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Business Journals
4 days ago
- Business
- Business Journals
Albany region's 31 largest multifamily mortgage lenders
Information was analyzed by ACBJ from HMDA-LAR data published by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Figures include purchase loans originated in 2024 for multifamily properties — defined as buildings with five or more units — in the Albany region. Only mortgages used for property purchases are included; sales financed in other ways, such as commercial real estate loans, are not included. The Albany Business Review could not independently verify information on The List. This week's List is part of a shift in our research methodology and philosophy in 2025, one that will emphasize more data and context for readers while better coordinating the resources available to us and our 46 sister publications under the American City Business Journals flag. We anticipate this effort will identify thousands of new local records — and cumulatively, tens of thousands of new businesses across ACBJ's footprint — this year alone. For information about this and other Albany Business Review Lists, please contact Research Director Todd Kehoe at tkehoe@ or 518-640-6816.
Business Journals
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
The golf industry is on the upswing again
By submitting your information you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and User Agreement . Join the Albany Business Review to unlock even more insights! Also: The top country clubs in the Albany region and toughest golf courses. Story Highlights Golf fell off after the Great Recession. But there's been a resurgence of participation after the pandemic. New York has more golf courses than any other state in the country. This week's cover story is a visual look at the fortunes of golf courses in recent years. It also includes two new Lists: GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events In the years following the Great Recession, the golf industry fell off its game in a big way. More than 2,000 golf facilities closed. Participation slipped from its previously lofty heights. Country clubs also felt the heat, with many closing as they struggled to keep pace with rising expenses. Then, the pandemic hit. While Covid-19 caused financial challenges for many sectors, it sparked a turnaround for the golf industry. The National Golf Foundation found that, after decades of shrinking, the number of courses in the United States actually grew overall since 2022 — albeit by only six facilities and 17 courses. The biggest gains have been on the participation side, with NGF data showing 28.1 million Americans playing on a golf course in 2024 — the most since 2008. Now, instead of cutting costs and gradually being swamped by growing capital costs and rising expenses, many country clubs and golf courses are seeing surpluses, which are being used to help course-correct after lean years, according to industry watchers. Here's a look at how the golf industry has evolved in the Capital Region. Country Clubs in the Albany area Number of members Rank Prior Rank Business name 1 1 Mohawk Golf Club 2 2 The Edison Club 3 4 Colonie Golf & Country Club View this list Here are the toughest golf courses for men in the Albany region Slope rating Rank Prior Rank Property 1 1 202 County Rte. 32, Kinderhook, New York 2 2 458 Union Ave., Saratoga Springs, New York 3 3 802 Albany-Shaker Rd., Loudonville, New York View this list
Business Journals
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Land near Crossgates on Western Avenue marked for pad sites
By submitting your information you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and User Agreement . Join the Albany Business Review to unlock even more insights! Potential uses include quick-service restaurants, retail, medical or financial services tenants. Story Highlights Three prime pad sites near Crossgates are marketed for lease. Potential uses include restaurants, retail, medical, or financial services tenants. A new Costco and cancer treatment center will be built nearby. More land along the Western Avenue border of Crossgates could get redeveloped, though not on the scale of a soon-to-be-built Costco Wholesale or a regional cancer treatment center. Three "prime pad sites" at 1617 Western Ave. are being marketed for lease just west of a former Sunoco gas station and Northeastern Fine Jewelers, near an entrance to the shopping center in Guilderland. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events One development pad is at the corner of Crossgates Mall Road facing Western Avenue. The other two pads face the access road around the shopping center. The sizes for each pad site vary, totaling 4,000 square feet. expand The potential development site at 1617 Western Ave. near the entrance to Crossgates. Mapcreator The parcels are owned by an LLC controlled by Pyramid Management Group of Syracuse, the owner of Crossgates, the largest mall in the Albany region. Potential uses include quick-service restaurants, retail, medical or financial services tenants, according to marketing materials from Trinity Realty Group. The annual average daily traffic count is 38,200 vehicles, with easy access to Interstates 87 and 90. Kevin Parisi of Trinity Realty Group and Matthew Lester of Caliber Commercial Brokerage in Rochester have the listing. Parisi said he and Lester are working with a development group that has a contract to purchase the property. He said he couldn't disclose the name of the development group, but he anticipates there will be interest in the site. "Right now obviously with everything going on over there and the current environment for pad sites, there's a big demand," he said. "Everybody is really excited about what's going on around there with the Costco breaking ground." A 163,000-square-foot Costco Wholesale will be built further to the west near another entrance to Crossgates, the first one in the Albany region. The chain expects the store to open in summer 2026. A 105,000-square-foot regional cancer treatment center owned by New York Oncology Hematology will be built next door.
Business Journals
24-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Albany's Center Square sees rise in seller-financed deals for real estate
By submitting your information you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and User Agreement . Join the Albany Business Review to unlock even more insights! A broker active in the neighborhood says seller-financed deals are becoming more common there. Story Highlights 10-unit property in Center Square recently sold for $1.15M. The deal involved seller financing, which a broker says has become more common. Center Square neighborhood faces commercial struggles despite residential demand. John Alund has grown accustomed to working with clients on seller-financed deals to get multifamily homes sold in Albany's Center Square neighborhood. "It's tough to make the numbers work in the current market," said Alund, principal broker/owner of Lincoln House Realty. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events With average mortgage interest rates about the same level as a year ago, borrowing costs remain relatively high compared to the pre-2022 real estate market conditions. Prices are also up due to strong demand and tight inventory. Instead of conventional bank financing, Alund has been structuring more deals in which the seller holds the mortgage, an arrangement that has become increasingly common in commercial real estate in recent years. That was the case earlier this month, when the seller of 303 State St. finalized a $1.15 million deal for the 10-unit property. There are nine apartments in the three-story building, plus an apartment in a separate carriage house. The seller, Ladopoulos Properties LLC of East Greenbush, loaned $747,500 to the buyer, S+T 68 West House LLC of Gloversville, according to a filing in the county clerk's office. Petermichael Torabkhan signed the mortgage. Bank financing was a challenge because the total rental income was "so light," Alund said. Rents range from $700 to $1,000 for the units, which are 300 to 800 square feet (the carriage house apartment is even smaller). Those amounts are significantly below the asking rents in the local market, Alund said. "It would have been tough to get a lender on board," he said. Alund and his brother, James, have been listing and selling properties in Center Square for more than a decade. A short walk from the Capitol and state government complex, the area is filled with homes built in the late 1800s, "from charming wood frame cottages to huge brownstone mansions," according to the neighborhood association. Bars, restaurants and other businesses line Lark Street, though the commercial corridor has struggled in recent years and now has many vacant storefronts. Thus far, demand for residential property in the neighborhood hasn't suffered, Alund said, whether it's smaller, owner-occupied buildings or larger structures with more than five apartments. Alund lived in Center Square for 15 years until moving with his wife to Coxsackie a few years ago before the birth of their child. He and his brother still own about 50 units in the neighborhood and manage many more for other landlords. "When I first got down there, man, [Lark Street] was rocking," he said. "Now it's interesting to see it on a bit of a downturn, but I also have a lot of colleagues, friends and property owners that owned for many years before me and have been through different cycles. I think a lot of people are just holding out for the next upturn. I think it's only a matter of time."
