But the trade was not as much as owner Tom Torchia would have expected from a company with hundreds of workers. It didn't triple the business down here. Torchia and other Utica business owners hope officials will find the right tenant for the APAC facility. It might be too hard to find a business that employs 800 people. Now that we have the Hotel Utica and the Radisson, we need a place where travelers can shop.
People like to get little things.
Many people live in downtown Utica. You have apartments here and senior citizen housing. We have residents here that don't leave after five. Mayor Timothy Julian expects downtown Utica to be a busy and prosperous area. The trend nationwide is that people are returning downtown to find affordable places to have a business.