By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
“As a law firm that began in Central New York in 1855 and has always had a major office here, our dedication to the region is ongoing and deep. In part due to our involvement in the expansion of the White Pine Commerce Park in support of the $100 billion Micron semiconductor chip manufacturing facility — we serve as the lead counsel to the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency on the project — we are looking forward to a great year for the region. This positive expectation is for both the business community and the wider community.”
— David Burch, Partner and Syracuse office managing director, Barclay Damon, LLP, based in Syracuse
“Our outlook for 2025 is to explore new partnerships with organizations that specialize in family care and healthy recreation. By supporting these types of businesses, we can help keep families engaged with their community while also encouraging health and wellness.
— Tyler Ahart, Coordinator at Oswego County Prevention Coalition, Oswego
“Stewart’s Shops is wrapping up a strong year and has a positive outlook heading into 2025. Our company is expanding heavily into Vermont next year and we will continue to re-invest into our current footprint. Stewart’s has invested approximately $50 million in store remodels and rebuilds annually for the past decade and we expect that trend will continue. Our plans for 2025 also include a replacement of our shop on West Utica Street in Oswego to create more space for food-to-go, beverages and other fresh products to better serve the community.”
— Robin Cooper, Public relations manager at Stewart’s Shops, Malta
“The outlook is hard to know for the tree farm. Groceries are so much more expensive. You hear about 3% as an increase, which isn’t what we see in the store. It’s hard time for families. It seems like there are greater needs so we’re keeping our prices the same as the last couple of years. As for Freedom Real Estate, I hope prices of real estate come down. I don’t want to see any decline in property values for people. We have always in 40 years had dependable appreciation of value, 5% or something reasonable. Now, in the last couple of years, it was very difficult for buyers and created quite a hardship. The prices are really up there. We’re seeing now a slowing seasonally, but the overall outlook is steady, but inventory remains low.”
— Faye Beckwith, Real estate agent and co-owner of Freedom Real Estate and Beckwith Family Christmas Trees, Hannibal
“We are feeling optimistic for 2025. Our operation has expanded and we’ve taken on more commercial printing this year. We expect this growth to continue next year.”
— Sharon Lynett, Publisher of The Palladium-Times, The Valley News, Oswego County News and The Oswego Shopper, Oswego
“We have had a better year in 2024 and what looks to be a more positive year in 2025. The interest rates seem to be decreasing and the inventory of homes, which is still low, has been steadily increasing. There has been an increase in new commercial businesses looking in our community which would also increase jobs locally.”
— William Galloway, Broker/owner at Century 21 Galloway Realty, Oswego
“Our 2025 outlook is focused on expanding access to quality, compassionate doula care for families in our community. We aim to strengthen our team of certified doulas, ensuring they continue to provide personalized support during pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. In addition, we plan to grow our educational offerings, including workshops and classes, to empower local parents in the community with the knowledge they need for a confident parenting journey. We’re also committed to fostering partnerships with local healthcare providers to create a more seamless, supportive experience for the families we serve. Ultimately, our goal is to make doula care accessible to more families while maintaining the high standard of care that our clients rely on.”
— Christine Herrera, Owner of CNY Doula Connection, CNY and surrounding areas
“We just recently moved to a new location at 10 Canalview Mall in Fulton. It is actually our old office from 13 years ago. We are already booking vacation packages for 2026, so 2025’s outlook is a positive one. We are also looking to add a new member to our staff in 2025 to keep up with the booming demand for travel.”
— Sandy Shue, Manager at Canalview Travel Service, Inc., Fulton
“As with anyone in the pet industry, it’s a very good outlook. Pet ownership is booming. It’s not slowing down. I read a book a couple of years ago about how we’ve transitioned from the ‘60s and ‘70s where pets hang out in the yard to pets living with us. Anyone into training, grooming or vet care, those businesses are booming right now. One of the challenges we had during the pandemic is with so many dogs being adopted from shelters and breeders, [pet owners] didn’t seek training for whatever reason and didn’t get their dogs out into the world for proper socialization to be introduced to the world beyond their household. There are other people, dogs, activity, sights and sounds. It’s not necessarily playing with another dog. But seeing another dog and staying focused on their person. When people went back to work, there was quite a boom in shelters of people relinquishing their pets. Dogs didn’t learn the critical skill of being able to stay home alone and be comfortable. If anyone has had a dog with isolation anxiety, they know that’s true. Dogs want to be with us but teaching them they’re safe and ‘I’ll be back’ is a skill a lot of pandemic dogs didn’t learn.”
— Andrea Giordano, Owner of Dogs Among Us, Oswego
“The outlook for the industry is very positive. People are recognizing that they don’t need all this stuff. It could be a shift away from prior generations and ‘Waste not, want not.’ People are appreciating a minimalistic approach to life. I see people needing us more and more as time goes on.”
— Liz Bremer, Owner of Put it Simply Organizing, LLC, Manlius
“We are definitely excited about this coming season. Here are some of the specific projects associated with the 2024-25 season that we are looking forward to unveiling for our guests: A three-year plan to replace all rental equipment valued at $450,000. New pipe and airlines on its Castor trail, an investment of $111,000 to complement the efforts from last year on Hercules and the upgrades to the midway and east mountain pumphouses. Castor Connection has also been widened for safer trail merging. Lift improvements include a cable replacement on chair 4, an investment of $50,000. Visions Quad and chair 1 have received new top bull wheel bearings and chair 2’s electric motor has been rebuilt and serviced. We’ve also re-graded the top and bottom of chair 3 for easier loading and unloading. New hand scanners for quick and easy lift access, reducing line wait times, valued at $12,500. The new scanners complement a new online purchasing portal, which has enabled Greek Peak to move away from onsite purchasing windows so our guest experience team can maximize their time out helping and directing our snow sports visitors. All activity purchases are now done online and in advance of arrival so guests can head directly to lift and maximize their time on the slopes.”
— Jon Spaulding, Director of marketing at Greek Peak in Cortland
“My outlook is positive. But every spring is positive for me, having been in business for 52 years now. The mere notion that something as large as the first phase of Micron is in the works is a ray of sunshine for the entire region. Going from an Ed/Med client base to a much-expanded influx of new people to the area will keep me from even spelling the word retirement. After we see what kind of winter we endure, get to me in mid-late March for some thoughts on how we can best approach spring given the severity, or not, of winter.”
— Jim Sollecito, Owner of Sollecito Landscaping Nursery, LLC, Syracuse
