MVHS starts assembling construction fencing around site of nearly $550 million downtown hospital

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UTICA, N.Y. — The Mohawk Valley Health System (MVHS) says crews on Thursday began putting together the construction fence that will surround the site of

Appel Osborne to open a Buffalo office

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Appel Osborne Landscape Architecture, a Syracuse–based firm, is opening a new office in Buffalo on Oct. 21. The new 1,290-square-foot, leased office, located in Suite 400 at 50 Elk St. in Buffalo, is in a newly renovated mixed-use building — The Silos at Elk Street, which is listed on the New York State

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OCC, CCC ink nursing dual-admission agreement with Upstate Medical

Health Care, Subscriber Only

ONONDAGA —Nursing students at Onondaga Community College (OCC) understand their associate degree is a “great first step” but they will need to eventually pursue a bachelor’s degree so “they can experience all of the things in nursing that they envision,” according to Casey Crabill, president of Onondaga Community College. “That requires students to move to

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“That requires students to move to a university program. Upstate, as part of the SUNY family, is a logical next step,” said Crabill.

The OCC leader had conversations with Dr. Mantosh Dewan, interim president of Upstate Medical University, about what they could do “to make it more evident” what students need to do as they begin pursuing their associate degree, not as they finish it.

“President Dewan thought that was a good idea but that it should happen quickly, which never happens. His leadership really brought us to this point in less than an academic year, which is lightning speed in higher education,” said Crabill.

Nursing students at Onondaga Community College and Cayuga Community College (CCC) now have a new, “guaranteed” path to a four-year degree and the chance for employment in the industry.

Crabill, Dewan, and Brian Durant, president of Cayuga Community College on Sept. 30 signed an agreement which creates a “direct path,” dual admission, registered nurse (RN) bachelor’s degree program and a “guaranteed” job interview at Upstate.

The schools’ presidents signed the agreement in the nursing suite at OCC.

“Something that we’ve been working on really hard at OCC is making sure that the pathway is completely evident to students so they understand how to get from where they are to where they want to be, and this is a huge part of that,” Crabill added in her remarks before the signing ceremony.

Students pursuing an associate degree in nursing at CCC or OCC will be directly enrolled into the bachelor of science in nursing degree program at Upstate immediately after obtaining their RN license.

CCC’s Durant calls the partnership with Upstate Medical “something that’s been long needed for our students and for our programs.”

How the program works

During the first two years of the program, students at CCC and OCC must complete their coursework and achieve a 3.0 grade point average by their final semester in the nursing program.

Students check-in each summer

with Upstate Medical, interview for an RN position at Upstate, and must

pass the national licensing exam for

nurses, the NCLEX, which stands for National Council Licensure Examination.

Then, in the third and fourth years, students complete work toward their bachelor’s degree in nursing at Upstate. The school also offers an online bachelor’s degree in nursing.

“Equally important, I really want to see this collaboration be seamless. I think it’s very much true that as Upstate Medical University, we do not have an undergraduate program and we don’t have a campus so I would love to challenge all our SUNY brothers and sisters … to see Upstate as their medical school, not as a standalone but really part of who you are,” Dr. Mantosh Dewan, interim president of SUNY Upstate Medical University, said in his remarks.

New York state, CNY home sales decline in August

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

ALBANY — New York realtors sold 13,492 previously-owned homes in August, down 8.3 percent from 14,708 homes sold in the year-ago period. That’s according to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR)’s July housing-market report issued on Sept. 20. Sales data The August 2019 statewide median sales price was $296,900 up 8 percent from

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ALBANY — New York realtors sold 13,492 previously-owned homes in August, down 8.3 percent from 14,708 homes sold in the year-ago period.

That’s according to the New York State Association of Realtors (NYSAR)’s July housing-market report issued on Sept. 20.

Sales data

The August 2019 statewide median sales price was $296,900 up 8 percent from the August 2018 median of $275,000, according to the NYSAR data.

Pending sales totaled 12,756 homes in August, down 1.1 percent from 12,902 a year prior.

The months’ supply of homes for sale at the end of August was 6.4 months, per NYSAR’s report. It stood at 6.6 months at the end of August 2018. A 6-month to 6.5-month supply is considered to be a balanced market, the association says.

The number of homes for sale totaled 71,230 in August, a decrease of 3.2 percent from 73,586 in August 2018.

Central New York data

Realtors in Onondaga County sold 514 previously owned homes in August, down nearly 16 percent compared to the 610 sold in the same month in 2018. The median sales price rose more than 5 percent to nearly $159,000 from almost $151,000 a year ago, according to the NYSAR report.

NYSAR also reports that realtors sold 206 homes in Oneida County last month, down more than 7.5 percent compared to the 223 sold during August 2018. The median sales price dipped 2 percent to $135,000 from nearly $138,000 a year ago.

