Fun in Saratoga

54 Phila nearing completion of exterior work

The yellow wrap on the building that will soon be The Lofts at 54 Phila is mostly gone, signs are in the windows advertising commercial retail leasing, and the building is now mostly covered with brick, giving an observer a pretty good idea what the building will look like when completed.  The building won't be beautiful, but in my opinion it will be a nice looking building mostly because the bricks and the design blend in nicely with other downtown buildings within sight of this one at Phila and Henry Streets.  Hey it could have looked like the original proposal for the expanded City Center, and just in case you forgot what an esthetic catastrophe that would have been, take a look. 

  
Sure it's not the Adelphi, but what new building is?  In my opinion 54 Phila is a nice looking building that any other upstate city would be grateful for in its downtown area.  Anyway, I took some pictures last week of The Lofts at 54 Phila to update you as to how it's coming along. 

 
Above: the Lofts at 54 Phila as seen from Spring Street.  Note the new addition on the Bread Basket Bakery in the foreground.  That is a walk-in freezer below that new patio.  Below: The rear of the building as seen from Spring and Henry Streets.

 

  
Above:  The front and side of the building, as seen from Phila and Henry Streets.  Below:  As seen from the outdoor upper patio of The Irish Times. 

 

Foundation laid and framework is started on new south side recreation center

I was wondering how the new south side recreation center was coming along, so I stopped over at the construction site at the old park off Vanderbilt Avenue yesterday.  Apparently some people at the Saratogian were wondering the same thing, because this article was in this morning's paper. 

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Like it or not, the project is moving along.  The place was a beehive of activity with all types of construction equipment including a crane, a number of cement trucks, a bulldozer, a lift, a backhoe, a high-lift, and probably a few other pieces of equipment I can't remember.  The cement foundation is clearly visible and the steel framework of the building is being put into place.  I posted a number of pictures below to give you an idea as to how it's coming along but obviously it's better to get a firsthand look and the building will be taking more of a shape every day, so perhaps you want to take a drive by. 

The images below were taken from Worth Street

 
 
 
 

The pictures below were taken from Vanderbilt Avenue

 
       
    
   
The pictures below were taken from the playground at the end of Tremont Street
 

  

 

  
 
 
 

 

Virtual golf on West Avenue

My email address is on a few Saratoga Springs business mailing lists and, just like junk mail, that has spawned off into being on other email lists. I don't mind, they are all Saratoga area lists and it keeps me informed as to what's going on in the business world.

One new email I just received was from Tark's Indoor Golf Club at 60 West Avenue.  I assume it's a new business because I haven't heard of it before and this is the first email I ever received from that place. 

From Tark's web site:  "Tark's Indoor Golf Club is a year-round, golf entertainment and training facility where perfect weather is always guaranteed. In our relaxed country club atmosphere you can take off on an amazing 3D golf adventure playing one of our 40 world-famous golf courses, work on your game using the most sophisticated game improvement technology in the industry, or just sit back and enjoy your favorite beverage and a bite while watching one of our ten HDTVs."

Well I'm not crazy about golf these days, but come February the idea of simulating any warm-weather sport may not seem like such a bad idea and I may find myself over on the west side - but I'll be stopping at The Local first. 

Saratoga Springs - balloons, pizza, coffee, and more

More thoughts and follow-up from the past several days:

• I went to the Adirondack Balloon Festival up near Glens Falls on Saturday.  I had never went before and was really excited to go, but unfortunately the winds and then rain caused the cancellation of the Saturday evening and Sunday events.  The most I got to see was a few balloons that were stood up and filled with air - and even that was difficult for the few crews that tried it.  I sure wish I would have seen all 90 go up as scheduled but Mother Nature had different ideas.  The Glens Falls Post Star has the story and a great picture here plus I added a few pictures below from the time I was there.

• I once commented on here how the pizza slices at Inferno Pizza seemed dried out when I went there.  I am happy to report that I had a very good pizza from there Saturday night - I guess there's a big difference when you order a whole pie and it's fresh, as opposed to slices which could have been cooked hours ago.  I still think Marino's is the best in the Spa City but they inexplicably close at 9PM on Saturdays, so I went with Inferno which turned out to be pretty damn good.
• I was on Broadway a while back and I found out that the Ever After store at 372 Broadway was closing.   The boutique offered clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry, hand bags, plus gift ware. I guess seeing some of our downtown stores close is not unexpected - but you hate to see it anyway.  No word on whether any new business will go in that space right away.

• It seems like Uncommon Grounds is the place to be for coffee, light food, and free wi-fi.  Occasionally I like to experience a change of pace and go to Saratoga Coffee Traders across and down the street near Bruegger's Bagels.  

Saratoga Coffee Traders is not as spacious as Uncommon Grounds, but their coffee is good and they offer some nice options including wraps and salads.

• Remember the Epiphany Theater?  It was a Theater Company based, at least for a time, on a big old building on Regent Street between Union Avenue and Spring Street.  I was going past the building the other day and I noticed it was for rent.  Then, on the subject of unique and old buildings for rent, I noticed a church annex building on Washington Street near Universal Preservation Hall that was also available. Interesting if nothing else.

