Planned Troy Opening Sparks Great Interest

Brad Pitt may miss the fall grand opening of bookseller Susan Novotny's new store in upstate New York. He'll be losing a good opportunity for a cross-promotion.

The new store, to open in the preserved antebellum market district of Troy, will be the city's first locally owned general bookstore in a decade. Novotny is the owner of The Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza in nearby Albany, New York, and she explained to BTW that, with its notable Victorian district, Troy is "right smack on the Hudson River," allowing the as-yet-unnamed store to benefit from a neighborhood so intact that it has been used as the setting for many major period films.

The city of over 50,000 -- once the hub of eastern New York commerce -- together with Schenectady and Albany forms what is known as the Capitol District. As the home of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and Russell Sage College, Troy has recently enjoyed an influx of new high tech jobs in the research and development of nanotechnology, an emerging technology of sophisticated molecular manufacturing. After decades of decline, the once dominant industrial center is experiencing economic growth. Developers have purchased blocks of Victorian buildings and huge, abandoned manufacturing facilities, converting them to retail space, office complexes, and residences. The area is now bustling with daytime workers and full-time residents who have purchased or leased old brownstone buildings.

Novotny, who has owned the Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza for about 18 years, is convinced that Troy is ready for a retail revival, and that a well-run independent bookstore will serve as an anchor for other businesses. She was convinced, in part, by a man who has built a very successful business by persuading people, John Hedley, a lifelong Troy resident and owner of the city's Cadillac dealership for the past 44 years. He pitched the idea of a bookstore to the person he thought most likely to make a success of it.

"[Hedley] knows my bookstore and thought that we were the right business for the new retail center," said Novotny. "He's not cut from the same cloth as other developers; he had a clear vision from the get-go. He thought that a really good independent bookstore would be the catalyst to move things along." In a recent article in the Albany Times-Union, Hedley was quoted on the subject: "She's Novotny a great businesswoman. She's a promoter. I was looking for an anchor store to try to draw people in, and I thought of a bookstore." Hedley has been frustrated by Troy's dearth of commerce. "Troy is a college town," he said in the Troy Record. "There are 30,000 students between RPI and Russell Sage. And there are 60,000 people in the whole city, yet we don't even have a shoe store."

The bookstore will be on the first floor of a three-story building, part of the former John Scanlon Market Block, which is owned by Hedley. "He wants to have a 'jewel of a bookstore' on the street level. We'll have about 2,700 square feet," Novotny said. " On the second floor, there is potential for a café. We'll think about that once the store is up and running. On the third floor are three very large dance halls. I was told that the Union Army would hold dances there and recruit the boys who came. During Prohibition, they served as speakeasies. The moldings, balconies, everything is intact. John Hedley is looking for support for their historic preservation. I see great space for signings, readings, and folk music."

Novotny does not want the Troy store simply to be a replica of The Book House. "We are going to be Troy's bookstore, not Book House East or Book House, Volume 2," she said. "We're holding a citywide contest for residents to choose a name. We want a strong sense that this is a local, community store. John is having new floors put in, restoring the tin ceilings and plumbing. We're looking for antique fixtures. People from RPI are consulting with us for state-of-the-art lighting. I've had great discussions with the people planning the restoration. They told me 'now that we know what you want to do -- get out of our face.'" -- Nomi Schwartz