Week in Review: April 18 – April 22, 2022
Stay up-to-date on business and economic development happenings in the Capital Region with the CEG Economic Development Week in Review. Don’t miss out on the developments that are transforming the region by following us on:
CEG IN THE NEWS
WNYT News 13: Albany woman’s handbags featured on popular soap opera
REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS
Albany Inno – Startup founder sets eyes on national big-box stores to sell home repair products
“Richard Nolan had been working for nearly eight years at Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory when he started his own engineering side business out of his basement.
He got so busy that he had to leave six months later and now has about a dozen employees at the Burnt Hills office for Nolan Engineering.”
“Hacker Boat Co. has acquired a 6.4-acre manufacturing and office complex off the Interstate 87 Northway in Queensbury less than a year after moving its operations there from the north end of Lake George.
The custom mahogany boat builder purchased the property from Perkins Recycling owner Robert Perkins for $2.35 million. The transaction closed last week, two years after Hacker chief executive George Badcock signed a lease and contract to buy the 315 Corinth Road property.”
Ten Capital Region growers among first licensed to cultivate marijuana
“The first group of farmers have received licenses to grow the first legal crop of marijuana for recreational use in New York state.
The licenses announced this past week are temporary and conditional but should allow enough time for planting and harvest this growing season, the state said Thursday.”
Vermont custom cabinet builder Walker Office Works is moving to upstate New York
“Walker Office Works, a high-end custom cabinet and furniture builder focused heavily on offices, hotels and restaurants, is moving its operations from just outside Burlington, Vermont, to Ticonderoga, New York.
Owner Doug Walker has signed a two-year lease with an option to buy the former Hacker Boat Co. factory at 47 Delano Road in Ticonderoga for $400,000. The property is located about an hour’s drive south of the current Walker Office Works plant.”
Owners of Nightshade Farm to plant 30,000 square feet of marijuana in upstate New York
“Phil Spinelli says he has a lot of work to do.
His family’s farm, Nightshade Farm, is one of 52 businesses that received a recreational cannabis cultivation licenses last week, allowing businesses to plant cannabis – with a goal of sales beginning by the end of the year.”
Design contract for new Wadsworth Center health lab in Albany awarded
“A joint venture of Gilbane Inc. and Turner Construction Co. in association with the international design firm HOK has been awarded an initial design contract for New York’s new $750 million public health laboratory in Albany.
Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the contract Thursday, a significant step forward for a project that has been delayed for years.”
Advance Albany County Alliance helped secured Plug Power investment at Vista. What’s next?
“Albany County nearly lost out on a big investment by one of its best-known homegrown companies.
Plug Power Inc., the Latham-based manufacturer of hydrogen fuel cells, needed space to expand its fast-growing GenDrive unit, adding hundreds of jobs. The company issued a request for proposals last September, and wanted to move into a retrofitted building in just three months.”
Major downtown projects OK’d in Schenectady
“City planners have given the go-ahead for a spate of proposed construction and redevelopment projects in downtown Schenectady.
Projects approved at Wednesday’s City Planning Commission meeting include redevelopment of the Wedgeway Building and construction of the Lafayette, a 46-unit apartment building.
High-speed internet expansion progressing in Washington County
“It may cost up to $10 million to bring high-speed internet service to 1,200 to 1,500 Washington County households that still don’t have it, county economic development director Laura Oswald told the county Agriculture, Planning, Tourism and Development Committee on Tuesday.
Of the county’s 28,998 households, 10,609 have been hooked up to the internet since the state began its Broadband for All program in 2017, Oswald said.”
