If We Buy It They Will Come

By Shannon Ballard Gorman

LAWYER BY DAY, live music enthusiast by night, Justin Miller ’97 jokes that he and his wife grew tired of traveling to shows—so they brought the music closer to home. The couple, who met through mutual friends and concert-goers more than 20 years ago, “on a lark” bought a historic building in Albany’s Lark Street neighbor-hood with the idea of renovating it into a top-notch live music venue.

Lark Hall, a 14,000-square-foot golden brick building on the corner of Lark and Hudson Avenue, went up for auction in 2018 just as Miller and his wife, Jennifer, were looking for space for a yoga studio—and perhaps live music shows as well.

“One of our favorite—and most dangerous—phrases is, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if…?’” Miller said. After experiencing music venues across the country (they planned vacations around concert destinations like Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado and Preservation Hall in New Orleans) and right in Albany—large ones like The Palace and The Egg and small ones like bars—they thought, “Wouldn’t  it be cool if we had our own place for live music?”

Built in 1916, the cavernous building needed a lot of work, but their real estate partner convinced them it was a good investment. It had space for a tenant on the street level, a yoga studio on the main level, and could accommodate 300 guests standing or 200 seated for concerts, performances or parties.

The online auction wound to a close and the Millers’ bid prevailed. Miller remembers thinking, “Oh my God, we actually bought it!” But that was just the beginning of their extra-vocational enterprise: it took a full year to close on the property. Miller, whose full-time job is a partner with Harris Beach PLLC, had extensive experience in commercial real estate, tax and finance law, and  economic development. But this time, it was personal.

“Even after 20 years of working  with people on their deals, it was a lot different doing it for ourselves,” he said. “It was a deep dive into real estate, title and tax work, financing, and construction contracts.”

The renovation process was a “fascinating exercise in learning about the historic preservation side of real estate,” Miller said. They preserved the original floors and woodwork, stamped tin ceilings, proscenium stage, and mezzanine with its wrought-iron railings, and they used reclaimed materials to construct new features such as the elaborate bar in the main hall.

Jennifer’s yoga studio started off strong, hosting 15-20 independent yoga instructors in the space, and they also had a florist as a tenant on the street level. But before work could be completed on the main hall, the COVID pandemic hit.

“We had half an elevator and a lot of fear, like the rest of the world,” Miller said.

A year later, initial renovations were done and Lark Hall opened for music in April 2021. The venue’s first shows were small; only 25 people could attend due to COVID restrictions. “We were fortunate to have a lot of connections and friendships in the music community,” Miller said. Jennifer, who manages most of the venue operations and staff, books local and regional acts directly, and through relationships with larger promoters, sometimes lands familiar names  that would usually not play a venue their size.

Since the grand building’s second act opened, Lark Hall has hosted more than 200 ticketed and private events and welcomed musical acts spanning all genres such as Grammy award winner Norah Jones, Satsang, Patrick Droney, Hayes Carll, Patter-son Hood, Keller Williams, Donna the Buffalo, Sydney Worthley,  Victory Soul Orchestra and many more. This June, Lark Hall hosted a multi-week production of the Broadway musical Rent, which was presented “in the round” with audience members seated and fully immersed within the play—all 10 evening shows and matinees sold out quickly and future productions are already being planned.

“There were nights during COVID when we’d sell out a show but 100 people wouldn’t show up—and then there are nights when no tickets are sold in advance, but everyone just walks up and we fill the room!” Miller said.

The Millers are continuing  renovations on the Hall. Recently, they opened a street level coffee house, restaurant and bar, called  The Eleven. The space had a grand opening on the incredibly fitting date of November 11.;

Creating a fellowship in memory of a dear friend and classmate

Justin Miller ’97 has stayed close to Albany Law School since attend-ing 25 years ago: He lives with his wife and kids on New Scotland Avenue, just down the street from the law school; and each year he helps administer a grant to a law student going into public service.

Miller co-founded the Joseph C. Foiadelli Public Service Fellow-ship in memory of his friend and classmate, Joe Foiadelli ’97, who became a public defender after graduation and was tragically killed in a car accident in 1998.

Miller and Foiadelli became close friends as part of a group of live music enthusiasts—“the Grateful Dead and Phish fans,” Miller explained. “We were the ones playing hacky sack in the courtyard and planning where to go out that night or what shows to see.”

When Foiadelli passed away, they wanted to create a fellowship in his name. Together with Joe’s family and friends, philanthropist Marty Silverman provided seed money to supplement their fund-raising efforts, and every year since, Miller has gotten together with Joe’s mom and classmates including Michael Papa ’97, Anthony Neddo ’97, John B. Thacher III ’98, and Matthew Powers ’98 to award a stipend to a 1L or 2L going into public service.

The group continues to build the fellowship with an annual golf tournament in May—and now a concert afterward at Lark Hall, to enjoy the kind of live music that once brought them together.