The retail market in Albany Metro has two geographic characteristics that make it unique for a market of this size. First, there are two successful enclosed regional malls located at the same general intersection. The 1,700,000 square foot Crossgates Mall in Albany and the 1,300,000 square foot Colonie Center in Colonie, both basically located at different quadrants of the intersection of I-87 and I-90. Although it is unusual in today’s retail market to have two large enclosed regional malls coexist so close to each other, the reason for this lies not only in the fact that both properties share tremendous regional access via I-87 & I-90 but also by the fact that these malls are both near the geographic center of the Albany Metro area. This combination, in conjunction with ownership at both malls that have been very aggressive in upgrading both the physical aspects and the tenant mix of each mall, are the reasons behind this success. There are also a large amount of big box tenants that have located in the areas surrounding these malls, making this area the most dominant regional corridor in Albany Metro.

The second unique geographic characteristic of the Albany Metro retail market is that all of the most significant regional retail corridors are located off of I-87 (known as The New York State Thruway south of I-90 and The Northway north of I-90), which is the interstate highway that runs 220 miles through the Albany Metro area from Greene County in the southern end to Plattsburg and the Canadian border on the northern end.

Moving 5 miles north from I-90 along I-87 (The Northway) the first regional corridor is Latham at Exit 6 that provides direct access to large concentration of regional and community retail along Routes 2 and 7. This corridor is in close proximity to many of the better “close in” suburban communities and also provides easy access via route 7 across to the east side of the Hudson River and the City of Troy.

Proceeding north 14 miles on The Northway across the Mohawk River to exit 9 is Route 146 in Clifton Park which also has a large concentration of regional and community retail that serves the affluent communities of southern Saratoga County.

Located in the geographic center of Saratoga County is Wilton Mall at Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, a 760,000 square foot single level enclosed regional mall. Located on Route 50, at exit 15 of The Northway, 18 miles north of Clifton Park, Wilton Mall and the significant amount of box retail located in this corridor serves not only Saratoga County but portions of Warren County to the north as well.

The next regional retail corridor along I-87 is in Glens Falls at Exit 19 (Route 254), 17 miles north of Route 50 in Saratoga Springs. This Glens Fall retail corridor is not as dominant as some of the previously mentioned retail corridors to the south due to both a lack of available box space and much less surrounding population density. The corridor is anchored by Aviation Mall, a 630,000 square foot single level enclosed mall that is less dominant then the other existing malls to the south along The Northway. Although the year round population is light in this trade area, Glens Falls serves as the closest regional corridor to Lake George, Lake Placid and The Adirondacks. The trade area benefits from large seasonal population increases not only from tourist traffic but from a significant amount of second home ownership.

The last regional retail corridor in Albany Metro is located on Route 3, 105 miles north of Glens Falls on I-87 at exit 37 in Plattsburgh. The retail corridor is anchored by Champlain Centre, a 610,000 sf single level enclosed mall that has stayed relevant by attracting large and mid-size boxes along with inline tenants that in markets less rural in nature would typically locate outside the mall. Other box retail exists at this exit making Plattsburg a legitimate rural regional retail corridor.

The only other retail corridor in Albany Metro that has regional characteristics is the intersection of Route 5 (State Street) and Route 146 (Balltown Road) in Niskayuna. The intersection is anchored by Mohawk Commons, a 600,000 square foot open air shopping center. Mohawk Commons has strong roster of regional boxes including Target, Lowes, Bed Bath & Beyond, PetsMart, Marshall’s and Old Navy along with numerous other smaller tenants that solidify the intersection regional draw. Although outside of the I-87 (The Northway) regional corridor, the strong co-tenancy at this intersection serves not only the affluent demographics of Niskayuna, but also the older and more dense residential areas of Schenectady and Rotterdam.

Grocery operators active in the Albany Metro area include Price Chopper, which is based in Schenectady, a suburb of Albany, Tops Friendly Markets, The Fresh Market, Shop Rite, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Aldi, Price Rite, Sav-A-Lot, Hannaford and Walmart Supercenter.

The city of Albany is strategically located 150 miles north of New York City, 165 miles west of Boston and 215 miles south of Montreal. The region has a long history of being a center of economic innovation. Albany is one of the oldest surviving settlements of the original 13 British colonies, and the longest continuously chartered city in the United States. Its’ charter is possibly the longest running instrument of municipal government in the Western Hemisphere.