Realtors in Broome County sold 171 existing homes in August, one fewer than the same month in 2018, according to the NYSAR report. The median sales price increased more than 5 percent to $132,500 from almost $126,000 a year prior.

In Jefferson County, realtors closed on 113 homes in August, down about 16 percent from 134 homes sold a year before, and the median sales price of $160,000 was up about 5.5 percent from more than $151,000 a year earlier, according to the NYSAR data.

All home-sales data is compiled from multiple-listing services in New York state and it includes townhomes and condominiums in addition to existing single-family homes, according to NYSAR.

State grants aided Liberty Resources’ expansion project

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Health Care, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE — Liberty Resources, Inc. used two state grants to expand outpatient substance-use treatment services and increase capacity for primary care. It used a $625,000 from the New York State Department of Health and an $874,000 award from the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services. Liberty Resources, a Syracuse–based human-services agency,

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SYRACUSE — Liberty Resources, Inc. used two state grants to expand outpatient substance-use treatment services and increase capacity for primary care.

It used a $625,000 from the New York State Department of Health and an $874,000 award from the New York State Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services.

Liberty Resources, a Syracuse–based human-services agency, is located at 1045 James St.

The agency and Genoa Healthcare on Oct. 4 held a formal reopening event for the newly renovated and expanded Family Healthcare Center and Genoa Healthcare Pharmacy.

“Liberty Resources is here to stay for a very long time and has added primary care and substance-abuse services to its offerings of behavioral health and mental-health services to both children and adults, so it is a comprehensive delivery system that’s integrated,” Carl Coyle, CEO of Liberty Resources Inc., said in speaking with reporters after the ceremony.

The integration of mental health, substance-use treatment, physical health, and pharmaceutical services bring “best practice” standards of care to the Syracuse community, Liberty Resources contends.

Genoa Healthcare operates an on-site pharmacy at Liberty Resources to “improve medication adherence and health outcomes” for people managing mental health and substance-use conditions.

Liberty Resources announced its partnership with Genoa Healthcare in April 2018. Renton, Washington–based Genoa Healthcare provides health-care services that include pharmacy, telepsychiatry, and medication-management services, according to its website.

Integrated care is “alive and well” in Syracuse,” Bill Guptail, COO of Genoa Healthcare, said in his remarks during the formal reopening ceremony.

“We operate over 475 pharmacies across the United States today. New York was one of the last states that we were able to enter. With Carl’s commitment and passion for really driving and finding better ways to provide pharmacy care as part of an integrated-care model, we are here today and we’re continuing to grow in the state of New York,” said Guptail.

Liberty Resources has been providing outpatient behavioral health services since 2007, initially serving just 147 clients in the city of Syracuse. Liberty Resources now treats more than 4,000 individuals throughout CNY and the Rochester area.

Liberty Resources says it continues to expand its integrated model of care through the construction of a Family Healthcare Center in Fulton and through the development of telecounseling and telehealth services.

Oneida County hotel occupancy rate rises 1.5 percent in August

Regional News, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

UTICA — Hotels in Oneida County were slightly fuller in August than in the year-ago month, according to a recent report. The hotel occupancy rate (rooms sold as a percentage of rooms available) in the county rose 1.5 percent to 79.2 percent in August from 78 percent a year prior, according to STR, a Tennessee–based

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Need a friend? Be a friend

Business Mentors, Subscriber Only

Lean on me when you’re not strongI’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry onFor it won’t be long‘Til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.—Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter You’ve heard it said. You may even have heard yourself say it. “The problem with this business is the people.” And, “the best thing about this

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Lean on me when you’re not strong
I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on
For it won’t be long
‘Til I’m gonna need somebody to lean on.
—Bill Withers, American singer-songwriter

You’ve heard it said. You may even have heard yourself say it. “The problem with this business is the people.” And, “the best thing about this business is the people.”

How can these two sentiments both be true? Well, as your father used to say, they just are.

If you work with people, and most of us do, you’ll eventually understand and maybe even come to appreciate the seeming contradiction. Or you won’t, and you’ll suffer for it. On the one hand, dealing with people can be a big, hot mess. On the other hand, people can be absolutely wonderful. So, how do you reconcile that? It’s not like a balance sheet where assets always equal liabilities plus equity. No, when people are involved, there is no nice, neat accounting equation.

Vive la différence

The answer may lie in embracing one another’s differences. Granted, this is hard. It goes against our instinct. Our natural tendency is to want other people to look like us, think like us, and act like us. Conform or be cast out.