 

• Speaking of Universal Preservation Hall, the organization refurbishing that beautiful building on Washington Street is holding a unique fundraiser this coming weekend when they will host the Phinney Design Group Tour of Homes. From the UPH web site: "The tour will feature five beautiful homes in the Saratoga area, all designed by PDG. This event will take place on Saturday October 3rd and Sunday October 4th from noon - 5pm.  On Sunday, there will be a reception at UPH from 5:30 to 8pm."  Tickets are just $35.00 - which is very inexpensive considering the usual price of Saratoga Springs fundraisers - and the tour sounds great and Universal Preservation Hall is of course a great cause.  I unfortunately will likely be out of town.  To find out more, click here. 
• Credit below goes to the Putnam Wine Shop on Broadway for some clever marketing, as evidenced below.

• The YMCA of Saratoga is adding some much needed parking to the Saratoga Springs (West Avenue) branch.  This is a good move, because there have been times when I've gone there at maybe 5 or 6pm and there was virtually no available parking.  By my very rough estimate it appears that there may be about 60 new spaces available when the construction is completed.  I love the Saratoga Y!

 

• Sushi Thai Garden is so consistently good.  My girlfriend and I ate there Friday night and we really enjoyed our meals - they always deliver great food and great service.
• I see 38 High Rock Condos has a sales office at 425 Broadway.  I'd hate to see any empty places on Broadway so it's good to see them filling a location, although I noticed the upper floors of that old building sure look like they've been empty for a long time. 

• I went to the Saratoga Farmers Market on Saturday.  It seems like my weekends are missing something if I don't get to the market - it's such an upbeat experience.  Apples, apple cider, pumpkins, and many other autumn treats were in abundance.  I mentioned to one of the workers how extra lively it was there on Saturday and she pointed to the band and said "they're very good and they just lift the whole place up".  I never thought to get the band's name, but they were playing a Johnny Cash song at the time so they instantly got a thumbs up from me. 
• It's always good to see building owners taking care of the beautiful old buildings in Saratoga.  I took this picture of a worker repairing the exterior of Saratoga Arms Hotel on Broadway. 

• I'll end this by telling you to go to the Bread Basket Bakery on Spring Street and get one of their shortbread cookies.  They sucked me in with a free sample and I had to buy one for myself then bought another one for my girlfriend.  So good!  Maybe that great taste is from what seems like the entire stick of butter in each cookie - and I of course say that with admiration.  Have a great week.

EYESORE! The Pink Palace needs to be razed or at least maintained.

I wrote a previous entry a while back when "The Pink Palace", the former Skidmore College dorm on Union Avenue that was officially known as Moore Hall, was sold to Norstar,  a development company out of Buffalo.  Soon after that, I noticed that the grass was not being cut and there was a noticeable difference between the admirable way that Skidmore previously maintained the property and how Norstar seemed to be neglecting it.  Because I live within sight of that building, I was concerned about the lack of maintenance so I called both the company's Buffalo office as well as Mayor Scott Johnson's office and expressed my concerns.  A few days later the grass was cut and it continued to get cut for the rest of the summer.

That's the good news.  The bad news is that it appears that they aren't doing much more than cutting the grass. I will post some pictures below which show, among other things:  graffiti, piles of (flammable) debris , weeds and small scrub trees growing not only along the side of the building but also on the roof (!), and just too many other signs of an abandoned building.  The question I have is how long before we see broken windows, rodents, homeless people, partying teenagers, and other signs of urban decay on otherwise pristine Union Avenue? 

Where is the city on this?  They should be able to see the same things that I am seeing.  Also, I think it's fair to expect Skidmore College to respect the neighborhood that hosted this residence hall for nearly 50 years and ensure they sell their unused properties to companies that will respect the city and its neighborhoods by properly maintaining their property.  I will be contacting officials about this but since I called both the company and the mayor's office once already about this building I should not have to harp on them to do the right thing.  The initial lack of grass cutting should have been a red flag to city officials that this company may have to be monitored and prodded to properly maintain their property.  I would expect this if I lived in another city perhaps but not in Saratoga Springs, NY.  Unacceptable!

 

I wrote a related blog entry here on the Times Union's Saratoga Springs residents' blog. 

Local Living Harvest Fest coming September 26th, 2009

I just received this in my email and I want to pass it along.  You can order your tickets on line or you can email the organization for more information at harvestfest2009@gmail.com.  Harvest Fest is described as "a celebration of local farming, community, and commerce".  For varying prices, you can enjoy lunch and/or dinner, beer,  cider, desserts, demonstrations, guest speakers on how local foods help a community, music, and more. It will be held at The Mouzon House as well as The Parting Glass Pub.  Sounds like an interesting day and I hope to attend at least part of it.  More information is on the flyer below. 

Bongs, bowls, busted bars, burgers, and buns (hot dog) on Caroline Street

I couldn't find a 'B' word for hot dog - bratwurst was the closest I could come.  Anywho, I went to Hot Dog Charlie's  yesterday to follow up on my previous entry mentioning that it was open.  I guess I wanted to try the place to satisfy my blogging and buds (taste buds that is).  Ok enough with the 'B' words.