During the late 18th century and throughout most of the 19th century, Albany was a center of trade and transportation, the primary result of the completion of The Erie Canal in 1825 after seven years of construction. An engineering marvel when it was built, some called it the 8th Wonder of the World. It was 4 feet deep and 40 feet wide and floated boats carrying 30 tons of freight along a stretch of 363 miles connecting the waters of Lake Erie at Buffalo in the West to the Hudson River at Albany in the East. A 10 foot wide towpath was built along the bank of the canal for the horses and mules which pulled the boats and their drivers. Thousands of British, German and Irish immigrants provided the muscle to build the canal, which had to be done with shovels and horsepower. These immigrant laborers were paid between $.80 to $1 per day, which was often 3 times the amount they could earn in their home countries. In order to keep pace with the growing demand of traffic, the canal was enlarged in 1836 and again in 1862, ultimately being able to handle boats carrying up to 240 tons of freight. During the early years of the United States, the Erie Canal provided a vastly improved transportation system into the interior portions of the country which previously were separated from the population centers along the East Coast by the Appalachian Mountains. From Buffalo, access to the Great Lakes provided an easy connection for the farm products of the Upper Midwest being brought to the East Coast as well as an easy route for the migration of farmers to settle the fertile farm lands west of the Appalachians. From Albany, it was an easy trip down the Hudson River to the port of New York City where goods could be easily distributed along the east coast. Farm fresh produce could be shipped to the growing metropolitan areas of the East Coast and consumer goods could be shipped from the East Coast to the expanding markets in the west. The Erie Canal initially cost $7 million to build but reduced shipping cost significantly. Before the canal, the cost to ship 1 ton of goods from Buffalo to New York City cost $100. After the canal’s completion, the same ton could be shipped for $10. Goods and people were transported quickly along the canal for that time in history. Freight traveled through the canal at about 55 miles per 24 hour period. Express passenger service moved through at 100 miles per 24 hour period, so a trip from New York City to Buffalo via the Erie Canal would only have taken about 5 days. At the center of all this was Albany, which thrived for nearly 100 years as a result of its’ location at the confluence of the Erie Canal and the Hudson River. As the 19TH century came to a close and the 20th century began, railroads became a more efficient form of transportation and so the benefits to Albany’s economy declined precipitously.

As the benefits of the Erie Canal were declining, the Albany region was at the forefront of Thomas Edison’s technological advancements that would take the place of the canal as the region’s major economic driver. Thomas Alva Edison was an American inventor and businessman. He was one of the 1st inventors to apply the principles of mass production and large-scale teamwork to the process of invention, and because of that, he is credited with the creation of the first industrial research laboratory. More significant than the number of Edison’s patents, are the impacts of his inventions. Edison not only invented things, his inventions established major new industries worldwide, notably, electric light and power utilities, telecommunications, as well as sound recording and motion pictures. What Edison is most remembered for is his development of a system of electric power generation and distribution to homes, businesses and factories – a crucial development in the modern industrialized world. His first power station was on Pearl Street in Manhattan New York in the early 1880’s. In 1887, due to the general expense of labor and land in New York City along with strikes and unionizing attempts, Thomas Edison moved his Edison Machine Works along with 200 of its’ workers from lower Manhattan to two unfinished factory buildings on a 10 acre site in Schenectady, New York. In 1889 Edison merged all of his electric related companies to form Edison General Electric. During this time frame , under the leadership of Charles Coffin, the Thomson-Houston Company also became a leader in this new industry through its’ access to key patents gained by the acquisition of several of Edison General Electric key competitors. This period in history was a fledgling era for invention and roll out of the electrical industry. The industry was so clouded and delayed by the clash of divergent methods of power, distribution and appropriate appliances that only a few realized the vast future utilization of electricity. As a result of this thinking, in 1892, Coffin and Edison decided to merge Edison General Electric and the Thomson- Houston Company to create one company to be known as the General Electric Company, that would be headquartered in Schenectady, NY. This newly merged company would not only provide for the creation and distribution of electrical power but would also allow for the alignment of competing patents and engineering talent, the manufacture of compatible appliances, the development of new electrical products and the ability to advise customers as to how best to harness the power of electricity. From this point and throughout the next seven decades General Electric would not only change the world but would make the Albany region a center of manufacturing and innovation. Direct employment by General Electric in greater Albany peaked at more than 50,000 in the 1960’s. It was not only this direct employment that made its impact on the region but the indirect jobs and innovation mindset that made the Albany economy run.

