Utica National moves Utica staff to New Hartford

With demolition work already underway in the footprint of the future Mohawk Valley Health Service medical campus, one downtown Utica tenant has moved its operations out of town.

Utica National Insurance Group has relocated its staff from its Lafayette Street office to its New Hartford complex, said Sarah Mariani-Hinman, Utica National's director of marketing, communications and customer engagement, in an email.

The change in venue was to prevent employees, vendors and visitors from potential inconvenience from the new hospital, she said.

The process of moving employees to the New Hartford location has taken place over the past few months, Mariana-Hinman said. All employees are now in New Hartford.

The new hospital, estimated to cost $548 million, will be built in the city blocks between Lafayette, Columbia and State streets and Broadway. Some buildings in the hospital footprint already have been demolished, and the future work site is fenced off to traffic.

On Wednesday, Utica National Group Foundation, the philanthropic division of insurance group, donated $1 million to the hospital project.

While it is not currently in use, the Utica National building is not for sale, Mariana-Hinman said. Utica National is looking at different options other than selling, but no decision has been made.

Utica Mutual Insurance Co. purchased the Lafayette Street building from the Utica Urban Renewal Agency for $120,000 in 2003, according to property records.

Utica National Insurance Group was founded in 1914 as the Utica Mutual Compensation Insurance Corporation. The insurance company employs more than 1,300 people across the United States, with more than 700 employees in the Utica area.

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