Glens Falls Business Journal
By Paul Post
Interest in available Warren County shovel-ready sites is at its highest point in recent history. The key is matching prospective investors with the property they need.
Quite often, firms don’t have to be sold on features such as reliable infrastructure and high quality of life. They come because of prior familiarity with the area.
“It’s generally relationships that lead people here,” said Jim Siplon, Warren County Economic Development Corporation president. “They’re referred by somebody they do business with, they’ve been to our area or have a connection to someone in our area. For example, the medical device industry, the Sheridans and Phil Morse, they chose to build that industry here because they had some connection to the place. It’s those relationships that tend to generate the most impact, more than purely listings.”
Queensbury Industrial Park near Floyd Bennett Memorial Airport, Tech Meadows in West Glens Falls, and large privately-held parcels off Big Bay and Corinth roads near Exit 18 are prime development sites in Warren County.
“Right now we have more than 60 active business inquiries,” Siplon said. “That’s as high as it’s ever been since I’ve been on the job five years. We continue to be bullish about it. Most are from this area, but some are from other parts of the country and world.”
Last month, a prospective food-related business visited Warren County.
“It was a combination of place and access to some of the raw materials they would use,” Siplon said.
Glens Falls was once a hub of heavy industry, not only paper mills, but other large employers that have shuttered their doors, most recently the former Lehigh Cement Company that closed in 2023 after 130 years of operation. Across the Hudson River, the large former Essity paper mill lies idle in South Glens Falls.
But the days of chasing similar firms to locate here are long gone, Siplon said.
“What we have to do is go after things that have 20, 30, 40 people,” he said. “We have more than 15 breweries, distilleries and wineries in our area now. If you look at the growth of that sector against the loss of traditional manufacturing jobs they’re almost equal. That doesn’t mean that people from Lehigh are working for Northway Brewing now. But we are seeing a move from large, concentrated industrial entities to smaller more craft-oriented businesses.”
Prime Arrow, one of many new cannabis firms to locate locally, purchased a nine-acre property last year on Stone Quarry Road in Queensbury, near the Army National Guard center, in order to build a 30,084 square foot building for growing, processing and distribution.
And more than a half-dozen coffee shops are doing brisk business in Glens Falls and Queensbury. Kru Coffee, which has a retail shop near Centennial Circle in Glens Falls, has plans for a coffee roasting and canning facility at Tech Meadows where it recently bought property.
“They’re working diligently to begin construction as soon as possible,” said Jeff Flagg, City of Glens Falls economic development director.
About 30 acres of land are still available at Tech Meadows, which is owned by the City of Glens Falls Local Development Corporation. The city is considering a zoning change there, to expand potential uses at the property.
The two largest privately-held shovel ready development sites in Warren County are those owned by the Barber family surrounding the former Native Textiles building off Corinth Road, and another by Gross Electric owner Joseph Gross on Big Ray Road. Brookfield Power built its operations center at the latter.
Siplon said Warren County EDC helps the owners market such properties.
“Sometimes we find them, sometimes they find them themselves,” he said.
Both Warren County EDC and Saratoga Economic Development Corporation partner with many other agencies including Empire State Development to market and promote sites for development.
Technology, spurred by GlobalFoundries’ massive complex at Luther Forest Technology Campus, is at the forefront of Saratoga County’s economic development.
“But there’s also the supply chain that supports advanced manufacturing,” said Greg Connors, SEDC president. “And life sciences, healthcare facilities, light manufacturing, distribution and logistics are all very much in high demand here. There is a level of uncertainty with respect to making one’s next investment, not just here, but throughout the nation. The economy isn’t as robust as we’d like and there’s investor uncertainty in the marketplace.”
“But I’m a glass half full individual, I’m very optimistic about the economic future here in Saratoga County,” he said. “We’re ready to help anybody who’s ready to make an investment.”
More than a dozen prime, shovel-ready development sites are available in the county, a combination of industrial property, raw land and existing buildings.
“It depends on the particular investor and their timeline,” Connors said. “If they’re interested in a greenfield site, there’s an aggressive regulatory review process in every municipality that adds time to a project. If more interested in getting started as soon as possible, they’d probably be directed to an existing building. There are many listed for sale throughout the county and region.”
A Center for Economic Growth map (viewer.mapme.com/Albany) shows all types of development sites in the Capital Region.
Through August 31, SEDC had enabled more than $275 million in new investment in Saratoga County this year alone.
“That investment contemplates the creation of approximately 500 full-time job opportunities, approximately 225 retained jobs and the creation of hundreds of temporary construction jobs,” Connors said. “That’s not just optimism, but evidence of a great time to invest in Saratoga County.”
Greenfield-based Munter Enterprises owns several parcels in WJ Grande Industrial Park in Saratoga Springs, ranging in size with the largest about 15 acres. All parcels have access to major utilities such as water, sewer, gas and electric.
“We try to attract companies that require a large utility load due to the existing utility structure capacity, so that typically leans towards manufacturing,” said Mike Munter, the firm’s vice president. “We have steady interest and some inquiries that are presently in the process of analysis. We are well into the process of obtaining planning board approvals for a 120,000-square-foot spec industrial building on a 12-acre site on Skyward Drive in the park.”
Two firms, Soleno and AgroChem, are currently located on Munter parcels and a third, Ambrave Corp., is currently building a 35,000-square-foot building scheduled for completion next summer. Ambrave designs and manufactures advanced tactical gear for military special operations forces and law enforcement under the brand Direct Action, and for outdoor enthusiasts under the brand Helikon-Tex.
Quebec-based Soleno, which uses recycled plastic to make large water pipes for use under roads, recently opened a $22 million high-tech manufacturing facility with 50 new jobs. AgroChem makes hygiene solutions to support the dairy industry.
Several years ago, Munter Enterprises purchased a 27-acre former golf driving range near Exit 17 in Moreau for $1.6 million. The site was expected to see rapid development once new municipal sewer service was installed, but there’s been no movement to date.
“We have received multiple inquiries, but nothing that has any merit at this time,” Munter said. “We plan to focus more on this parcel for commercial use in the near future as it has great access to and visibility from the Northway. Nothing happens overnight and an area like that will take time to develop, but it has started.”
“If you drive the (Route 9) corridor, many new businesses have popped up and older ones are investing in their properties,” he said. “As the other old properties turn over there is much greater potential for broadened uses now with the sewer in place. It may not be apparent to many yet, but the sewer undoubtedly increased the value and potential for the corridor tremendously.”