Aiming to make 333 Glen pay for itself again

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

Kevin Lynn, the Asset Manager who runs the property for owners, 333 Glen Street Associates, sat down with The Chronicle for “the first interview I’ve ever given in my 15 years here.”

He said they want to refill the building that has suffered since Covid but is on an upswing.

Leasing agent Mark Levack invited The Chronicle to join him and Mr. Lynn on a tour of the building last week.

The aim, he said, was to explain what’s happening with the circa 1972 structure that is Glens Falls’ only high-rise office building, and to share their take on the issues it faces and the moves they say they’re making to make it work.

Mr. Lynn says, “I told the owners after Covid that I calculated it would be five years before we could get it back to 100%” occupancy. “I fully believe that’s going to happen.”

He said that’s where it was in February 2020, before the bottom dropped out within days of the Covid lockdown — dropping the number of people in the building daily from 450 to “about a dozen.”

With taxes, mortgage and building maintenance, Mr. Lynn says the owners are currently losing money.

“If it wasn’t for the ownership that has this building, it probably would be empty right now,” he adds.

Who are the unidentified owners? “Two brothers, one next-door neighbor and one friend,” one of whom is originally from here, Mr. Lynn says, adding, all prefer to keep a low profile.

Mr. Lynn’s multi-sided goal begins with bringing in more tenants. With a couple of possible deals in the works, he and Mr. Levack say they’re nearing “break even.”

Gone, though, are the multi-floor call-center tenants that leased tens of thousands of square feet at a time, Mr. Lynn says.

The 9th floor, locally famous for its sweeping panoramic views, and once a pubic eatery, was renovated in 2019 by Angiodynamics as “state of the art” office space, Mr. Levack said.

It now sits fully empty.

Currently, New York State is the building’s largest tenant, Mr. Lynn said, alongside non-profits such as the Wait House, whose offices and services for homeless and parenting youths and families now occupy about half a floor.

There are suites divided into small “closet” offices for independent professionals such as lawyers and therapists, at a rental cost of about $350 monthly, with shared break rooms and conference spaces, “all-inclusive, even parking,” Mr. Levack notes.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lynn says he aims to cut costs by selling off or otherwise monetizing assets costing the owners.

That’s why they’ve put the “wedge” of green space betwen Bay and Glen Streets back on the market, looking to lease the property for $1.4 million, as reported in last week’s Chronicle.

And its why they’re looking at paid parking.

Tax situation: ‘Whittling away’ at several years of arrears

Kevin Lynn says taxes on 333 Glen are about $300,000 annually and that they owe back taxes of about $150,000.

He attributes the arrears to costs the current ownership hadn’t anticipated with the end of the PILOT — Payment in Lieu of Taxes — agreement that helped fund the parking structure.

They are “whittling away at it,” he says.

Mr. Lynn adds, “The taxes owed are not what we should be charged.”

He said the building was assessed at about $15 million in the 2023 city-wide revaluation. They appealed and it was cut to just over $9.7 million. The owners appealed again last year and the assessment was cut to $6.3 million for 2024.

“We are currently appealing again,” Mr. Lynn said. “Until revenues return or we finally reach a workable annual cost I expect we will appeal every year going forward.”

He describes it as a negotiation, “very civil,” he says, “not litigation.”

He notes that when they sold three off-site parking lots to developers Peter Hoffman and Chris Patten, the payment received on “every single lot went to taxes.”

“It is a priority of ours. But when you’re top-heavy like this, you still have to pay insurance, you have to pay a mortgage, you have to pay your people and you have to pay improvements and upgrades and repairs. I wish I could stroke a check today for it, but it’s just not that easy.”

333 Glen eyes paid public parking in bid to break even

By Cathy DeDe, Chronicle Managing Editor

The four-story garage and parking lot adjacent to 333 Glen Street — a.k.a. Monument Square, most recently known as “the Travelers building” — will soon be offered for paid parking to downtown visitors, residents and businesses, its owners hope.

Kevin Lynn, the Asset Manager who runs the property for the owners, 333 Glen Street Associates, says he’s researching an automated system that can be adjusted to respond in real time to control the number of available spaces while still providing for tenant and other needs.

Mr. Lynn says he hopes to have the new system it place “by mid-summer.”

He says he’s long turned a blind eye to locals who use the building’s otherwise increasingly empty parking lot — but “we can’t afford to keep giving it away.”

We asked: What about the 75 spaces the City of Glens Falls had targeted in this garage to fulfill its commitment to Bonacio Development’s five-story, 70-unit Phase 2 project that is expected to break ground soon, at South and Elm Streets?

“That has gone nowhere for two years,” Mr. Lynn says bluntly. “We’re moving on. I’ve got to make money today.”

He said he already has parking agreements with some local firms, and with downtown rental units such as the apartments in the former Godnick’s building, above SPoT Coffee.

Realtor Mark Levack, the leasing agent for 333 Glen, adds, “It’s a smart utilization of an underutilized asset that sits vacant every night. This whole process opened the conversation of, how can we help the city?”

Meanwhile: 333’s exterior troubles

Observers may have noted that some of the marble-looking exterior of 333 Glen Street, Monument Square, has been replaced by steel panels, not matching the rest of the 1972 building’s edifice.

Property manager Kevin Lynn says the panels are made of granite and when they fail, he is unable to replace them in a cost-effective way. It’s a specialized product, he says, porous, can’t be insulated. “They’re hard to even find, and no one installs it anymore.” He said it would cost $10,000 a panel to replace. — Cathy DeDe

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