“Taking a Building Down to the Studs is Fun!” An Entrepreneur & A Former State Trooper Love Glens Falls

by Rona Mann

Su zanne and Peter Hoffman are strongly committed. They are committed to each other, to their purpose, to the varied demographics they serve, and especially committed to the city they love, believe in, and are working every day to revitalize: Glens Falls.

As real estate developers and managers, their company, Glen Street Associates, has carved out a prominent and enviable place in the heart of downtown. “We don’t sell properties,” Suzanne begins, “we retain them.”

First, a bit of the backstory about the Hoffmans. Peter Hoffman grew up in a family of entrepreneurs working closely with his father from childhood. While the term “entrepreneur” often has a negative connotation to people, smacking of ill-gotten gains and nefarious business practices, it was not the case with Peter’s father who was originally in the restaurant business and later got in on the ground floor of real estate development in Clifton Park, back when it was largely farmland.

Suzanne’s backstory is altogether different. Growing up in the Saratoga area, she became interested in police work after her mother remarried, and her new husband’s family were all involved with law enforcement in one form or another. Suzanne, never one to hesitate, went straight to the academy throwing herself into a program that was both mentally and physically tough, and became a New York State Trooper, a position she loved and kept for more than eight years. She requested and was assigned to, the Glens Falls area because she wanted to be near Saratoga, but somehow in a different area... and she fell in love. She fell in love with Glens Falls, with the people, the lifestyle, and everything about it; and along the way, she fell in love with Clifton Park restaurant owner, Peter Hoffman. In a short time, there were four children to raise, his and theirs, so Suzanne re moved the big trooper’s hat and re placed it with the hat of a real estate developer... her mission was to work with Peter buying, completely rehabbing, and then leasing historic properties in downtown Glens Falls.

The couple did and are still doing it successfully, “one building at a time,” Suzanne adds. “We take our time doing it, though. We love to buy a building that is part of Glens Falls’ storied history and rehab it. Most of them are on life support when we get them, and we gut the buildings. Take them down to the studs. It’s a fun restoration, a fun thing for us to do. A labor of love, a fun ride.”

As of now, their “fun ride” has garnered Glen Street Associates 16 properties, most of them in historic downtown Glens Falls. There is also one apartment building overlooking the river in South Glens Falls and two others in Hudson Falls.

Experts agree that the most successful way to revitalize a downtown and draw people back into the city center is to first understand the community itself... its profile, its demographics, its economic resources, and to be fully committed in every way to its growth. Next, developers must create an attractive and walkable area to invite people in and make them want to work, play, recreate, and come back to the heart of the city. Economic uses for the area must include diversification for a wide appeal, and businesses anticipating a move to the city center should be first shown a viable opportunity and plan for growth and equity. Projects for preservation and revitalization must not be empty rhetoric but be strongly and appropriately financed. Paramount above all of this should be an established in-placement local management with ever-watchful eyes, a willingness to listen to their tenants, and fingers constantly on the pulse of all that is happening. This is what Glen Associates is all about and why their commitment runs deep. Some are strictly commercial, others residential, and many are mixed-use with apartment dwellers sharing the historic beauty of their four walls with financial companies, insurance brokers, hair stylists, art galleries, hand ther apists, restaurants, and psychology pra ctices within the same building. It all amounts to a re-gentrification of a downtown.

“We started in November 2004 just as urban renewal was taking everything to the suburbs,” Suzanne began. But the Hoffmans are visionaries, they saw what downtown Glens Falls could be if they didn’t tear down the history that was there, but re-imagine it, one building at a time. They began with the former PostStar building at 100 Glen Street, a commercial building where Glen Street Associates first had their offices, happily sharing space with a plethora of other businesses.

The old Joubert and White Carriage company which occupied 77-79 War ren Street was also purchased by Glen Street Associates. Suzanne added this was originally a luxury carriage manufacturer originating in 1865 and later became a showroom for Model Ts, the Empire Automobile Company. Preserving as many of the original artifacts as possible with each of their acquisitions, she said, “We always try to keep the original components so we kept the post and beam 14’ ceilings and the 10’ windows.”

Both Hoffmans point with pride to their building at 21 Bay Street which was built in 1929, the same year the Empire State Building was erected. “It is unique,” says Suzanne, “because it was not built of wood but of masonry tile and steel, making it unusual for the time and quite fireproof.” The upper floor houses 37 apartments, while commerce takes up the lower space.

The latest acquisition came last summer when Peter and his daughter, Christiana purchased a classic brick building built right around 1870 as a carriage house for Henry Crandall who gave Glens Falls Crandall Park and the library. Peter plans to lease it for commercial concerns, but first comes

“the fun.” Enhancing, replacing, yet keeping the history of the old bones with the original artifacts... and of course, looking for tenants!

In the end, it all comes down to two people thoroughly dedicated to preserving the character and integrity of a city they love and to which they are fully committed. The former state trooper no longer wears the big hat and hands out tickets. She wears a smile and puts her hands out in welcome, friendship, and business. And the former little boy who grew up in a family of developers is now doing his own developing while shouldering the responsibility of putting the lifeblood back into one of America’s great downtowns. Other developers have since taken notice and are following the Hoffmans’ lead, and as a result, Glens Falls has turned the corner. “ Our tenants believe in downtown Glens Falls, just like us,” Suzanne said. “We are now surrounded by shops, restaurants, a hospital, City Park, and the Queensbury Hotel. Our tenants a re a mixed demographic of young people who wa nt to be able to walk everywhere, of seniors who have down-sized homes and now want something different, and people who find joy in living and working in the city, while appreciating its history.”

Although they have brought major change to Glens Falls, Suzanne and Peter Hoffman have not changed much at all. Suzanne is still a trouper, just not a State Trooper. A trouper is someone who will fight for what they believe in and doesn’t give up easily, and Suzanne believes in and will never give up on this city.

And Peter, after more than a 40-year career in construction, leasing, and management is still at his very core an entrepreneur in the best sense, someone who can operate a busi ness by taking on greater than normal financial challenges in order to serve others as well as himself.

A match made in... Glens Falls, their little piece of heaven.

Glen Street Associates is located at 67 Warren Street, Glens Falls. www.glenstreetassociates.com (518) 743-8666