SYRACUSE. — Destiny USA and Syracuse University Athletics are hoping they can attract a lot of visitors to Central New York.

The organizations on Sept. 10 announced a “multi-year strategic tourism partnership designed to drive travel and tourism to Central New York and Onondaga County.”

The partnership involves what the participants contend are “two of the region’s largest travel and tourism destinations — Destiny USA and Syracuse University,” per a Destiny USA news release.

Both organizations say they’re “joining efforts to bring in millions of travelers and tourists from around the world to experience the best of Central New York.”

Under the partnership, Destiny USA’s Embassy Suites hotel becomes the “Official Hotel of Syracuse Athletics” through the 2021 sports season.

The designation seeks to help “enhance the guest experience” for traveling shoppers, Orange fans, alumni, and visiting sports teams. It includes “exclusive” ticket bundles; special Destiny USA attraction packages; and game-day amenities like shuttle rides to and from the Carrier Dome for hotel guests.

“I think what we did is combine two great brands that are vital to this region,” John Wildhack, Syracuse University Director of Athletics, said in speaking with reporters after the event at Destiny USA.

He noted that 26 million people visit Destiny USA annually and “part of their experience” can be attending athletic events at Syracuse University. 

Under the partnership, both sides can reach out to Orange fans and fans of visiting teams to make them aware of the Embassy Suites hotel and Destiny USA. 

“It’s a marketing partnership that I think both parties will benefit from and I really think the region will benefit from this as well,” said Wildhack.

When CNYBJ asked Wildhack how long both sides had discussed the partnership, he noted that the discussion continued for a couple months and it became evident that both organizations wanted to move forward with it. 

“It really wasn’t that hard from there to get it done,” said Wildhack. 

Their partnership also “enhances” cross-collaborative marketing efforts both on and off the field to “package and market” Syracuse Athletics game-day events with Destiny USA activities. Those include the summer and winter fun pass, Tykes Tuesday events, and holiday shopping.

Stephen Congel, CEO of Pyramid Management Group, LLC, told CNYBJ the partnership includes benefits for hotel guests, such as ticket packages, and transportation to and from the Carrier Dome, and for attracting guests to Syracuse and Onondaga County. 

Destiny will be “leveraging their marketing platform and our marketing platform to reach out to alumni, to visiting fans, to visiting schools, visiting teams, and figure out how we can better package and market to get people to come from further away and stay longer,” says Congel.

The new partnership also involves working with Visit Syracuse to sell the Central New York region to outer markets and with travel and tourism partners both in New York, the U.S., Canada, and worldwide.

Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney says that any effort that attracts more tourists and economic activity will generate more sales-tax revenue for the county and can help keep a lid on property-tax bills for Onondaga County residents. The county uses both property taxes and sales taxes to fund the budget, and Mahoney’s latest budget proposal projects a 9 percent increase in sales-tax revenue compared to a year ago.

 “It’s really an economic-development project for us because the money that spins off from all the tourists that come that are shopping here and dining here and attending a game here, those sales-tax dollars go in to fund your county budget and prevent you from having to pay more property taxes,” Mahoney told CNYBJ after the event.      

Salina–based Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. (B&L) is looking to hire employees for its new office in suburban Buffalo.

B&L has two employees who were working from their homes in servicing the firm’s clients in the Buffalo area, says John Brusa, Jr., president of Barton & Loguidice.

 “They both have stepped up and they’re going to help us move forward with managing that office,” says Brusa, who spoke with CNYBJ on Sept. 7. “We’ve always wanted to make the commitment to the area.”

The new office is located in the Riverview Solar Technology Park in the town of Tonawanda, B&L said in a news release.

B&L is an engineering, planning, environmental, and landscape architecture firm.

A space with a little more than 2,000 square feet, the office “will be able to accommodate the anticipated staff growth” as the firm looks to recruit technical professionals.

The new space can accommodate up to 10 employees. The firm has open positions now for civil environmental engineers, landscape architects and planners, and those are positions the company wants to fill for the Tonawanda office. 

“Basically, over the next few years … [we’ll] ramp that [figure] up to 8-10 employees to cover clientele in the Western New York area,” says Brusa.

B&L currently employs about 250 people overall. Besides its Salina headquarters and the new office in Tonawanda, the firm has offices in Binghamton, Albany, Rochester, Watertown, Ellenville, New Paltz, Newburgh, and Somers, New York, along with Camp Hill, Pennsylvania and Lanham, Maryland.

B&L has a five-year lease for the Tonawanda space. Aside from the build-out cost that was incorporated into the lease agreement, Brusa says Barton & Loguidice spent about $40,000 for technology and furnishings in the office.

“We fit all the offices with video screens and all of our inner-office video equipment so we can do all of our meetings and share information,” he adds. 

A real-estate firm in the area helped Barton & Loguidice find the space, according to Brusa.

B&L services about 20 clients in the Buffalo area, including municipal clients. “We have some industrial [clients],” says Brusa, noting his firm provides environmental-engineering services for those customers.

