Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.
StartFast accepting applications
SYRACUSE — The StartFast Venture Accelerator, set to launch in May in Syracuse, is now accepting applications for its three-month program. StartFast is part of
University Hospital gives patients remote access to EMRs
SYRACUSE — Upstate University Hospital is rolling out a new system that will allow patients to view their electronic medical records (EMR) from a computer
New Ithaca-area BJ’s Wholesale Club opens
LANSING — BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. has opened a new Ithaca-area location in the village of Lansing. The store, which is 85,000 square feet, is
Profit rises in Q4, 2011 at Tompkins Financial
ITHACA — Tompkins Financial Corp. (NYSE Amex: TMP) earned $9.4 million, or 84 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, up 5.6 percent from a
Unemployment rates inched up a bit across the region in December, according to figures released today by the state Labor Department. In Binghamton, the rate
Net income from continuing operations attributable to common shareholders at KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) totaled $201 million in the fourth quarter, down from $292 million a
Behlmer to head up CNY region for BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon’s Central New York region has a new top executive. Frank Behlmer was recently appointed to the newly created role of regional executive for
Community Bank Q4 profit rises nearly 20 percent
DeWITT — Community Bank System, Inc. (NYSE: CBU) reported that its fourth-quarter net income rose 19.5 percent to a record $19 million as it benefitted
Cornell University relaunches humanities building project
ITHACA — Cornell University will relaunch the design phase of its new humanities building now that the buildings and properties committee of the Cornell Board of Trustees unanimously approved the measure Jan. 19, according to the Cornell Chronicle. It’s the first new building at Cornell in more than 100 years.The process was put on hold
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ITHACA — Cornell University will relaunch the design phase of its new humanities building now that the buildings and properties committee of the Cornell Board of Trustees unanimously approved the measure Jan. 19, according to the Cornell Chronicle. It’s the first new building at Cornell in more than 100 years.
The process was put on hold in 2008 after the initial schematic drawings were produced, and plans now call for completing the design-development phase this year before bidding the project out and breaking ground in 2013, according to the Cornell Chronicle. Cornell expects to complete construction by December 2015.
The new building will provide increased space for the college’s humanities faculty, which has grown through an overall expansion of the humanities department, coupled with a successful faculty renewal hiring initiative. The 66,500-square-foot building will provide space for 124 rooms that can be used as offices or meeting space.
The project will employ about 100 construction workers including carpenters, painters, masons, electricians, and plumbers, the Cornell Chronicle reported.
Cornell also plans to apply for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification and will work with local and regional suppliers as much as possible.
Contact DeLore at tgregory@cnybj.com
Speedy Awards relocates to Crossroads Plaza
NEW HARTFORD — Speedy Awards & Engraving, Inc. has a new home and plans to add some new products as the company’s owners work to continue the growth they generated in 2011. Speedy co-owners Anthony (Tony) and Lyn Taurisano, who are brother and sister, found out in September they would need to find a new
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NEW HARTFORD — Speedy Awards & Engraving, Inc. has a new home and plans to add some new products as the company’s owners work to continue the growth they generated in 2011.
Speedy co-owners Anthony (Tony) and Lyn Taurisano, who are brother and sister, found out in September they would need to find a new location. Pulam LLC, comprised of Georgio’s Village Café co-owner Judy Gorea and business partner Gayle Pulizzi, purchased the building and announced plans to relocate Georgio’s from 60 Genesee St. to Speedy’s old location at 64 Genesee St. Gorea says in the new location, she will be able to connect her restaurant to her other business, Georgio’s Village Cocktail next door. Currently, the businesses are housed in two separate buildings where connecting them is not an option, she says.
The Taurisanos worked with Pavia Real Estate Services to search for a new location, but it only took one trip for them to find the perfect spot in the Crossroads Plaza at 8411 Seneca Turnpike in New Hartford.
“It was one of the first ones we saw, and we liked it right away,” Lyn Taurisano says of the new space.
Her brother Tony says the site had a lot of appeal, from the ample parking to the ability to have the space revamped to suit their needs.
The Taurisanos signed a 10-year lease with renewal options with plaza owner David Mazloom and spent the week between Christmas and New Year’s moving into the new location. Speedy Awards & Engraving opened for business in the new space on Jan. 3.
“It’s laid out the way we wanted it,” Tony Taurisano says of the new space. Because they could design the store for maximum efficiency, at 2,100 square feet, the new space offers more usability than Speedy’s old 2,200-square-foot space. The old space was divided between two floors, which meant a lot of running up and down the stairs, he says. The new space is all on one level.
And even though the space is slightly smaller, the Taurisanos were able to expand the showroom from 480 square feet to 832 square feet.
“We’ve got a nice pick-up area now,” Tony Taurisano adds, speaking of the counter where customers pick up their completed orders.
Lyn Taurisano says she’s excited the new space provides room for Speedy to carry and display more items.
“We’d like to expand the apparel,” she says. Speedy already offers screen printing and embroidery work on apparel, but never really had the space to display samples of that work, she says. Now she’s hoping to add a new display in the showroom so customers can see that work.
She hopes the new items on display will catch the eye of current customers — which include a lot of businesses, school districts, and nonprofits — and that the new location will attract the notice of new customers.
“I think the convenience is going to help a lot,” Tony Taurisano says of the plaza’s location on Seneca Turnpike in a busy retail section just down the street from places like Sangertown Square Mall and the Consumer Square and The Orchard shopping centers.
“I think we’re a lot more visible, too,” Lyn Taurisano adds. Along with a mention on the shopping plaza sign along Seneca Turnpike, Speedy should benefit from traffic to other businesses in the plaza, which includes Morehouse Appliances and Cartridge World, she says.
The Taurisanos declined to provide revenue figures or sales projections, but say that 2011 was a good year for growth in the business, and they hope to carry that growth over into 2012.
To promote the new location, the Taurisanos have done some print advertising and are actively working to stir up interest and followers on social-network sites like Facebook, where they had 80 fans, and Twitter, where they had 54 followers, as of press time.
The Taurisanos’ parents, Michael and Angela Taurisano, founded Speedy Awards & Engraving in their basement in 1975 before moving to Genesee Street in 1983. Both Lyn and Tony work at the business full time and have one full-time employee. Speedy (www.speedyawards.com) serves Oneida and Herkimer counties, as well as all 50 states through its online ordering options.
Stay up-to-date on the companies, people and issues that impact businesses in Syracuse, Central New York and beyond.