Boviteq USA leases almost 4,700 square feet at office park in DeWitt

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DeWITT, N.Y. — Boviteq USA recently leased 4,663 square feet of office/flex space at 15 Technology Place in DeWitt. Christopher Savage, William Evertz, and James Laurenzo of Cushman & Wakefield/Pyramid Brokerage Company helped arrange the transaction, according to a release from the real-estate firm. Savage and Evertz represented the landlord. The property owner is listed […]

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Three organizations honored at Downtown Committee meeting

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Nonprofits, Small Business, Sports, Entertainment & Tourism, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Downtown Committee of Syracuse Inc. recognized the Hanover Square Association, the Corbett Corner project, and the downtown lunch restaurant Darwin during its June 23 annual meeting held at the Oncenter. The event, which attracted a crowd of 400, also included the annual State of Downtown report. Merike Treier, executive director of

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The event, which attracted a crowd of 400, also included the annual State of Downtown report. Merike Treier, executive director of the Downtown Committee, “highlighted the incredible growth” that the downtown area has had in the past year and provided a preview of projects that are currently in progress, the organization said.

Downtown Awards of Excellence

The Downtown Awards of Excellence honored three organizations for their “commitment to growth” throughout downtown Syracuse.

The Downtown Committee recognized the Icon Companies’ Corbett Corner project at 444 E. Genesee St. in Syracuse with the Urban Innovation Award. The award recognizes a “trailblazing activity that’s brought new attention — and energy — to a previously underdeveloped facet” of downtown Syracuse. The project at the corner of East Genesee and South Townsend streets includes 24 new studio and one-bedroom units, “resulting in a dramatic change to Downtown’s eastern gateway,” the Downtown Committee said.

In addition, the organization honored Darwin, a lunch restaurant at 110 W. Fayette St., with the Heart of Downtown Award. The award spotlights “efforts that positively impact the way people feel about downtown Syracuse.” The owners of Darwin, which has operated downtown for 12 years, chose to open in downtown Syracuse because “they wanted to be part of its resurgence,” the Downtown Committee said.

The committee also chose the Hanover Square Association for the Perfect Partner Award, which it gives to individuals, businesses, organizations, and initiatives “whose advocacy and commitment positively benefits downtown Syracuse and our community as a whole.” The Hanover Square Association was especially active throughout the 2021-2022 fiscal year. The group includes residents and business owners who “advocate for the neighborhood by organizing community events, beautification programs and ways that the district can connect,” the Downtown Committee said.

Amazon’s robotic-fulfillment center in Clay formally opens

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

CLAY, N.Y. — Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) new robotic-fulfillment center at 7211 Morgan Road in Clay is the company’s largest facility in New York. That’s according to Jennifer Cruickshank, Amazon head of New York public policy and community engagement for the Seattle, Washington–based ecommerce giant. She made the comment to open the June 23 formal-opening ceremony.

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CLAY, N.Y. — Amazon’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) new robotic-fulfillment center at 7211 Morgan Road in Clay is the company’s largest facility in New York.

That’s according to Jennifer Cruickshank, Amazon head of New York public policy and community engagement for the Seattle, Washington–based ecommerce giant. She made the comment to open the June 23 formal-opening ceremony.

The five-story, more than 3-million-square-foot center has been in operation since early May, Irfaan Hafeez, Amazon site leader for the Clay center, tells CNYBJ.

The center currently employs 1,500 people with plans to hire more, according to Cruickshank.

“We’ve got so many opportunities here … so many different types of jobs for the people of this community,” she adds.

The Amazon employees are working with the latest robotic technology, Hafeez said to open his remarks during the opening ceremony.

The event attracted company officials and local dignitaries who gathered for the opening event outside the entrance to the Amazon location, which the company refers to as SYR1.

“An aging golf course has brought new vitality into the Syracuse [area],” Damian Ulatowski, Town of Clay supervisor, said to open his remarks.

He was referring to the Liverpool Public Golf and Country Club, which previously operated on the property where the fulfillment center now operates.