The idea for a Buffalo–area office was part of a strategic-planning session the firm conducted in the spring of 2017. B&L wanted to study “geographic growth” within New York, specifically in Western New York and the Southern Tier. It developed a plan for “expansion possibilities” and what they could mean for the firm. 

“After the study was done, the decision was made to move forward about a year ago … late summer of 2017,” says Brusa.

GEDDES — The Centers at St. Camillus on Sept. 10 announced that it has received a $200,000 New York State legislative grant for capital improvements to its health-care facility that was “championed and secured” by New York State Senator John A. DeFrancisco, who is retiring at the end of this year. 

St. Camillus said in a release that it will use the funding to help fund three primary capital-improvement projects at its facility: repair a portion of the existing roof, buy a new boiler, and purchase a new resident call system for one of its residential skilled-nursing care units.

The Centers at St. Camillus, located at 813 Fay Road in Geddes, first opened in 1969 as a residential skilled-nursing facility and has grown to now include specialized short-term and brain-injury rehabilitation, adult day health-care programs, medical-transportation services, and home care, along with its affiliate Integrity Home Care Services.

To thank Sen. DeFrancisco (R–DeWitt) for his help in obtaining the grant, St. Camillus residents, staff, and board members and trustees invited him to the Geddes facility on Sept. 10 for a reception where they “surprised and honored” him for his 26-year tenure as the 50th State Senate District representative with an official certificate of recognition and honor.

In their remarks, James D. Spencer, chairman of St. Camillus’ board members and trustees, and Aileen Balitz, president and CEO of The Centers at St. Camillus, stated that DeFrancisco has provided critical support to the organization over the years in the following ways.

• y “vigorously fighting” against cuts in funding to long-term care providers in state-budget talks each year, “thereby preserving access to high quality long term care services for the people in our community.”

• e secured $200,000 in grant funding in 2007 to help St. Camillus upgrade its facilities and provide a “better care environment for its residents.” That grant enabled St. Camillus to upgrade its heating system and convert from electric to hydronic heat. 

• en. DeFrancisco also has written many letters in support of grant requests on behalf of The Centers at St. Camillus, which have been awarded and “significantly enhanced and expanded the service offerings it is able to provide.” For example, a HEAL NY Grant of $1.2 million in 2006 allowed St. Camillus to expand and upgrade its adult day health and outpatient programs. More recently, he supported the New York State Unified Funding application for Christopher Community’s Harborbrook Apartments project, which was funded and opened in August 2018. Christopher Community partnered with St. Camillus to provide service coordination and health-care services to 20 of the residents in this project in need of accessible housing, the release stated. 

OSWEGO — Oswego–based Pathfinder Bank recently donated $250,000 to the Oswego Health Foundation.

Oswego Health said in a Sept. 6 news release that it plans to use Pathfinder’s donation to support one of its “important health-care initiatives,” which it will announce “in the near future.”

“Pathfinder Bank recognizes the impact that Oswego Health has on our community, including its commitment to continuously invest in ways to improve health and wellness for all residents,” Thomas Schneider, president & CEO of Pathfinder Bank, said in the release. “Our healthcare infrastructure is a basic foundation for economic development in Oswego County. We are pleased to assist Oswego Health with funding major projects and initiatives that will continue to provide accessible and high quality care to best serve our community.”

 “Oswego Health is most appreciative of Pathfinder’s gift,” Michael Harlovic, president and CEO of Oswego Health, said. “Tom, his board and bank employees, recognize the significance of ensuring exceptional local health-care services. Thanks to Pathfinder’s support, Oswego Health can continue to invest in new facilities and services, such as our new Behavioral Health Services location on Cayuga Street in Oswego, and our plans to completely upgrade Oswego Hospital’s third and fourth floors to offer private patient rooms, as well as other enhancements. In addition to these projects, this year we have updated many of our public areas and we are currently in the midst of an emergency-department renovation project. Pathfinder’s substantial gift and the health system’s own sound financial management will allow these projects to continue.”

Pathfinder Bank currently has eight full-service branches in Oswego and Onondaga Counties. The bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of Pathfinder Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: PBHC).

Oswego Health is a nonprofit health-care system that includes Oswego Hospital, a 164-bed community hospital providing acute medical, emergency, surgical, maternity and behavioral health care. The health system employs more than 1,200 people, with about 85 percent of its staff residing in Oswego County.

It also operates outpatient centers located throughout Oswego County, including the Fulton Medical Center, offering urgent care, lab, medical imaging, physical therapy and occupational health services; and the Central Square Medical Center, offering urgent care, lab, medical imaging and physical therapy services. 

Additionally, the health system operates The Manor at Seneca Hill, a skilled-nursing facility that provides complete rehabilitation services and an adult day health services program; Springside at Seneca Hill, an independent retirement community, and Oswego Health Home Care, a hospital-based certified home health-care agency in Oswego County.

Oswego Health also includes the Oswego Health captive professional corporation, Physician Care P.C., providing physician services in orthopedics, cardiology, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), general surgery, bariatrics and primary care.