Courtesy Saratoga RV Park
By Paul Post
A Florida firm is creating more opportunities for affordable vacations in the pricey Saratoga market by almost doubling the size of a local recreational vehicle park.
Saratoga RV Park, on Route 50 just south of Gansevoort, is growing from 154 to 297 sites to keep up with fast-paced demand for both long-term seasonal and shorter, transient-type stays.
“It’s a substantial undertaking,” said Richard O’Brien, CEO and founder of Orlando-based Athena Real Estate, the park’s owner. “RV ownership has greatly increased, some of it driven by demand during the pandemic, folks looking to have leisure activity close to nature.
“This provides an affordable vacation for the wonderful summer activities that Saratoga Springs offers. Part of it is the track and track season. In addition there’s a beautiful downtown with tremendous restaurants We also have the (Saratoga Spa) state park with its springs and concert series.”
Work is already under way and some sites should be ready by April, when the park opens, with the rest scheduled for completion in 2024.
“It essentially means putting in roads, sites, gravel for each site, utilities, bathhouses and we plan to expand our swimming pool,” O’Brien said. “We have a strong cadre of local contractors.”
A Siena College graduate, he founded Athena in 2004 after three years as CEO and executive vice president of Irving, Texas-based FelCor Lodging Trust, which was then the second largest public hotel real estate investment trust in the U.S. with more than $4 billion invested in approximately 160 hotels in 35 states and Canada.
Before that, he was managing director of business development with GE Capital Real Estate, the commercial real estate division of GE Capital Corp.
Athena also invests heavily in manufactured home communities and self storage facilities and operates 10 RV parks under the Applebrook brand in New York, New Jersey, Florida and New Orleans.
It purchased Saratoga RV Park in 2018 for $1.7 million and acquired Adirondack Camping Village, now called Lake George Camping Village, last March for $4.5 million.
Saratoga National Bank & Trust Co. approved a $5.82 million construction loan for the Saratoga RV Park project. “Tourism and outdoor recreation are two strengths of Saratoga County and the areas surrounding it. This expansion could bode well for related businesses and an expansion of employment opportunities, said bank chairman Raymond F. O’Conor, a past county Planning Board chairman.
O’Brien said plans call for upgrading the recently-acquired Lake George property, too.
“We will often buy property that has been with the same owner for a long time,” he said. “We take a fresh look and make it the best it can be. We may be able to expand that property subject to approvals.”
Saratoga RV Park seasonal rates, from mid-April to mid-October, range from $3,645 and $3,895. About 70 percent of these patrons come from the Capital Region and Hudson Valley, ranging from Albany, Saratoga and Columbia counties to Dutchess, Ulster, Orange and Putnam counties.
“We have a waiting list for seasonal sites,” he said. “The rest of our customers are transient, from a day to a month. We get some Canadian campers headed to or coming back from Florida.”
In addition to a large swimming pool, Saratoga RV Park amenities include a clubhouse, pickle ball courts, playground, horseshoe pits, WiFi, walking trails and storage for RVs on site.
It accommodates all types of RVs. This includes large a Class A motor coach, capable of towing a small car; fifth-wheelers towed by a large pickup truck; travel trailers, toy haulers (these have a rear “garage” with ramp-door access) and park models, which are little vacation cottages that look like a home, but must be hooked up to electricity, water and sewer the same as any RV.
“A park model becomes their home away from home or second home,” O’Brien said. “We expect strong demand from campers to set up and say this is going to be their camp for the next 10 years.”
O’Brien is closely monitoring the potential impact of electric vehicle mandates on his business.
“I just got back from a national RV park associations meeting,” he said. “It was certainly a robust topic of discussion. We haven’t committed to adding charging stations yet. We’re not seeing that demand. We were recently in Europe and saw more hybrid vehicles, so I think a series of steps are going to occur before we get there. There’s a lot of discussion, but not a lot happening yet. I think we’re a long ways away from such a change. It is something we’re watching closely.”