He went on to explain that the project started as an idea to help stimulate the economy in this part of the state and bringing “an efficient way” to deliver consumer goods to residents in the Northeast.

Ulatowski also believes employers from various industries will want to position themselves “close to this new frontrunner.”

“And it is already happening as we’ve seen interest in vacant warehouse space becoming occupied again on neighboring streets and Steelway Boulevard,” Ulatowski said, referring to a nearby street that has both a North and a South location that are home to several companies.

Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon publicly announced Amazon was coming to Clay in May 2020. It followed what he called a “highly competitive process for this project.”

“What we’re talking about has been over $400 million invested in our community by arguably the greatest logistics company in the world and one of the best technology companies in the world,” McMahon said at the June 23 event.

He also noted that Amazon invested more than $1.75 million for robotics and computer-science technology improvements at the upcoming STEAM school in downtown Syracuse

STEAM is short for science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The STEAM school will be housed at the downtown building that was previously home to Central High School. Known as the Greystone building, it was last used as a school in 1976.

Amazon also provided funding for Syracuse Jazz Fest, McMahon added. The event was held the final weekend in June in downtown venues and in Clinton Square.

Former employee to lead new Ashley McGraw D.C. office

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Employee Benefits & Human Resources, Law, Accounting & Taxes, New York News, People on the Move, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse–based Ashley McGraw Architects has employees in the Washington, D.C. region and believed it was time to open an office in that area, which it is calling its Mid-Atlantic office. The firm also announced the hiring of Nicholas Williams, who will direct the new Mid-Atlantic office. Williams previously worked at Ashley McGraw

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The firm also announced the hiring of Nicholas Williams, who will direct the new Mid-Atlantic office. Williams previously worked at Ashley McGraw from 2009 to 2015 with a focus on the K-12 and higher-education markets.

“We have learned that expansion often takes a combination of solid strategic planning with a strong dose of opportunism,” Matthew Broderick, president and CEO of Ashley McGraw Architects, said in a release. “With two other Ashley McGraw employees already based in Washington, D.C., and the strategic hiring of Nick Williams, it became clear it was the ideal time to start-up and establish an Ashley McGraw office in Washington, D.C., with the goal of building a portfolio of work in the mid-Atlantic region.”

During his earlier time with Ashley McGraw, Williams worked on projects that included the LEED Platinum-certified, new MacArthur Elementary School in Binghamton; LEED Gold-certified Le Moyne College Coyne Science building; and a project at Syracuse University’s Sadler dining hall, per the firm’s announcement. LEED is short for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

Upon relocating to Washington, D.C. in 2015, Williams worked at Perkins Eastman DC, PLLC for more than four years. He focused on K-12 projects in the Washington, D.C. area, both in the public and charter-school sectors.

In 2019, Williams joined the facility planning and design team for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), where he eventually assumed the role of director of facility planning and design for DCPS in June 2020. In that role, he oversaw the design and construction of the district’s major school renovation and new construction initiatives. They included net-zero energy schools along with the annual development of DCPS’ six-year capital-improvement plan.

“As a school designer, the opportunity I had at DCPS to truly learn the challenges that school districts face on a daily basis, by living the experience, was invaluable,” Williams said. “I very much look forward to bringing that perspective to our work at Ashley McGraw and to build on our existing portfolio of highly sustainable and pedagogically progressive K-12 work.”

Williams is a 2009 graduate of Syracuse University, having earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture. He is a registered architect in the District of Columbia and member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), Ashley McGraw said.

Ashley McGraw Architects is headquartered inside Onondaga Tower at 125 E. Jefferson St. in downtown Syracuse.

Lockheed Martin’s Syracuse plant wins $11 million Navy contract modification

Manufacturing & Engineering, Subscriber Only, Technology

SALINA, N.Y. — Lockheed Martin Corp.’s (NYSE: LMT) facility in suburban Syracuse was recently awarded an $11.04 million contract adjustment from the U.S. Navy related to submarine-based weapons systems. The cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to a previously awarded delivery order is for design, prototyping, and qualification testing of submarine electronic-warfare equipment, according to a June 29 contract

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New York home sales climb in May, prices keep soaring

Construction, Design & Real Estate, New York News, Regional News, Small Business, Subscriber Only

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York realtors sold 12,451 previously owned homes in May, up 12.2 percent from the 11,095 homes sold in the year-ago month. However, pending sales fell more than 3 percent in May, pointing to likely sales declines in the next month or two. The data comes from the New York State Association

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VIEWPOINT: Can your daily chores provide all the exercise you need?

