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  This month's Success Story is a triple-play, a baseball-related story with an unique regional focus. Visitors to Cooperstown typically go to the Baseball Hall of Fame, maybe the Farmers' Museum or the Fenimore House, or they see an opera at Glimmerglass. Then they leave town. This lakeside resort community has never lacked for destinations that entice day-trippers, but its potential was largely untapped as an overnight destination offering accommodations and attractions to lengthen visitors' stays. 
In recent years, a capital infusion from NYBDC, partnering with local and regional banks, is facilitating the development of attractions and accommodations in Cooperstown and the surrounding area. This multi-year effort is creating a sense of "critical mass" that is benefiting all destinations and hospitality businesses in the area. Three successful projects demonstrate NYBDC's mastery of the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan program, which facilitates financing up to 90 percent of project costs for acquisition and/or improvement of owner-occupied commercial real estate, machinery and equipment.
In Oneonta, just 25 miles from the baseball-oriented attractions of Cooperstown itself, is a new youth baseball facility, Cooperstown All Star Village. It comprises eight baseball fields; bunkhouses, an infirmary and a bath house for baseball campers; and a 20-room luxury hotel for family members of campers. Empire State CDC: The 504 Company provided an SBA 504 loan of $718,000 through the efforts of Vice President James J. Conroy III, plus an NYBDC first mortgage of $722,500, with Wilber National Bank providing the balance of the $5,270,625 total financing for the project. "Jim Conroy is a gentleman with a great business mind, and he asked interesting questions that I would never have thought of, so he was immensely helpful in our process," said Martin Patton of Cooperstown All Star Village. 
"It is with great pleasure that we were part of a reinvigoration of an historical property in Oneonta," said President and CEO Doug Gulloty of Wilber National Bank. "It was converted from a prior use as a restaurant to a use with greater economic impact as a youth baseball camp," he explained. "The investment is returning additional employment to the area and has also broadened the economic base of our community."
The opening of two new hotels in Hartwick - 4.5 miles from Cooperstown and 18 miles from Oneonta - also testifies to the drawing power of Cooperstown. Both are near Dreams Park Youth Baseball Complex. Like Cooperstown All Star Village, Dreams Park hosts Little League teams and their families for summer baseball programs. 
The Cooperstown Howard Johnson Inn & Suites in Hartwick has 22 extended-stay suites and 38 standard rooms, plus amenities for both family and business travelers. NYBDC provided $1,270,000 in SBA 504 guaranteed financing for this project, with Stearns Bank providing the balance of the financing for the $4,763,000 project. James J. Conroy III again led the way for NYBDC.
"Jim Conroy was an outstanding person to deal with," said Steve Okarski of the Howard Johnson Inn & Suites. "He always delivered what he said he would, and his knowledge of the business and the market was essential. Our SBA loan with Jim was one of the smoothest parts of this entire project." Also in Hartwick, the Holiday Inn Express is a three-story hotel with 55 double queen rooms, 13 king suites, 2 single king Jacuzzi rooms, one business suite and five handicapped-accessible rooms. NYBDC stepped up to the plate with $1,235,000 in SBA 504 guaranteed financing for this project, with Berkshire Bank providing the balance of financing needed for this $4,365,000 project. 
The success of both the Howard Johnson Inn & Suites and the Holiday Inn Express in a relatively small community attests to the visitor-drawing power of Cooperstown. These two new hospitality businesses, and Cooperstown All Star Village in Oneonta, all exemplify the small business development objectives of NYBDC, encouraging entrepreneurship, creating employment opportunities and expanding both local and state tax bases. The geographical grouping of these projects also demonstrates the "critical mass" concept of economic activity energizing more economic activity, a particularly effective strategy in resort destination areas such as Cooperstown.
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New York Business Development Corporation (NYBDC) Empire State CDC: The 504 Company Statewide Zone Capital Corporation (SZCC) Corporate Headquarters: 50 Beaver Street, Albany, NY 12207 1-800-9-BDC-504 - www.nybdc.com Our Success is Your Success - The process is easy; the possibilities are endless. |
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