A new home for #OnTheStacks

KINGSTON — #OnTheStacks continues to be on a roll.

Fresh of the heels of the podcast’s recent affiliation with Times Leader Media Group, founder and host Bill Corcoran Jr. announced that he has expanded, with the purchase of a 735-square-foot corner building at 474 Schuyler Ave., Kingston.

“This is a major move for the podcast, but I’m a major move kind of guy. This stuff motivates me,” Corcoran said. “Everything comes with risk, but without risk, there’s no reward.”

The building has three office spaces, Corcoran said: One that will be the new blu door studio, the second will serve as his office and a meeting/collaboration space, and the third will be a photo studio where they will recreate the “stacks” for photo opportunities and show content.

Corcoran said he has some renovation work to do, and expects to move in by the end of August or early in September.

His studio has been located inside the family printing business, Corcoran Printing, since the inception of the podcast in March 2020, when he took over a very small, unused office space of approximately 140 square feet that became the “blu door studio,” named for one of the show’s sponsors, blu door Financial.

As the show’s popularity has grown, Corcoran saw that it would likely need to expand its physical footprint as well, and that such a move could coordinate with his other business ambitions.

“I had been planning for a while to start a real estate investment company,” Corcoran said. “I was back and forth between residential and commercial, but then I realized that I was out of space in the current podcast studio and had plans to soon expand anyway, so I switched my search solely to commercial properties.”

The property was purchased under his real estate investment company, OTS Capital LLC. The podcast itself is a separate entity, #OnTheStacks LLC, which will rent from OTS Capital LLC.

“I said to myself, as a new real estate investor, why not be my first tenant?” Corcoran added.

Negotiating a deal

Corcoran said his Realtor, Alan Kline from RPA Real Estate, worked tirelessly with him to find the right property.

“Alan took me under his wing knowing that this was my first investment property. He is a real estate investor himself, so I knew I was in good hands, plus, I’ve known Alan since we were five-years-old,” Corcoran said.

“I was really impressed with how much time he spent educating me on real estate. I learned a lot in a short amount of time from Alan and I’m grateful for his support and knowledge,” he added.

Corcoran secured the loan for the property from Luzerne Bank, where he said commercial loan officer Brian Burd “was also great to work with.”

“I think I was the first person to look at the property as soon as it came on the market and I made an offer that day too,” Corcoran said. “After a week of negotiating, the former owners accepted my offer.”

A space of their own

Just how crowded is the existing studio? Since installing video cameras and lighting in the studio in March of this year “there is absolutely no room to even walk,” Corcoran said.

“I joke with every guest when they come in the studio to record that we need to do the limbo to get through to our seats.”

The new building now offers more space for Corcoran’s whole team to gather in person.

“After thinking about it, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten my entire team together in person and in one room at the same time, since everyone mostly works remotely,” he said. “Now, I will be able to bring our entire team together in its own dedicated space, and by doing so, we’ll be able to accomplish so much more, and really focus on growing the brand.”

Corcoran renovations plans for the new property, include refinishing some floors, a new ductless air conditioning system, and of course a fresh coat of paint through the entire building, inside and out.

He said he also would also like to partner with one or multiple street artists to come in and create some type of original artwork on the outside and various walls inside of the building — obviously something #OnTheStacks related.

“I really want to involve as many local people as I can, since that’s how the show and brand was built in the first place,” Corcoran said.

Plans for the future

After that, it’s showtime.

“After I’m all settled in, I plan to have a few small events to introduce the new space to various groups of individuals including: sponsors, family/friends, previous show guests, and other collaborators,” Corcoran said.

He also plans to have some special and regular meetups at the new studio space specifically for certain tiers of the podcast’s Patreon subscribers — these are individuals that pay a monthly subscription fee of $2, $5 or $10 to support the show in return for free OTS merchandise, merchandise discounts, social media/online shoutouts, and exclusive #OnTheStacks content.

You can learn more and subscribe at www.patreon.com/OnTheStacksPodcast.

“I want to give these people more value and also attract more Patreon subscribers,” he said.

His vision for the building is expansive and inclusive.

“It will be a space that will foster entrepreneurship, creativity, and collaboration. I definitely want to collaborate more with other local content creators and influencers. I encourage anyone to reach out to me if they think we can collaborate in some way that will be mutually beneficial,” Corcoran said.

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New episodes of #OnTheStacks debut each Wednesday.

Full episodes, together with behind-the-scenes videos and other special content, can be found at www.timesleader.com/onthestacks.