Business Mentors, Health Care, Subscriber Only

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When we were young and in good health it seldom, if ever, occurred to us that one day we would be too old to dance the night away. We were full of vim and vinegar. No one had to tell us that we needed to get more exercise; we were always in motion from the time we woke up in the morning to the time we called it a day — sometimes in the wee small hours of the next morning. And then, one day, we realized that it was time to slow down.

So we took off our dancing shoes, put on a pair of house shoes and passed the time on a comfy couch reading a book or watching TV. But just as we began to accustom ourselves, friends, family, and our doctors sounded the alarm, telling us that we needed to get more exercise. Go for a long walk, they said. Go to the gym and work out. They were right, of course: as Sir Isaac Newton put it, “A body at motion stays in motion; a body at rest stays at rest.” And, too much rest, can lead us to a final resting place.

Indeed, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians, “Exercise is an important part of nearly everyone’s everyday health, including older adults. Experts say seniors should be as active as possible. If you are an older adult, exercise can help you live a longer, healthier life.”

We Baby Boomers tend to be nonconformist individualists, as someone once put it, and a goodly number of us may not be the type to engage in organized workouts. But we do prefer an active lifestyle. That means we like to keep busy, and we like to engage in systemic activities in our daily lives — activities that keep us on the go in ways that burn energy. So, does that count as “exercise?” The consensus is that it just might.

The National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) says “Absolutely, cleaning your house is exercise. While you may not be in a gym pumping iron or running on a treadmill, it is still exercise and requires you to work and burn more energy than being sedentary. Cleaning the house is an example of moderate-intensity activity, the kind the NASM and health experts recommend that you perform daily to maximize health and fitness. Daily chores like cleaning your house, mowing the lawn, cleaning the car, shopping for food and other things are all examples of moderate exercise, which helps improve health and fitness.”

As always, says the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), when it comes to matters of health, it’s a good idea to consult with your health-care provider. So rather than “guessing” that your daily chores provide the exercise you need, make a list and check it with your doctor.

John Grimaldi writes for the Association of Mature American Citizens (AMAC), a senior-advocacy organization with 2.4 million members. He is a is a founding member of the board of directors of Priva Technologies, Inc.

Office building at 615 W. Genesee St. in Syracuse sold for nearly $450,000

Construction, Design & Real Estate, Subscriber Only

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The nearly 11,200-square-foot, multi-tenanted office building at 615 West Genesee St. in Syracuse has been sold. Jacob Friedman recently purchased the two-story masonry structure, located on less than half an acre of land, for $449,000 from Orange Genesee, LLC. Barton Feinberg and Richard Robb, as dual agents of Sutton Real Estate Company,

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Binghamton counseling center plans expansion of building and services

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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Family & Children’s Counseling Services plans to break ground this fall on a 9,000-square-foot, two-story addition that will more than double its counseling space. The current building at 257 Main St. is about 7,000 square feet, says CEO Lisa Hoeschele, but only about 4,000 square feet of that is usable as counseling

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BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Family & Children’s Counseling Services plans to break ground this fall on a 9,000-square-foot, two-story addition that will more than double its counseling space.

The current building at 257 Main St. is about 7,000 square feet, says CEO Lisa Hoeschele, but only about 4,000 square feet of that is usable as counseling space.

“It’s a little too small to meet all our program needs,” she says. The nonprofit currently provides counseling services to between 6,000 and 7,000 patients annually, with the need for services on the rise, she adds.

The $5 million expansion project will not only add more space, but also allows the organization to redesign its space to be more client-centered, add parking space, improve accessibility, update HAVC/air filtration systems, and upgrade its IT infrastructure.