Well, I’m here to say that conformity is overrated. I am learning to like hanging out with all kinds of people. I enjoy spending time with, and learning as much from, the disabled veteran in the wheelchair as I do with the CEO speaking at the podium. Young, old, rich, or poor — I would submit there is always some redeeming value in almost every single human being, regardless. Do you sometimes need to dig deep to find it? Yes. Often it’s buried under layers of Facebook façades or serious scar tissue from life’s wounds. But it’s there. You just have to want to uncover it. You also have to be willing to be vulnerable enough to let some of your own scars show, and that’s probably the hardest thing to do.

So I am learning to appreciate differences. Take age differences for example. I learn new things all the time from friends and acquaintances who are 10, 20, and 30 or more years ahead of me. I also learn every day from some of my younger associates, colleagues, friends, and business partner. It’s my fervent hope and belief that I may have a thing or two to offer them, wherever they find themselves on their own journeys. Even if all I can come up with is an encouraging word, empathetic shrug, or anecdote from my own experience, that’s often enough to help a fellow traveler along their way on this crazy train called life. I don’t claim to have cornered the market on any great or powerful wisdom. But we all have seen things, experienced things, made mistakes, made amends. We all have something to share with others who may be ahead of us or behind us on the trail.

Your turn

Where are you on your journey? What do you have to share? What do you need to learn? Who can you ask to mentor you? Who can you mentor? How can you help someone who may need a little encouragement?

When you come right down to it, who can lean on you for help, and who can help you? Maybe it’s a younger friend. Or an older colleague. Maybe it’s a niece or a nephew. Maybe it’s an aging grandparent or parent, or a friend going through a rough patch. We’re all in this crazy, messy business of life together.

Despite all our well-intentioned talk of rugged individualism and pull-yourself-up-by-the-bootstraps self-help gobbledygook, at the end of the day people need other people. In all our messiness, with all our wounds, we were put here to help each other. Not just ourselves.

Do you know any people who could use someone to lean on right now? Why not send them a text or email. Maybe even mail them a handwritten note. Or better yet, make an actual phone call or walk down the hall to talk to them. You never know whose day you might make. It might even be yours.

Steve Johnson is managing partner of Riger Marketing Communications in Binghamton. Contact him at sdjohnson@riger.com

New owner of del Lago Resort & Casino looks ahead

Regional News, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

TYRE — A California investment-management firm is looking ahead to the future of del Lago Resort & Casino now that it’s the sole owner following the Wilmot family’s sale of its 50-percent stake in the property in August. Since the sale, the casino resort has added a retail sportsbook for betting on sports contests. And,

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Since the sale, the casino resort has added a retail sportsbook for betting on sports contests. And, state data indicates gaming revenue is growing at del Lago compared to the year-earlier period.

Del Lago is located in the Seneca County town of Tyre on property that is visible to motorists traveling in either direction along the New York State Thruway. Its address is 1133 State Route 414 in Waterloo.

Wilmot family sells

The Wilmot family sold its 50-percent stake in del Lago to its business partner — Los Angeles, California–based Peninsula Pacific — in a transaction that the Tyre Town Board approved during a meeting held in mid-August.

“We have been partners with the Wilmots since the very beginning in the formation of del Lago Resort & Casino,” says Brent Stevens, founder, chairman, and CEO of Peninsula Pacific. “From our perspective as now sole owner, it’s really about just the ongoing commitment to this property; to our vision for the property, the employees, the local community … to be the premier source of gaming and entertainment in the Finger Lakes region.” Stevens spoke with CNYBJ in a phone interview on Oct. 8.

Tom Wilmot, Sr., chairman of Rochester–based Wilmorite, on Aug. 15 reacted to the sale in a statement that del Lago provided CNYBJ. Wilmorite is a commercial real-estate development and management company.

“We have tremendous pride in the development of del Lago Resort & Casino and the role we have played. The transfer of corporate equity shares to Peninsula Pacific is an opportunity that will have long-term benefits for all owners, patrons, and the community. We selected Peninsula Pacific as a partner when the concept of del Lago originated, and we still have full confidence in the leadership. The Wilmot family has built long-term relationships with the staff and community and have been an integral part of the property. Del Lago Resort & Casino is good for our community. It has created employment opportunities, an entertainment destination and a new stream of revenue for the town and county. The continued success of del Lago is good for everyone in the Finger Lakes region,” said Wilmot.

Rising gaming revenue

Del Lago has generated just over $67 million in gross gaming revenue in the first five months (April through August) of the current 2019-20 fiscal year, a rise of 6 percent from more than $63.2 million in the same five-month period of last fiscal year. That’s according to data from the New York State Gaming Commission.

“Without providing a projection, I will simply say that we are very focused on growing overall gaming revenue and enhancing every aspect of the gaming product that we offer,” says Stevens.