Today, given Albany’s position as the state capital of New York State, government (local, state and federal) represents about one-quarter of all employment in the area, but it is a growing high tech sector that is the focus for the future of the region. Known as Tech Valley, the city of Albany is at the center of this geography. Started as an economic development marketing effort in the late 1990s, the Tech Valley has become a reality as a hub of technological companies and educational facilities with the focus on biotech, nanotechnology, and life sciences. Some of the key players that have allowed the Tech Valley to become a reality are Global Foundries, SUNY Poly CNSE (College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering), Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the State of New York. Global Foundries is a computer chip manufacture that initially opened its’ $12 billion Saratoga County plant in 2011. It is considered the grand prize in the Tech Valley’s climb to credibility. The company is the second largest computer chip producer in the world, making chips for everything from tablets to satellites. In the early 2000s, when Global Foundries began the search for its’ next plant, the Tech Valley was competing not only with other sites in the United Sates but in other countries throughout the world. Although the $1.4 billion in cash and incentives provided by the State of New York was important in the decision to locate in Saratoga County, it was not the deciding factor since all the other competing areas offered similar incentives. The deciding factor was the commitment and investment by the State of New York to create a “high tech ecosystem” in the Tech Valley. In particular, the decision in 2001 to create SUNY Poly CNSE, the first college in the world dedicated to the research, development, education, and deployment in the emerging disciplines of nanoscience, nanoengineering, nanobioscience, and nanoeconomics. Today the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering encompasses more than 1,200,000 sf of space, including 140,000 sf of cleanroom space with over 4,000 employees and 300 global corporate partners. SUNY Poly CNSE is complemented by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Founded in 1824, RPI is the oldest technical research university in the United States. The university offers bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees with an undergraduate population of 6,200 and a graduate population of 1,000. The RPI incubator program, known as the Emerging Venture Ecosystem (EVE), works to promote jobs in the region by accommodating and helping to develop more startups. Hundreds of companies have gone through the incubator, allowing technology and talent in the area to flourish. In addition to the focus on computer technology, there is a strong and growing presence of biotech and biomed companies such as C. R. Bard, Angiodynamics, Navilist, GE Healthcare, Taconic Biosciences, Albany Molecular Research (AMRI), and Philips Medical Systems. Also adding to this growing knowledge based economy in the Tech Valley is the headquarters of GE Global Research in Schenectady, which employs 4,000 people and serves as the primary research facility for all divisions of GE.

Adirondack Park represents the largest protected area in the contiguous United States. The Adirondack Mountains boast more than 2,000 miles of hiking trails, over 3,000 lakes and ponds, with 30,000 miles of streams that feed 6,000 miles of rivers. The Adirondack Peaks can be anywhere from 1,200 feet tall to well over 5,000 feet tall, and the 46 tallest summits above 4,000 feet are called the High Peaks. The highest mountain of them all is Mount Marcy at 5,344 feet above sea level. It is one of the most distinctive features of the Adirondack landscape. Mount Marcy is home to Lake Tear of the Clouds, the highest lake in New York State at 4,292 feet, and the source of the Hudson River. Of Adirondack Park’s 6 million acres, 2.6 million acres are owned by New York State. The remaining 3.4 million acres are privately owned including 105 towns and villages.

There is often a misperception that Adirondack Park is a national or state park, yet the region’s mix of public and private land allows for conservation and civilization to thrive together. The park offers an authentic and unique wilderness adventure within a day’s drive for 60 million people. It’s just hours from New York City, Boston, Montreal and Ottawa. There are over 50 species of mammals that live in the mountains of the Adirondacks. Larger than several states in New England, bigger even than Yosemite, Yellowstone, Glacier, Grand Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains National Parks combined – Adirondack Park contains the largest protected wilderness area east of the Mississippi.

Whatever your preferred outdoor activity is, there is a region of the Adirondacks that meet your needs.Start with Lake George, whose tagline is “the birthplace of the American vacation”. The water of this glacial lake is crystal clear with over 170 islands scattered throughout its’ thirty two miles of north/south length and a width that varies from one to three miles. Lake George has been a special place for family vacations for generations.

Twenty five miles from Lake George Village is Gore Mountain which has the most skiable acreage in New York state. There are four peaks of alpine terrain; 109 trails including 27 glades and 7 freestyle areas; an 8 passenger gondola and two high speed quads along with eleven other lifts; over 439 acres skiable acres; and a vertical drop of 2537 feet. With terrain rated 50% intermediate and 40 % expert Gore Mountain is as competitive as any ski area in the northeast.