The new space also means the organization will no longer need to rent space to house all its services. Hoeschele says they will use money saved on rent to recruit new staff. Family & Children’s Counseling Services currently has a staff vacancy rate of about 40 percent, she says, partly due to lack of space for staff. The new building will allow the agency to fill those vacant positions, with each new clinician able to see between 50 and 60 new patients.

“We’re hoping to add primary care there,” Hoeschele adds.

Once it breaks ground in the fall, she expects the building project to take between 12 and 14 months. The New York State Department of Health provided $4 million in funding for the effort, with an additional $600,000 coming from a grant from the state Assembly combined with American Rescue Plan Act funding from Broome County and the City of Binghamton. There are also funding opportunities available to underwrite for the remaining cost.

“As the need for services continues to grow, Family & Children’s Counseling Services will now be able to expand and accommodate more clients than ever,” Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said in a press release regarding the project. “For 80 years, this agency has helped thousands of families in our community. With the funding we were able to commit, I know the great people at Family & Children’s Counseling Services will serve thousands more for another eight decades and beyond.”

Founded in 1941 by Esther W. Couper as The Family & Children’s Society, Inc., the organization merged with Family Counseling Services of Cortland County in 2020 to become Family & Children’s Counseling Services.

Programs include mental health and addiction services, care coordination, housing placement, vocational assistance, and sexual-abuse treatment. The private, nonprofit organization has an annual budget of about $20 million and serves about 15,000 people between Binghamton and its location at 153 Main St. in Owego.

OPINION: Extraordinary Session Failure Highlights Albany’s Dysfunction

Opinion, Subscriber Only

Gov. Kathy Hochul [recently] convened an “extraordinary session” of the New York Legislature in a knee-jerk overreaction to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that determined New York’s gun-licensing laws to be unconstitutional. And in typical Albany fashion, a new level of dysfunction was reached. The public, the legislature and anyone not sitting at the governor’s negotiating

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In some instances, it is necessary to convene an extraordinary session of the legislature outside of the normal legislative calendar. However, such activity must not be done in secret, with nearly no information about the substance of the bills being discussed made public. Certainly, the legislature should not be called back when there are no agreements in place, no legislation introduced.

Sadly, that’s exactly what happened [in this session]. The timeline [was] astonishing to those involved and insulting to the goals of an open, transparent government.

Lawmakers were told [June 24] they would be expected back in Albany for an extraordinary session on [June 30.]. Imagine their surprise when they came to work ready to debate and vote on legislation only to find there was no legislation submitted for consideration. Not only was there no specific bill text to study, but there was also not even an agreed-upon plan in place regarding the scope of the proposed legislation. Then to make matters even more chaotic, at 2 a.m. [the following] morning, in the dark of night while New Yorkers slept, Gov. Hochul announced she would introduce a measure to include the right to have an abortion in the state Constitution.

From start to finish, the entire endeavor orchestrated by New York Democrats was wrong on every level — in process and in policy.

This legislative circus, unfortunately, likely does not surprise anyone who has been paying attention to New York’s government in recent months or years. The inability of the governor and majority conferences’ one-party rule to effectively facilitate quality, meaningful legislation has been glaringly obvious. Despite promising otherwise, Gov. Hochul has picked up right where her predecessor left off and continued to use back-door dealings and shadow lawmaking as her preferred method of governing. There isn’t even an attempt to be transparent.

For my entire legislative career, and especially as leader of the Assembly Minority Conference, I have advocated for a more open and transparent process. Late-night voting, rushed bills, and votes taken after the all-encompassing “message of necessity” has been invoked have moved from emergency measures to commonplace procedure. No one is well-served by this type of governance. It is long past time we eliminate lawmaking as an act of political convenience and restore it to its rightful role truly improving the quality of life of New York’s residents. What we saw again [in the extraordinary session] was not helpful and should never have happened.

William (Will) A. Barclay, 53, Republican, is the New York Assembly minority leader and represents the 120th New York Assembly District, which encompasses most of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton, as well as the town of Lysander in Onondaga County and town of Ellisburg in Jefferson County.

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