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Samolises buy Wells & Coverly building, launch new venture--SKY Armory [Business Journal, The (Central New York)](Business Journal, The (Central New York) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SYRACUSE - The owner of a local event-planning company and her husband have acquired a building in downtown Syracuse and have plans to launch an additional, separate venture. Nicole Samolis, president of The Events Company at 230 Harrison St., and her husband. Kevin Samolis, the firm's chief of staff, have acquired the Wells & Coverly building on South Salina Street. The Samolises purchased the building for $350,000 from its previous owner, Michael Ades. They will serve as landlords for the retail stores operating on the building's first floor, including Downtown Jewelry, Payless ShoeSource, and Bergan's Men's Clothing. The Samolises are planning a $3 million construction project to convert the structure's 10,000-square-foot second and third floors into space for hosting events like weddings, the couple says. The new venture is called SKY Armory, but they emphasize that nothing is changing at their original business. "This is 100 percent separate from The Events Company," says Kevin Samolis, vice president of SKY Armory. Since its inception in 1996, The Events Company has evolved into an event-planning and production company, says Nicole Samolis, who also serves as president of SKY Armory. "And so this really becomes a natural transition into another opportunity for us to continue growing," she says. Founded in March, SKY Armory will have 47 employees, including 15 full-time workers. The Samolises declined to provide a revenue projection for 2014, but if they're able to open in December as planned, they'd like to host 10 to 20 events before the end of the current year and a total of 80 events in its first full year of operation. Pursuing a space for events The Samolises have been watching what others in the event-planning industry have done around the country in taking non-traditional spaces and creating them into event spaces," Nicole Samolis says, noting that Syracuse has limited ballroom space for those organizing events for 250 to 300 people. About five years ago, they started wondering about the possibility of having their own venue. Their goal was to remain in a downtown setting, and find a space that would be, as she described it, an "urban, chic, refabbed, repurposed, kind of industrial space." Nicole Samolis learned about the buildings availability while attending the annual State of the City address in 2012, where she spoke with Richard DeVito and Robert Doucette of Paramount Realty Group. "At that time, we were looking actually to lease a floor in a building," she says. Paramount's leasing director, Steve Case, showed the Samolises some spaces with available floors, including the Wells & Coverly building. They weren't interested at first, but eventually decided to pursue buying the entire structure. The building wasn't on the market for sale, but Case approached Ades about the potential transaction. "We were able to make the sale happen," Nicole Samolis says. The Samolises were searching for a place with the capacity for holding big events, along with the necessary parking. The upper floors of the Wells & Coverly building have that space and the parking availability. "This particular building has a parking garage that has a pedestrian bridge that is attached right to its second floor," she says. The structure currently has three addresses on South Salina Street for the retail locations operating on the first floor. But the Samolises are hoping for an address on the South Clinton Street side. Kevin Samolis on May 20 submitted an application to the Onondaga County Planning Commission for a new address because they plan to build a new entrance on the Armory Square side of the structure. "It's not atypical for a building to have separate mailing addresses," Kevin Samolis says. Acquisition, construction plans In the acquisition transaction, The Wladis Law Firm of DeWitt represented the Samolises in the deal, and attorney James Messenger, Jr. represented Michael Ades, the couple says. The acquisition closed on April 30, according to Kevin Samolis. The couple used a loan from M&T Bank to fund the acquisition, he adds. They're anticipating the construction project will cost about $3 million. Zausmer-Frisch Scruton & Aggarwal, a design-build firm in Syracuse, is handling the construction project. Besides developing the building's second and third floors, the construction will include building an addition that will serve as the entrance with a "grand staircase and elevator," according to Nicole Samolis. Construction crews will "gut" each floor, exposing the structure's original brick, she adds. "The second floor has hardwood floors that we can salvage, so we're going to refinish those," she says. The third floor will have some exposed brick and columns which will require some treatment. The work will also target the ceiling rafters, exposing the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, which will be replaced. "Each floor will have a catering kitchen on it," she says. In a May 16 blog post on their website (www.skyarmory.com), the Samolises wrote: "We think bridal couples are going to love SKY Armory for weddings. Our first potential bride is coming in tomorrow for a sneak peak at our plans." The building also needs a new roof, Kevin Samolis adds. The Samolises plan to attach the name "Wells" to the second-floor ball room, and "Coverly" to the ball room on the third floor to keep the building connected to its retail history. "If you're from Syracuse or you're of a certain age, people have fond memories of Wells & Coverly," Nicole Samolis says. Prior to its closure in the early 1980s, Wells & Coverly was an upscale men's department store, which would make suits "from scratch," according to Kevin Samolis. M&T Bank, KeyBank, and others will be among the banks serving as lenders for the construction project. The Samolises are also pursuing a 504 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). An SBA 504 loan may be used for the financing of fixed assets like real estate or equipment, according to the SBA's website. Certified-development corporations administer that program, including the Greater Syracuse Business Development Corp. The hope to have the financing secured in early June, Kevin Samolis says. "We're trying to run this whole project like an event," Nicole Samolis says, snapping her finger and adding, "Specific deadlines." The Samolises will use mostly bank loans and some of their own personal assets to help pay for the project. They don't plan to use any finances from The Events Company to help pay for the project. And even though the two ventures, The Events Company and SKY Armory, are separate, the Samolises will have shared offices for both entities, the couple says. When asked about the name, the Samolises say they've been working with Cowley Associates, a website design, marketing and advertising agency in Syracuse, to handle their marketing. They chose SKY Armory because "the sky has no limits," Nicole Samolis says. "And at our venue, there are no limits," she adds. (c) 2013 Central New York Business Journal |