PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
GBJ 9 Broad Street #7 Glens Falls, NY 12801
VOL. 34 NO. 06
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GLENS FALLS, NY 12801 PERMIT #600
HH The Business Newspaper of Warren and Washington Counties HH
www.glensfallsbusinessjournal.com
AUGUST 2022
Adiondack Winery Expands With A New Morcon Paper Company Plans $15 Million Tasting Room Facility In Queensbury Expansion At Its Facility In Eagle Bridge
This is the new tasting room for Adirondack Winery in Queensbury. The room can host private events of up to 85 people for various types of meetings or events. BY JILL NAGY Adirondack Winery has opened a new tasting room and event space in Queensbury at 395 Big Bay Road. Adirondack Winery, with locations in Lake George and Queensbury, produces 35 varieties of wine from New York state grapes, most of them from the Finger Lakes region. In addition to many standard wine varieties, they specialize in fruit-infused wines. Sasha Pardy and her husband and co-owner, Michael Pardy, opened their first winery in 2008 at 285 Canada St. in Lake George. That year, Pardy and his father produced 1,000 cases of wine, using a 1,000-square-foot space at the back of the tasting room. They quickly sold out and had to supplement with wines from other New York state wineries. Three years later, they moved their
wine-making operation to their location in Queensbury and they also renovated and enlarged the Lake George tasting room. Pardy estimated that more than 60,000 people visit that tasting room each year. The winery added Brad Casacci to its staff, promoting him to winemaker in 2021. The Pardys also developed an online sales capacity and began shipping their wine to 35 states. “We are now in a position to reach the thousands of customers who visited us in Lake George each year, more than the one time they visit us on vacation: we can ship to them, they can find it in a store near them,” Pardy said. When the pandemic hit, the Pardys pivoted to curbside pick-up, polished up their e-commerce and shipping operations, and Continued On Page 16
The planned expansion at Morcon in Eagle Bridge will happen in two phases and include adding 15,000 square feet of manufacturing space for a $3.5 million napkin folding machine. BY JILL NAGY Morcon, a paper products company in Eagle Bridge, plans a major expansion of its facility. Company president Joe Raccula expects to have the final piece of the puzzle in place by the end of the month when the WarenWashington Industrial Development Agency (IDA) os expected to approve the company’s application for a tax abatement package. The total cost of the project is budgeted at $15 million. To help pay that bill, the company is seeking some $744,000 in sales tax exemptions and $119,000 in mortgage tax exemptions. Preliminary work, like moving fiber optic lines, has already begun. The IDA has been “extremely supportive”
Courtesy Morcon
throughout a two-year planning process, Raccula said. That support inf luenced the decision to expand in Eagle Bridge rather than at the company’s much larger facility in South Carolina, he noted. Morcon manufactures paper towels, napkins, and facial tissue. They buy rolls of paper from factories all over North America and turn the paper into the finished products. The planned expansion would be in two phases. First, they will add 15,000 square feet of manufacturing space and bring in a $3.5 million state-of-the-art napkin folding machine. If, as planned, work begins in early September, the target date for completion of Phase 1 is April of 2023. The second phase will be construction of a Continued On Page 16
Water Slide World In Lake George Is Sold ARCC Board Names Tricia Rogers As To Developer; Apartments Are Anticipated President And Chief Executive Officer BY R.J. DELUKE Schermerhorn Real Estate Holdings in Queensbury has purchased the former Water Slide World amusement park property in Lake George for a reported $3 million. A document was filed July 27 in Warren County, signed by Dawn Koncikowski, who operated the amusement park with her husband Gary until he died in May 2018. The 12-acre park has been dormant since 2018.It is located at the corner of routes 9 and 9L along the southern entrance to the Lake George village. Rich Schermerhorn, an active developoer of apartment complexes in the area, was represented by the firm of Bartlett Pontiff Stewart & Rhodes PC in Glens Falls. Schermerhorn did not respond to requests for comment. He envisions a mixed-use project with professional offices, some retail and some apartments, according to media reports. In 2008, the amusement park was listed for sale for $6 million. About a decade later, the owners of Waterslide World asked to have the property included a proposed economic development plan for Lake George that envisioned a year-round community with more commercial
Water Slide World acreage in Lake George was sold to developer Rich Schermerhorn. Glens Falls Business Jouranl
and residential development, according to Danial Barusch, director of planning and zoning for the Town of Lake George. Continued On Page 15
Tricia Rogers is the new president and CEO of the Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce (ARCC), the board of directors announced on Aug. 1. The appointment is effective immediately. The announcement was made after a monthslong search following the retirement of previous ARCC president Michael Bittel. “On behalf of the ARCC board of directors, I am extremely excited to share the news that we have promoted Tricia Rogers to the position of president and CEO,” said Marc Monahan, said ARCC board chair and regional executive vice president of NBT Bank. “After an extensive search process by the executive team and board of directors, we came to a unanimous decision to select Tricia to lead our organization. The passion and dedication Tricia has for both ARCC members and our community clearly set her apart from the other candidates during the process. We are looking forward to her stepping in to the role of CEO immediately and are excited to support her in this transition,” he said. Rogers began her relationship with the ARCC as an ambassador in her early career, and took on the role of membership manager in 2016. She has since worked closely with ARCC members,
Tricia Rogers is the new Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce president and CEO. Courtesy ARCC
and the greater business community, on building relationships, promoting growth, and supporting the community in volunteer positions. Continued On Page 6