Further north is Schroon Lake, Lake Placid, the Saranac Lakes and Tupper Lake. All glacial lakes with crystal clear waters nestled against beautiful small town villages and surrounded by the Adirondack Mountains. These lakes along with numerous surrounding smaller lakes and ponds along with the rivers and streams that feed them are a fisherman’s dream. The size and species available for catching is long and varied. Lake trout, rainbow trout, brown trout, brook trout, small and large mouth bass, rock bass, yellow perch, brown bullhead catfish, pumpkinseed, walleye, northern pike, tiger muskies, bullhead, whitefish, lake locked salmon, pan fish, smelt, perch and pickerel.

The best known of these communities is Lake Placid. Home to both the 1932 Winter Olympics (the third Winter Olympics ever) and the 1980 Olympics (where the USA Men’s Hockey Team upset the Soviet Union and went on to win the Olympic Gold Medal in one of the greatest upsets in sports history). With much of the infrastructure from the 1980 Olympics still in place and well maintained, Lake Placid has become a mecca for both winter and summer sports. These venues include the Lake Placid Olympic Center which contains three indoor ice skating rinks the outdoor Olympic Speed Skating Oval. The largest of these rinks is the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena which has a seating capacity of 7,000 people and regularly hosts national and international figure skating competitions, USA Hockey and Stars on Ice among other special events. The Olympic Jumping Complex continues to be a training ground for many aspiring young ski jumpers who hope to one day to earn a spot on the U. S. Winter Olympic Team. The Olympic Sports Complex is made up of the combined bobsled, luge and skeleton track as well as the Mt. Van Hoevenberg Cross Country Skiing and Biathlon Center. All of the facilities at the Olympic Sports Complex are available for use by the public in addition to hosting numerous training events and international competitions. Whiteface Mountain, 13 miles north of the Village of Lake Placid, is where all alpine downhill skiing competitions took place at both the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympics. Whiteface is still considered today one of the most challenging ski mountains in the northeast with the greatest vertical drop of any ski resort east of the Rockies. The mountain, which continues to host World Cup events, has 87 trails, 11 lifts including an eight passenger gondola and a high speed detachable quad, 288 skiable acres with 53 acres of glades skiing and 35 acres of inbounds double black diamond wilderness terrain skiing. Summer and Fall seasons are also extremely popular for visitors to Lake Placid. As home to the oldest continual Ironman event in the continental United States, Lake Placid has become a destination for endurance athletes, both casual and professional. Trail running and trail biking, road running and road biking, and open water swimming on both a casual basis and through numerous Lake Placid sponsored events are now standard fare in Lake Placid.

Lake Champlain is a natural, freshwater, glacial lake that runs approximately 120 miles in length from Montreal, Canada to its southern tip in Whitehall, NY. With a maximum width of 12 miles the lake has a surface area of 435 square miles and 71 islands. It is the eastern boundary of Adirondack Park with 156 miles of coastline within the park. The lake has 81 species of fish and is considered one of the best bass fishing lakes in the United States, listed as number five by bassmaster.com. In addition to its’ reputation for fishing, this region of Adirondack Park known as The Adirondack Coast, is also well known for sailing, windsurfing, local wineries and early American historical sites. Given the geography of the area, starting at the foothills of the Adirondacks and ending in the flatlands of the coast of Lake Champlain, bicycling is particularly popular in that it can offer a combination both extensive flatland or hilly terrain to suit anyone from a beginner to a competitive rider.

The Hudson, Sacandaga, Black and Moose Rivers are all destinations in Adirondack Park sought after by those looking for whitewater river rafting and kayaking. As springs snow and ice melt, the rivers waters rise and create dynamic whitewater environments. By summer the rapids are still running by not as fast as the heavy waters of the spring. By the fall the rivers have slowed down significantly but are still popular for slow paced rafting and kayaking that allows riders to enjoy the fall foliage. The most notorious section of these rivers is the Hudson River Gorge, rated one of the top 10 whitewater rafting trips in the United States, with spring runoff creating class IV and V rapids.

Adirondack Park has an abundance of natural wildlife that have brought hunters and trappers from all over the country back season after season. White-tailed deer, black bear, wild turkey, coyote, red fox, grey fox, bobcats, cottontail rabbit, hares, beavers, raccoon, opossum, weasel, pheasant, grouse, ducks, snow goose, canadian goose and snapping turtle are all found in various regions throughout the park.

Other activities which we have not mentioned that give visitors additional reasons to come to Adirondack Park include hiking, camping, rock climbing, snowmobiling, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, golfing, bird watching and motorcycling. Hard to believe all of this is just a few hours ride from New York City.