Downtown Schenectady expanding; new movie theater and businesses attract students
Rosie Foley
Issue date: 5/31/07 Section: News
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The theater, which sits at the corner between State and Broadway, opened Thursday, May 17th.
Designed for elegance, the theater features wood and leather seats, hosts a café for all sorts of refreshments, and a promise to never show on-screen ads.
Union students tend to avoid the downtown areas, aside from a select few restaurants and cafés, but the new theater offers an opportunity for students to experience what Schenectady has to offer.
"I'm a senior, but I have only recently gone to the downtown area when the new movie theater opened. I've been there twice since, and every time my friends comment that it's actually surprisingly pretty nice there. It would be awesome if there were more thing for students to do down there because it is getting to be a nice area," Stephanie Arango said of her recent visits downtown.
The new movie theater is not all Schenectady has planned for updating the downtown area around Jay Street, State Street, and Broadway.
Vice President of Communications and Member Relations for the Chamber of Schenectady County Robin Granger explained that several new businesses will be opening downtown.
Another senior, Vanessa Dumonet, also has gone to the new theater and commented on the newly found interest in revitalizing Schenectady.
"I have not been anywhere but Ambition in the downtown area since freshman year and could not believe some of the changes. They just opened a Hampton Inn (hotel), the movie theater, and it looks like some stores and maybe other places to eat are in the works. My roommates and I were all saying how jealous we were of the freshmen, sophomores and juniors who would get to take advantage of having a nice downtown with all these new businesses. I think it means a lot for Union too to be able to say the downtown area in Schenectady is being built up, rather than saying it is a long-term project which might never happen- it actually is happening, and looks so much better already," Dumonet said.
The up-and-coming additions include a club and restaurant named "The Underground," which has been developed by the owner of the former Big House Brewery in downtown Albany. It is scheduled to be ready in August. There will also be a bistro and café opened by Angel Mazzone, the owner of Glen Sander's Mansion and 677 Prime, the Capital Region's "Best New Restaurant," according to the Times Union reader poll.
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