Photo by Tom Rivers – Jodi Gaines, CEO and co-owner of Claims Recovery Financial Services, announces the company will consolidate its Orleans County locations in the former Chase call center in Albion, and add 150 employees. She is pictured inside the Orleans County Legislative Chambers.

ALBION – Claims Recovery Financial Services will not only move into the former JPMorgan Chase site in Albion, the new tenant plans to add 150 jobs there.

CRFS will move employees from sites in Albion and Medina into the Chase site. The move may begin in December and it’s possible the company’s transition to the building could be done by March.

The company, led by Albion resident and CEO Jodi Gaines, has been on a rapid upward trajectory and Gaines said it’s possible it will need more than 150 additional hires.

The 60,000-square-foot Chase site is being purchased by Roger Hungerford of Medina, who currently is leasing Gaines and CRFS space in the Olde Pickle Factory. The Chase site has been emptied in recent months of 413 employees.

“One of the many benefits of the Chase complex is that it’s a state-of-the-art, turnkey facility, which will allow CRFS to ramp-up quickly and fast-track our much-needed expansion,” Gaines said.

CRFS has hired 55 former Chase managers and employees, workers who have fit in well with CRFS because of their background in the banking industry, Gaines said.

The space at the Chase site allows CRFS to begin actively recruiting to fill an additional 150 positions.

Gaines and CRFS were praised by local elected officials, including Albion Mayor Dean Theodorakos. The Chase closing has been difficult for the community, but the mayor said CRFS has the potential to more than offset those Chase losses.

“What Jodi has been able to do is just marvelous,” Theodorakos said.

The community also expects to benefit with Hungerford owning the building. He has shown he will keep up his properties, including the Olde Pickle Factory, which previously was used by Fisher-Price.

“We’re getting local ownership with the building and someone who will invest in the property,” Theodorakos.

OrleansHub.com will have more soon on today’s announcement.

Photo by Tom Rivers – JPMorgan Chase closed its Albion call center earlier this month after the company worked five years out of this East Avenue site, which was previously home to Washington Mutual. Claims Recovery Financial Services will be the new tenant in the building, which is being acquired by Roger Hungerford of Medina.

ALBION – A company that has grown so fast it couldn’t fit its entire workforce in one building in Orleans County has found a local home for its 500-plus workers.

Claims Recovery Financial Services will move into the former JPMorgan Chase call center on East Avenue. That site once housed 1,000 workers at Washington Mutual’s peak in Albion.

CRFS outgrew space next door to Chase and added 230 workers to the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina. The company has 320 employees in Albion.

At 1 p.m. today the company is announcing the move to the Chase site. Roger Hungerford, owner of the Pickle Factory, is buying the Chase site and CRFS will be his tenant.

The news is viewed as a major positive for Albion, which will benefit from all the workers visiting local businesses. The Chase building also is highly visible on Route 31. The sprawling parking lot full of vehicles will be good for the community’s morale.

Jodi Gaines started the business from her kitchen table 11 years ago. It has grown into the county’s largest private employer.

CRFS works with banks and investors to recoup money when a home is foreclosed. Gaines and her employees are committed to knowing the industry regulations in all 50 states and meeting all deadlines for clients.

CRFS also has a site in San Antonio with 80 employees.

OrleansHub.com will have more on today’s announcement following the press conference in the Orleans County Legislative Chambers.

ALBION – A major announcement is expected today that a company will add jobs in Albion and Orleans County.

Local, state and federal officials are gathering for a 1 p.m. meeting at the Orleans County Legislative Chambers to share the news.

Orleans Hub will be there. Check OrleansHub.com for updates.

Merrill-Grinnell puts on first classic car show

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Fifty classic cars and trucks are lined up on East State Street today and at the Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home parking lot, and the classic car show still had an hour to go before it started.

The funeral home is hosting its first-ever classic car show today from 1 to 5 p.m. Proceeds from the event, including a 50/50 raffle and entry fees for the cars, will go to Hospice of Orleans.

Funeral Home Director Rebekah Karls is pictured with a 1975 Plymouth Scamp. Karls organized today’s car show.

Scott Schimdt, owner of 2004 Viper SRT-10, gives the car a shine before today’s car show. Schimdt was parked next to his father Bruce, who brought along a 1973 Triumph TR6.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Tom Snyder, left, and Michael Bonafede, right, were high in the air today working on the front of the Day and Pratt buildings on North Main Street in Albion.