But (sorry) first, on my way to HDCs, I found a brand new business on Caroline Street  at the location of the former Manifest Station.  Theresa (she asked me not to post her last name) has opened Smoke & Fire at 42 Caroline Street and the place has been open just a short time.  (Disclaimer added 9/3/09 - Theresa contacted me and indicated that her store is a tobacco store and all of the products are offered for tobacco use only.  The marijuana references, including the words "bong" and "bowl" in the title, are my words based on my impressions, and not based on anything she said or implied)

It amazes me the amount of businesses that have closed just before track season, and either opened or expanded at or near the end of track season.  You'd think both categories of business would try to take advantage of, oh I don't know, thousands of new customers.  But I digress.

Smoke & Fire caters to, well, honestly, the marijuana crowd as best as I can tell.  Yes they have some other earthy items in there such as incense and so forth but most of the stuff is for the potheads.  I am not passing judgement - there are  a lot worse things that people can do than smoke a little pot and I appreciate Theresa cooperating when I appeared out of nowhere with a camera announcing "Hi I'm Blogman - can I take some photos?" I'm just trying to give you an idea of what's in there. So stop by on your way to your next Phish concert and stock on up.  They started with a soft opening and will work on a grand opening hopefully later this month.  Good luck Theresa!

 

 

 

 

I previously reported that "The Backstretch" appeared closed and that still seemed to be the case as I walked by.  Someone standing out front stated that it lost its liquor license, but I haven't confirmed that.  Either way it's dead for now.  What a shame - it's a great location that has been not utilized properly (or at all) in the past few years. 

So I finally made it over to Hot Dog Charlies (Hey I had the munchies after coming so close to pot) and had one of their mini dogs (clerk: "it has a snap to it") and one of their burgers, which was recommended by another local blogger (in his usual robust and in-your-face style).  Both  were great, and the burger was fresh pressed and came with sauteed onions - what more can you ask for?  Well you can ask to make it a "Charlie Burger" and put some of HTCs hot dog sauce on it, which is exactly what I did.  It was greasy, sloppy, unhealthy, and fantastic.  Yum!  Open til 3am on weekdays and 5am(!) on weekends - I hope they succeed there especially because a while back a fire severely damaged their Troy location. 

So I wasn't done on Caroline Street.  I stopped in to City Tavern to see just what it was that they were serving for dinner. It may be dinner for some college kids, but most of us would think of it more as bar food. Oh well glad to see they are serving something and that the roof is open.

I stopped over to Esperanto to snap some shots of their newly expanded place.  They had some customers in there so I couldn't get the best shots but I did the best I could. 

 

 

I then took some time to really marvel at some of the architecture on Caroline Street - notably the Tin & Lint (where of course musician Don McLean reportedly wrote a certain song) and the building housing The Bullpen Tavern.  The Bullpen building had the late afternoon sun shining on the top 2/3 of it and the paint and masterful brickwork really popped out.  I am usually on Caroline Street later in the evening (like everybody else) so it was nice to have the sunlight and time to enjoy the sights, as posted below. 

 

 

I was ready to go home but  while I was so close I thought I'd stop over at the newly opened Boca Viva Cafe in the old Subway location at 458 Broadway.  They've got subs, salads, wraps, pastries and more so if you're there or in Lake George (42 Amherst Street) check them out. 

I saw a guy named Andre Ernst doing a great job playing the guitar in front of Celtic Treasures.  I like how the street musicians add to the character of this great city.

So there I was just steps from Mrs. London's and there was no way I was going to have the willpower to stay away, so I stopped in for a cookie (remember, I had the munchies still!).  It was a healthy cookie - "The Treehugger" I believe - with oats, raisins, flaxseeds and more granola type stuff.  Very good but next time I'll really indulge and go for a chocolate one. 

 I walked back to my car and on the way stopped in our wonderful  library to get some books on CD and then home I went.  It was a great little trip that put me in a fantastic mood and once again made me love life  here in Saratoga Springs. 

SPAC sales up; NYRA banking on Rachel Alexandra

The Business Review has the article here on some relatively good news from SPAC (congratulations to Marcia White and her staff for continuing their professional and successful leadership), and the T-U reports on NYRA's hopes for Rachel Alexandra giving them a boost in the Woodward.

I-Saratoga on The Schenectady Daily Gazette

With all of my summer activity and travels, I haven't had a lot of time to read other Saratoga blogs lately, but I noticed this entry from I-Saratoga earlier this month regarding The Schenectady Daily Gazette's change from a free web site to a paid one.  As usual, I-Saratoga's entry is insightful, strongly worded, and of course interesting.   Also, at least some of the comments are worth reading as well. 

Bonacio to build apartments, not condos, at new downtown Price Chopper location

The Albany Business Review is reporting that Bonacio Construction has announced plans to build apartments (and not condominiums) in it's new building which they will construct next year next to the Railroad Avenue Price Chopper location.  Of course something tells me that an apartment to condo conversion may happen when the economy improves at some point, but for now, it's apartments.