is Beethoven for Three with Emanuel Ax, Leonidas Kavakos, and Yo-Yo Ma with special guest Antoine Tamestit. Proceeds from this performance will go toward establishing a programming fund for the Spa Little Theater, SPAC’s year-round performance home.
Since taking over the operations of Spa Little Theater in 2022, SPAC has presented more than 50 public and private events in the theater and welcomed more than 17,000 guests, with 34% of the audiences attending Spa Little Theater events being new to SPAC.
A 2023 economic impact analysis, commissioned by Saratoga County Industrial Development Agency and performed by Camoin Associate, reported that SPAC annually contributes $105 million in economic impact to the region.
“The economic health of our region is vitally important and we are committed to growing our already significant impact year over year. One of the ways we plan to expand this reach is through cultural tourism,” Sobol said.
SPAC ended the year with approximately $100,000 in operating reserves - attributed to fundraising efforts supported by members, the Board of Directors and the general public. The reserves will be used to help SPAC navigate the challenging 2024 season ahead.
SPAC administration and the board of directors thanked Susan L. Dake who completed her term as the board chair. The board welcomed Charlie Wait, Jr. as the new chairman of the board and Will Aldrich and Lisa Vollendorf, Ph.D. as new board members.
2024 Summer Residency Dates at Saratoga Performing Arts Center include: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, June 16 – Aug. 18 at Spa Little Theater, the New York City Ballet from July 9-13, and The Philadelphia Orchestra July 31- Aug. 17.
Alice Returns To The Capital Region
ALBANY — Does your temperature go rising, your pulse go racing and your basal metabolism go roaring at the mere thought of that adorable archfiend, Alice Cooper?
Fifty years ago this month, that question marked the opening passage of 16 Magazine’s front-page featurette showcasing a “clinical and super-scientific test devised by the divine Dr. Alice Cooper.”
The Coop was at the time celebrating the honors bestowed upon him by a world made all the more fun in the aftermath of releases like “School’s Out,” “Love It To Death, “Killer,” and “Billion Dollar Babies.”
And while that classic Alice Cooper group – the original lineup of Alice’s band - have been impossible to match, recent on stage groupings of musicos supporting Alice The Singer have come pretty darned close.
Alice Cooper will bring his latest tour, “Too Close For Comfort,” to Albany’s Palace Theatre July 31.
Tickets range from $39.50 to $124.50 and are on sale via Ticketmaster at ticketmaster.com, as well as at the Palace Theatre Box Office, located at 19 Clinton Ave.
Caffe Lena Named to NYS Historic Business Preservation Registry
SARATOGA SPRINGS —Sarah Craig stood on Phila Street flanked by Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner and Saratoga Springs city Mayor John Safford.
“Sixty-four years ago on this day, Bill and Lena Spencer were still working day and night to convert an abandoned woodworking business on the second floor of this building right here into Saratoga’s first coffeehouse - a cool, trendy, artsy coffeehouse such as you’d find in Greenwich Village,” said Craig, the recently created iron gated entryway to the cafe framing the trio.
“They planned to fill it with espresso, folk singers, poets and actors along with the young women of Skidmore College – which was just about a block away then - and anyone who craved some smart company and culture.”
The Spencers had been working on the building since fall of 1959 and would open in June 1960.
Bill and Lena Spencer have a burning belief in the supreme importance of the arts and the great thrills the arts offer humanity (and) both feel that the Saratoga-Albany area is rich in tradition, beautiful to behold, and a fine place for culture to flourish in. Next week, Lena Spencer will make her debut as an actress, her husband directing. Scheduled for presentation are Tennessee Williams’ “Auto-Da-Fe” and Vincent Ferrini’s “Sea Root,” in its first stage production. Since their arrival about a year ago, a great deal has happened, most of it due to backbreaking work on the part of both Spencers. Go on and have a cup of coffee and see the next show — July 1961, The Knickerbocker News.
“Some things went as planned,” Craig continued. “The crowds came, and musicians traveled in from all corners of the world to play a venue well-situated between the east coast urban hubs and points west and north. Some things didn’t go as planned - opening night was delayed by a plumbing snafu, Bill left his wife after a couple of years, and in the age of disco folk fell out of favor, and Lena died unexpectedly in October 1989.”
Through it all, the café not only survived, but flourished, and it was this that Assemblywoman Woerner and Mayor Safford celebrated in a ceremony they attended earlier this month that recognized the 110-seat coffeehouse for its naming to the New York State Historic Business Preservation Registry. Administered by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the program spotlights businesses that have operated for at least 50 years and have contributed significantly to their community’s history.
“Caffè Lena’s new designation underscores the profound impact on the history, heritage, and identity of Saratoga Springs,” Woerner, who nominated Caffe Lena to the Registry, said during the honoring ceremony, which included a pop-up concert by Joe Jencks. For his role, the Chicago-based musician strapped a capo across the fretboard of his acoustic guitar and serenaded with strings being strummed and in a rich baritone voice a song he wrote about the welcoming spirit projected by Lady iberty in the New York harbor.
Going to the Gallery Theater is a pleasant experience not quite like anything else locally. Bill Spencer’s Siamese cat whose name seems to be Pie or Pasha—he answers to both—is likely ‘to skitter on stage any minute and upstage everybody; when the show’s over and Bill is telling folks what’s on next week, you can hear the actors going over what they’ve just done and allocating praise or blame. – September 1961, Times Union.
Lena booked afternoon hootenannies and hosted weekend residencies with musicians who performed three sets a night and often stayed over at her apartment in the Collamer Building on Broadway. She also made frequent trips to New York City and made connections with key figures in the thriving Greenwich Village folk scene of the early 1960s. The café’s reputation grew among musicians and theater groups traveling around the Northeast.
