Retail tenants eye The News Apartments
Three businesses coming to former Record building
TROY, N.Y. » Three retail tenants are coming soon to The News Apartments, the historic former Record building at 501 Broadway.
Bard & Baker: Board Game Cafe, Pause Gallery and Flowers By Pesha will fill ground floor storefronts at The News, The Rosenblum Companies announced on Tuesday.
“The News Apartments has a combination of amenities unique amongst downtown apartment buildings in the Capital Region and we see this exciting and diverse group of retailers as an extension of those services, as well as a great addition to our upand- coming neighborhood,” said Seth Rosenblum, CEO of The Rosenblum Companies, in a release.
Pause Gallery and Flowers by Pesha anticipate opening to the public in July, followed by Bard & Baker in September
Most familiar to the community already is popular full service floral shop Flowers By Pesha, which is currently located on lower River Street. Since 2010, Flowers by Pesha has built a strong following in downtown Troy and the surrounding areas, offering a wide variety of fresh floral arrangements and plants, as well as balloons, candles and gifts. Flowers by Pesha also provides other services which include weddings, special events, sympathy floral arrangements and plant maintenance for offices.
“We are looking forward to being part of The News Family. The Rosenblum Companies have been great partners throughout this process, and very helpful and accom-
modating during our transition to our new neighborhood,” said Mark and Pesha King, owners of Flowers by Pesha, in the release.
Flowers by Pesha is planning to be open in its new location by mid-July, with a grand opening in August.
The florist’s neighbors will include Pause Gallery, a newly established purveyor of high quality art and fine craft. The gallery’s mission is to be a source of high quality art and fine craft at affordable prices. Owners Gail and Lou Snitkoff support artists and artisans, while connecting them with new customers and building a community of people who appreciate unique, handmade objects. Pause Gallery will offer works on paper, including photography, digital art, watercolor and acrylic painting, mixed media and encaustics. In addition, the gallery will have glass, ceramics and wood, and both functional and sculptural art.
“The News Apartments is a perfect location for Pause Gallery and will enable us to become part of the vibrant and growing creative community in Downtown Troy,” the owners said in the release. “It is also very meaningful to us that an iconic and historic building has been preserved and repurposed for mixed use, and that The Rosenblum Companies was quick to embrace the concept of an art and fine craft gallery, understanding the value it will bring to this project.”
Later this year, these businesses will be joined by Bard & Baker, the Capital District’s first board game café. Featuring more than 350 titles ranging from classics such as CLUE, Stratego, and Scrabble, to Eurogames like Catan and Ticket to Ride, the café will offer familiar comfort foods, an extensive dessert program, and a tea-focused beverage menu. The highly anticipated project was the grand prize win- ner of the Capital Region Chamber’s Entrepreneur Boot Camp business plan competition and a finalist in the All Over Albany 2017 Small Business Grant Competition. The café will be located on the corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue.
“We had been looking at various locations for Bard & Baker, and we found that The News fit our criteria perfectly – the space is highly visible and has close proximity to the RPI and Russell Sage campuses,” said Bard & Baker owner Charlotte Guyton in the release. “Furthermore, we found a great partner in The Rosenblum Companies, whose care for us during the leasing process, as well as their approach to sustainability and community, impressed us from day one.”
Still available at The News Apartments, where residents started moving in last month, are several other commercial units for lease in the recently renovated century- old building, some equipped with restaurant-ready infrastructure. Interested parties can contact Alex Kutikov of Redmark Realty at (518) 952-7500 or akutikov@redmarkrealty.com.
Those interested in leasing an apartment at The News can visit www.thenewsapartments.com or contact the leasing office at (518) 250- 4840.