The casino venue generated $126.3 million in gross gaming revenue during the full 2018-19 fiscal year, which was down more than 13 percent from $145.6 million in the 2017-18 fiscal year, according to the State Gaming Commission.

Developer plans Hampton Inn near Turning Stone

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Regional News, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

VERONA — Lenox, Massachusetts–based Benchmark Development on Sept. 30 announced it will soon start construction of its newest hotel, Hampton Inn by Hilton, near Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona. Construction is slated to begin in October and the developer anticipates opening the hotel next summer. The 64,000-square-foot Hampton Inn by Hilton Verona will be

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Construction is slated to begin in October and the developer anticipates opening the hotel next summer.

The 64,000-square-foot Hampton Inn by Hilton Verona will be located at 5186 Route 365, and will feature 109 guest rooms, a fitness center, indoor pool, and other amenities, Benchmark said in a news release. It will be situated on Oneida Indian Nation lands, adjacent to Turning Stone and be “designed to mirror the look of the property.” The developer didn’t disclose the cost of the project.

“Turning Stone Resort Casino is one of the most successful resorts and destinations in New York. The ability for Turning Stone, year after year, to attract over 4.5 million visitors creates a strong basis for our investment. There has also been significant business growth in the surrounding communities, so additional hotel rooms will support that growth,” Brian Cohan, president of Benchmark Development, tells CNYBJ in explaining the rationale for the new hotel.

Salina–based Parsons-McKenna Construction Co., Inc. is the contractor on the project, while Colchester, Vermont–based Wiemann Lamphere is the architect, Cohan notes.

When asked how and when the discussions with the Oneida Nation got started, Cohan replies, “Benchmark identified Verona as a potential opportunity approximately two years ago and the Oneida Nation was our first phone call. Our discussions were immediately meaningful and productive and together Benchmark and the Oneida Indian Nation have worked closely to bring this hotel from an idea to reality.”

From the Oneida Nation point of view, the new hotel will add to the lodging options available to Turning Stone customers.

“We see the new Hampton Inn as a strong complement to all that is offered at Turning Stone, and we are always thrilled to help generate and maintain additional economic activity in the area,” Ray Halbritter, Oneida Nation Representative and Nation Enterprises CEO, said in the Benchmark news release. “Many businesses have literally grown up around Turning Stone and that’s a good thing, and evidence that our enterprises are a magnet and strong economic engine for the entire region.”

Benchmark Development is a real-estate development firm with focus areas including mixed-use, hotel, adaptive re-use, student housing, and multi-family residential development.

Property manager

Benchmark Development has selected Danbury, Connecticut–based Meyer Jabara Hotels to manage the day-to-day operations of the Hampton Inn by Hilton Verona property once it opens. Benchmark describes Meyer Jabara as a “management company familiar with the New York hotel market and Hilton brands.”

Meyer Jabara Hotels is a hospitality company that owns, operates, or leasing hotels and restaurants in 10 states throughout the eastern portion of the U.S. The company was formed in 1977 as Motel Hotel Associates through the partnership of William Meyer, a specialist in real property law, and Richard Jabara, a second-generation hotelier. Its portfolio of hotels includes Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, and Hyatt Place brands, as well as several independent hotels, per Benchmark.

“We are delighted to be in partnership with Benchmark Development and the Oneida Indian Nation for this exciting hotel management deal,” Justin Jabara, VP of acquisitions and development for Meyer Jabara Hotels, said. “Because of the hotel’s modular construction — with sections of the hotel fabricated off site to brand specifications — it will be built in half the time. The look of the hotel will mirror that of the Turning Stone Resort Casino, with the public space mirroring its lodge-like design. More importantly, Hampton Inn Verona guests won’t have to go far to experience the best in gaming, dining and entertainment with everything they could possibly want right next door. It’s with the same spirit of hospitality bestowed by the Oneida Indian Nation at Turning Stone Resort Casino that we are eager to welcome guests to Verona’s newest upscale select-service hotel in the coming year.”

Turning Stone already has three of its own hotels on site: The Hotel at Turning Stone Resort Casino, the Tower at Turning Stone, and the Lodge at Turning Stone. It also has the lower-priced The Inn at Turning Stone, located two miles down Route 365.

Other hotels located in the Turning Stone area include the Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Verona, Microtel Inn & Suites by Wyndham Verona, and La Quinta Inn & Suites by Wyndham Verona.

More than 200 attend Oneida Indian Nation business conference at Turning Stone

Regional News, Subscriber Only

VERONA — More than 200 local business representatives gathered at Turning Stone Resort Casino for the second annual “Doing Business with the Oneida Indian Nation” conference on Oct. 4. Hosted by the Oneida Indian Nation’s Office of Economic Development, the half-day networking event welcomed small businesses from across Central New York interested in partnering with

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