Bonafede and his wife Judith Koehler own the buildings. They are tackling several improvements on the property as they work to get the opera house on the third floor open again for public performances.

File photo by Tom Rivers – The new Dunkin’ Donuts will be next to Tim Hortons on Route 98, once the white warehouse is demolished and the new restaurant is built.

ALBION – The Orleans County Planning Board gave its blessing for a new Dunkin’ Donuts in Albion, a project that calls for removing a warehouse between Tim Hortons and the railroad tracks.

JFJ Holdings of North Andover, Mass., is pushing for the new Dunkin’. The company wants to tear down the warehouse owned by Charles Breuilly of Albion.

Planners backed the project during tonight’s meeting. However, some of the board members expressed concerns about the Platt Street driveway. Planners agreed having that second entrance and exit will help alleviate some of the traffic from Main Street.

But planners wondered if an additional turning lane may be needed for the Platt Street driveway, and if a traffic device may be warranted on the Dunkin’ site to allow for drivers from both Main and Platt streets to take turns entering the drive-through.

County planners left it the Village of Albion Planning Board to consider whether a traffic device is needed for the driveway near Platt Street and if a turning lane should be added at the Platt Street driveway.

JFJ is willing to pay for any needed improvements, but the company wants to wait a year to see how traffic is working at the site and on Platt Street, said Ron Vendetti, the village code enforcement officer. The company agreed to add traffic flow improvements after a year if they are needed, with village officials getting the final say on the issue, Vendetti said.

Planners said they expect customers will learn how to best maneuver on the site. But planners welcomed the option for the village to review how the site is working after a year.

Dunkin’ wants to build a 2,000-square-foot restaurant at 153 South Main St. The project also includes a 230-square-foot freezer and cooler. The site will have 46 parking spaces. It adds green space to a site that currently is almost entirely occupied by the warehouse.

The Village of Albion Planning Board is expected to give a final vote on the project at 7 p.m. Oct. 2 at Village Hall on East Bank Street. Dunkin’ wants to begin demolition in October. The company is eyeing a January opening for the new store.

ALBION – There is good news for Albion and Orleans County: Roger Hungerford has reportedly acquired the JPMorgan Chase building in Albion, a site on Route 31 that was once home to 1,000 employees.

Chase closed down the site earlier this month, eliminating about 400 jobs from the community.

Hungerford owns the Olde Pickle Factory in Medina. He has spent millions of dollars at that site, turning an old factory into a remarkably clean building where Baxter International makes medical infusion pumps. There are also doctors with offices at the site and Claims Recovery Financial Services recently moved into a part of the Olde Pickle Factory on Park Avenue.

Hungerford told The Journal-Register he has a tenant lined up for the Chase building in Albion, but the details need to be finalized before there will be an announcement.

I’ve noticed several contractors have been working at the site in recent days. I’m relieved to know Hungerford will own the building, and it won’t sit idle with an absentee owner.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – I’ve heard the jokes for years, that downtown Albion resembled an air strip at night when the tall lights were shining bright.

The village has swapped out most of the Main Street lights with newer LED lights that village officials say use about a tenth of the energy for the same shine. The village also replaced the globes on about 30 lights.

I wanted to see what the new lights looked like at night. I went out tonight and I think they’re an improvement. The light seems mostly focused downward, with some sidelight. That’s quite a contrast from the previous lights that sent light in every direction.

I couldn’t unearth a before-picture from my Albion archives, but I remember how the sides of the buildings, often on the second floor, had so much light on them with the old lights.

Those lights also directed light upwards, giving the air strip impression. I don’t think that’s the case anymore.

The village soon should have some potted trees, bike racks, and other street-scape improvements as part of a Main Street grant, which will make downtown even more appealing.

Photos by Tom Rivers – Brad Rouse, a village of Albion sewer plant worker, this morning changes the bulb and globe of a light just north of the Erie Canal.

ALBION – Albion is swapping out about 30 street lights on Main Street with energy-efficient LED lights. The new 30 to 50 watt lights will use about a tenth of the energy as the 400 watt incandescent lights while maintaining similar levels of brightness.

Village employees Brad Rouse and Jay Pahura have been working to replace the lights. They worked on a section north of the canal this morning.

An incandescent light is pictured at left and a new LED light is at right.

