State of the downtown

The weather has been cold and nasty and I have been hunkered down, not getting out a lot. However, after the Lenten Luncheon on Ash Wednesday I took a look at what was vacant as I meandered down Washington Street.

The former gas station on the corner of Washington and Weston is again empty. It most recently was an auto repair shop called Bentlys.

Across the highway another former gas station has been empty for a year or two or three. The last business in there was Elk Investments.

 Most of the first floor of the old Horton Building is empty. Most recently the larger space was a day care.

The bakery has been for sale for quite a while but it is open for business. There is a sign in the window saying that there is office space for rent upstairs.

 The space next to Lafayette National Bank has been vacant ever since the bank finished its renovations. It is for sale.

The H&R Block store is in peak season. The small building next to it has been vacant for some time. A year or two ago I was expecting it to open as something because work was being done inside.

On the other side of the street, two buildings are empty, the former Bub's BBQ and the former doctor's office next to it.

Jack's Uptown Service is for sale. The owner wants to retire. On the other side of Front Street, Stunt Dawg Studio has new owners as the old owners have retired. I stopped in to meet them and they told me that they would keep the business as it has been.

 In the alley behind Jack's Uptown Service is a new business, Filson Climate Control Self Storage. I had noticed the new door a few weeks ago but did not know what it was. This week I saw a flier announcing that it offered heated storage for those who do not want to store things in the several unheated storage facilities that Rensselaer has. The address is 215 West Kellner Blvd, Suite 19.