Bob Dylan first visited the club in 1961 and played a full weekend of shows for which he was paid a total of $50. Appearances by Rosalie Sorrels brought admirers like Hunter S. Thompson and William Kennedy to the venue, and in the fall of 1965, Don McLean made his first of his many appearances at the café.
“During the 29 years she operated what became the longest running folk music coffeehouse in the country, Lena established and approached the business that they don’t teach you in MBA programs,” Craig said. “This is how she described it: Don’t do it like you’re in it to make money, just do it with a whole lot of love like you’re in it to serve.”
The state Historic Business Preservation Registry program was established by legislation in 2020 and currently lists 160 diverse historic businesses on the registry – from restaurants and barber shops to farms. Caffe Lena marks its place on the registry as only the fourth live music venue on the state registry – the Tarrytown Music Hall, the Capitol Theater in Portchester and the Village Vanguard in lower Manhattan are the others.
It takes a certain amount of intestinal fortitude, or an awful lot of money, to venture into this type of business. Most coffee houses last about as long as a will-o-the-wisp. They spring up, go for broke-and usually make it—to the bankruptcy courts. Cafe Lena is the exception. One of the prime reasons the place has prospered is due to the proprietor herself. An eager listener and a quiet talker, Lena Spencer makes friends rapidly. She is part of Saratoga now and though her brand of entertainment is on the opposite end of the spectrum of the world of music, the cafe has made its place in the area’s culture. October 1966, Times Union.
Lena ran the café for nearly 30 years. In 1989, she was severely injured after a fall down the café’s steep staircase and died a few weeks later. Executive Director Sarah Craig joined the Caffè Lena staff in 1995 and three years later an all-volunteer board raised $400,000 to purchase the café. Later faced with structural challenges that would require major renovation, a $1.5 million capital campaign was launched in 2013, and a collaboration struck with local developer Sonny Bonacio which provided the café a 21st century remodeling.
Subsequent to Lena’s passing there was no certainty about how long the café would last, Craig explained. “But it did. Why? Because of people coming together in the spirit of love and service; it’s sustained by all the people who bring their art to the stage, the people who buy tickets, by members and by those who volunteer on the hospitality crew, and by people like (Assemblywoman) Woerner and Mayor Safford who know that history is one of the three pillars of Saratoga’s identity.”
In an age of millionaire entrepreneurs. Lena Spencer still books unknowns and struggles to break even at her small but famous coffeehouse in this historic resort. ‘I mean I just barely break even and sometimes I’m lucky if I do,’ she said. ‘But I can’t imagine myself ever doing anything else.’ – December 1978, Rockland County Journal News.
Off The Ground: $35.2 Million Project Underway at Saratoga County Airport – Targets 2025 Completion
MILTON— Hailed as a gateway to the Capital Region for tech companies, performing artists, horse owners and business and leisure travelers alike, area officials gathered at Saratoga County Airport this week where a $35.2 million construction project is underway.
“The uniqueness of this area, driving the innovations of the world, whether you’re coming to the Nanotech facility in Albany or Global Foundries, we want to make sure we have the infrastructure in place and that it’s state-of-the-art for anyone coming to do business in the Capital Region,” said New York State Department of Transportation Commissioner Marie Therese Dominguez.
“Anytime you leverage a transportation investment there’s a direct economic benefit; not only do you create jobs, but there’s also a ripple effect,” Dominguez said, crediting Gov. Kathy Hochul ‘s office for launching the Upstate Airport Economic Development and Revitalization competition. The contest awarded $230 million to nine upstate airports for revitalization projects that reimagine and further modernize their airports.
Saratoga County was awarded $27 million by the state, with an additional $2 million coming via federal funds, and the balance of the $35.2 million project provided by Saratoga County.
“The overall economic impact of the airport to Saratoga Count exceeds $10 million,” said Saratoga County Board of Supervisors Chairman Phil Barrett, standing atop a landscape framed by concrete blocks, mounds of dirt and new metal gleaming in the midday sun. The gentle rumble of work trucks sounded in the distance, accompanied by the occasional streaming of a Cessna 172 across the sky.
“Our timeline is very tight: two years,” Barrett said. “We entered into a contract with DOT to get this project underway in February 2023, and demolition of the old building that was on this site began in the fall-winter 2023. The entirety of the project will be completed by 2025.”
The project is anticipated to be ready prior to Saratoga Springs’ hosting of the Belmont Festival in June 2025.
Matt Veitch, who represents Saratoga Springs at the county level, recalled when the potential of an airport revitalization project was first initiated.
“We had an old terminal building here built way back that wasn’t really meeting the needs of our modern traveler,” said Veitch, who had chaired the Saratoga County Buildings & Ground Committee, when the initial discussions took place.
“We had a meeting right here at the airport with a lot of our economic development agencies to think about what we could do better here at Saratoga County Airport,” Veitch said.
“This is a huge shot in the arm for us,” added Scott Ostrander, the supervisor representing the county airport’s host town of Milton.
Plans indicate the new building’s first floor will provide two spacious passenger waiting areas, a multi-media conference room, new hangar space, with a courtyard opening to outdoor access. The lobby will feature a display area of classic automobiles, and the building’s second floor will make available space for pilots as well as a restaurant, conference and office space and feature an exhibit area showcasing the work of local artists.
The hangar portion of the building will be finished with aged, reclaimed wood to mirror the look of the many Saratoga County horse and agricultural barns, with a solar array atop the hangar roof, helping reduce the airport’s collective carbon footprint.
