SCHENECTADY, N.Y. — The Schenectady County Metroplex Development Authority is pleased to announce that Affinity Group will move its Eastern New York/New England regional office to Downtown Schenectady.

Metroplex will provide a $100,000 grant and an exemption from sales tax on building materials and supplies to support the move.  The company will purchase a 13,000 square foot building at 620 Union Street, an historic former church built in 1889.  The building was retrofitted for office use by the previous owner and is located steps from downtown restaurants and attractions.

Enzo Dentico, Chairman said, “We are excited to move into this great space in Schenectady and appreciate and look forward to being part of the area’s investment into local business.”

“We welcome Affinity Group to Schenectady County and thank them for investing in our community,” said Anthony Jasenski, Chair of the Schenectady County Legislature. “This project will bring new development to the neighborhood while maintaining the historic character of the building.”

Mayor Gary McCarthy said, “We are proud to welcome the Affinity Group to this historic building on lower Union Street. This project will bring new jobs to our community and continue the vibrant economic growth in downtown Schenectady.”

Affinity Group is a North American food sales and marketing agency that provides customers with sales analytics, planning solutions, and store-level merchandising. The company’s history dates to 1976 when it started in Buffalo. Since 2014, the company has experienced tremendous growth in the U.S. and Canada.  It operates in about 70 markets in North America with almost 1,000 employees. In New York, Affinity Group has its headquarters in Buffalo and regional offices in Long Island and Syracuse.

Affinity Group acts as a broker between food manufacturers and food retailers and food service companies. The company builds partnerships and affiliations using their local market knowledge combined with culinary support and expertise.

Affinity Group will invest more than $1 million to create a culinary training center plus offices for 21 employees, growing by 10 jobs in the next few years. This project will bring new office staff and visitors from companies who do business with Affinity Group to downtown and revitalize a vacant building with a new purpose.  Schenectady-based Mid-State Industries has been selected as the general contractor for the project.

Ray Gillen, Metroplex Chair said, “We are very excited to welcome Affinity Group to downtown Schenectady.  This project helps to renovate an historic building, brings jobs and visitors to Schenectady and adds to the growing food and restaurant scene downtown.”

The site search for this project was led by Peter Struzzi and Joseph Mahoney from the Pyramid Brokerage Company.