Rouse had the high work, using a bucket truck from the village of Medina to remove the old bulbs and light globes. Pahura removed the transformer, starter and diffuser from the old lights. The new lights don’t need those components.

The village expects the new lights will quickly pay for themselves with the energy savings.

The village of Albion is replacing the street lights on Main Street with energy-efficient LED lights.

Press release, Hospice of Orleans

ALBION The Merrill-Grinnell Funeral Home in Albion will use its historic property to host its first-ever classic car show on Sunday.

The funeral home can fit up to 100 cars at 12 Ingersoll St. The car show runs from 1 to 5 p.m. The show will be a benefit for Hospice of Orleans.

Funeral Director Rebekah Karls said she got the idea for this event from colleagues involved in “Hotrods for Hospice” in Rochester.

“We’ve got plenty of parking spaces right on our property,” Karls said, “and this is something different from a lot of the other benefits we have going on locally. Hospice is such an important part of our community. We wanted to find a way to support it.”

The auto show will feature food, music, a 50/50 raffle, and trophies for the classic and custom cars, trucks, and motorcycles (best in show, best paint, fan favorite, etc.).

Also coming up, on Oct. 12, will be the Cross-Country 5k Race and Memory Walk, hosted by Brown’s Berry Patch at 14264 Roosevelt Highway in Waterport.

The race, which starts at 10 a.m., invites runners and walkers to enjoy the fall foliage during a brisk (or leisurely) stroll through the woods, orchards and fields of the Brown farm. The Rotary Club of Albion co-sponsors the event, which features a professionally sanctioned and timed 3.1-mile course, as well as a 1-mile fun walk option.

“This will be our 17th year of hosting this race and we consider it a privilege to help support our local Hospice,” said Margy Brown. “It’s a great way to spend a Saturday morning.”

Contact Hospice of Orleans at 585-589-0809 for more information about either event.

Leonel Lopez-Alvarado

ALBION – A village resident, who is wanted for aggravated assault with a firearm in Michigan, was arrested today at his residence, 129 West Academy St., the Orleans County Major Felony Crime Task Force reported.

Leonel Lopez-Alvarado, 30, is in the country illegally without proper documents, the Task Force reported today. He has twice been deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs, in 2009 and again in 2010.

Police searched Lopez-Alvarado’s residence and found a loaded 9mm semi-auto pistol, ammunition, fraudulent alien registration card and social security card.

Lopez-Alvarado was charged with two counts of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree, and one count of criminal possession of a weapon in the fourth degree (non U.S. citizen).

He was arraigned at the Town of Albion Justice Gary Moore and committed to the Orleans County Jail on $5,000 cash bail. Lopez-Alvarado is to return back to Albion court on Sept. 24 at 9 a.m.

Lopez-Alvarado also is being held on a detainer filed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is facing numerous federal charges, including illegal re-entry into the United States. He also is facing extradition to the state of Michigan for aggravated assault with a firearm.

Police executed the search warrant in Albion after receiving information that Lopez-Alvarado was wanted for a shooting in another state. The Major Felony Crime Task Force worked the case with Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Office of Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Albion Police Department.

Photos by Tom Rivers

ALBION – Young Enterprises employee Shane Swann is on top of the Pratt building at 118 North Main St., coating the roof this afternoon.

Several contractors are working on the building, which is owned by Michael Bonafede and Judith Koehler. They want to have the top floor, a former opera house, reopened as a performance venue.

Andy Young, owner of Young Enterprises in Albion, was up on the roof this afternoon. He is pictured in the photo below.

Governor announces $48M for projects state-wide

Photo by Tom Rivers – An airplane comes in for a landing at Pine Hill Airport on Sept. 8, when the airport in Barre hosted a fly-in breakfast.

ALBANY – Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $48 million in grants for transportation improvements across the state, including $54,000 for Pine Hill Airport, the only airport with a hard-surface runway in Orleans County.

The money for Pine Hill will help construct a new apron and taxiway connector for the west ramp.

Cuomo said the $48 million in state funds will leverage an additional $80 million in federal, state and local funding. The governor said the money will boost transportation infrastructure and support economic development.

“We are making targeted investments that will improve transportation systems across the state, provide the foundation for future economic development, and create jobs,” the governor said. “This funding will modernize aviation facilities, improve the speed of freight and passenger transit, and build cleaner and safer networks of transportation.”

The state approved $7 million for 21 airport infrastructure projects in state, $21 million in transit capital grants, and $20 million for 14 rail projects.