After 116 years in business, the thought of closing George’s Market was briefly entertained for about a month.
In December, shortly after finalizing the sale of the family’s 43-acre farm on Troy Schenectady Road near Audrey Road to state police for more than $10 million, family members sat down and discussed their options.
The family had been approached several times in the past to sell the property, but the state police deal came at the right time and with the right price. State police will be building the new Troop G headquarters at the site.
Family members, who have until January 2008 to be off the farm, were giving up the childhood home of George Buddy Vogt III, the current business patriarch, and more than a century of family memories.
The next generation of Vogts, who would have inherited the farm, eventually expressed an interest in keeping the family business alive, and at a Tuesday, July 17, planning board meeting, town residents were glad to hear it.
The market sells fruits, vegetables, trees, shrubs and supplies for landscaping and gardening. Many residents at the meeting, including planning board members, have been going to George’s Market for as many as 50 years.
`There was some family discussion, but my son shows a lot of interest in it. That’s why we are doing this. Truth be told, I want to do it to. I’ve never had another job,` said Buddy Vogt, after receiving concept approval from the board on a new farm and greenhouse operation in town.
The Vogts pitched the idea of developing a two-parcel, 11-acre site at the intersection of Wade Road Extension and Sparrowbush Road. The new site is an intentional downsizing from the previous farm, said Vogt.
The design includes a new, 11,760-square-foot greenhouse and garden center with attached office space, eight new greenhouses and a 3,200-square-foot storage facility.
The existing operation has 22 greenhouses and an 800-square-foot office, said Vogt.
The family is refining the operation and cutting out the wholesale because `there is no money in it anymore,` he said.
The proposal for the new market struck a chord with town planners, who praised its high design standards and adherence to the town’s new comprehensive plan.
That was the intent, said Vogt. The point was to please as many as possible, to assure future business and a quick trip through the often lengthy planning proceedings. The hope is to have the new cash registers ringing by April 1, 2008, the opening day of the market’s season that extends to Dec. 24.
`I’m very pleased with the design, and I’m familiar with the business, living across the street from them. I’ve been doing business with them 50 years,` said George Holland, planning board member.
Board member Bill Herman reiterated the comments, adding that the market was a `good fit` and transition between the residential areas to the north of the proposal and commercial development off Wade Road Extension to the west. As part of the plan, George’s Market will straddle Sparowbush Road, with farming operations to the east, and its greenhouses and retail center on the west side of the road.
It’s an ideal location for business, with lots of exposure, Vogt said. That raised some traffic concerns with neighbors of Omega Terrace, especially as the Route 7 sector continues to grow and a state redesign is scheduled to begin next year. Sparrowbush Road provides a through route to Route 9 from Route 7, bypassing the often-congested bridge over Interstate 87.
Planning board members agreed to pass traffic concerns on to the town’s highway safety committee while the Vogts move forward with their plans. Even though traffic is a problem in the area, most all of the residents who raised concerns welcomed the new market and were glad to see the Vogts keeping their family business in Colonie.
The Vogt family, which includes Buddy, his wife, Cathy, and son George IV, 15, thanked them for the support.
`I think it looks great, and I think we are going to succeed (at the new location),` said George IV. `I grew up on the farms. I enjoy every minute of it, and I don’t plan on doing anything else.“