Glens Falls Chronicle Serving the Glens Falls/Lake George region; Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties since 1980
By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor
Two separate operators may jointly run The Ed and the adjacent 5,000 square-foot first floor commercial space of 36 Elm (the former “Incubator”) that Glens Falls contracted to lease (now the City’s LDC) from owner Bonacio Development — for $900,000 over the next 10 years.
“We did have three interested parties,” Mayor Diana Palmer told the May 22 Glens Falls Local Development Corporation meeting. “We started out meeting separately, and then, they have complementary skill sets, so we brought them together to see if there was perhaps a coalition-type approach we can take.
“That’s where we are right now. The parties are talking to each other, and then we should be hearing back. It’s a big undertaking for anybody. The Ed, in particular, we’re very close to having a pretty complete proposal.”
City Development Director Jeff Flagg said, “The challenge has been that they’re really two separate entities with two skill sets required to try and make these two different facilities work.”
Originally the City sought one operator to run the two spaces — “in a coordinated manner,” to realize the “public-facing economic development” goals of the original Downtown Revitalization Initiative plan.
The City first planned for 36 Elm to include a commercial kitchen, vendor and marketing set-ups, and wayfinding signage for the City and Warren County.
But Mayor Palmer, looking to limit costs, received approval from the State, which oversees its DRI-funded projects, to scale back. Now, the City plans to offer 36 Elm as a “white box” to be built out as the operator sees fit, Dr. Flagg said.
The City aims not to pay the operators but rather that they profit and help defray costs, including picking up the city LDC’s lease payments on 36 Elm to Bonacio
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