With a new home comes a new name for Ward Todd”™s organization.
The Chamber of Commerce of Ulster County has become the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce.
And its new headquarters is a converted Cape Cod on uptown Kingston”™s Fair Street.
After leasing space for years, the board of directors gave Todd the OK to look for a permanent home.
“Many of the homes along this street are now converted for commercial use, and it”™s great to have a permanent location for the chamber right in the heart of the business district,” Todd said.
The chamber paid $275,000 for the property, which includes a parking lot and considerably more space than its former location offered. Todd said the chamber plans to hold an official ribbon cutting in mid-October.
“This is a great location for us; in addition to being so close to the heart of the county”™s government seat, we also gained over 1,000 feet of space. When we sat down and did the math on leasing versus buying, the mortgage on this property and taxes were less than we were paying at our old location. This move made sense for us.”
Todd said it also made sense to rebrand the chamber. “We don”™t just represent business in Kingston, but have members from all over the county and from other counties. Many of our members do business in several counties, and we are changing to change with the times.”
And times have changed. The original chamber, known as The Business Men of the Rondout in 1903, charged $1 a year for membership. Today, membership rates start at $325 a year.
Although Todd said there has been no decline in the chamber”™s membership ”“ now at 1,300 ”“ he is concerned about the demise of the Empire Zone program and how it will affect businesses in the county.
“Another concern is the length of time it takes to get approvals,” Todd said. “Bellayre Ski Resort is the poster child for this problem; it has been waiting 12 years to receive approval. There must be a better way to speed up the SEQRA process. It needs to be streamlined and the timetable to get approvals more reasonable than it is now. There”™s a new developer working on the Williams Lake property in Rosendale. We”™d like to see that area revitalized and back in business.”
AVR Realty in Yonkers, developers of the Hudson Landing project on the Kingston waterfront, “is doing some site work and putting in a new road,” he said. “The builders are still working with the city ironing out some details;Â site work has begun, but it”™s moving slowly. The economy”™s crash has put a hold on several projects that were coming into the area.”
Todd said Ulster enjoyed a great tourism season this year, “thanks to the weather. We”™ve had a lot of activity up here and some of Ulster”™s Main Streets ”“ in New Paltz and in Woodstock ”“ were particularly busy, which was great for the county. Now that the Kingston Marina has been privatized, we”™re looking forward to seeing some new activity on the waterfront as well.”
