EDITORIAL: Paul Lionetti’s death a big blow for Albany, but he left an inspiring legacy

The death of Paul Lionetti is a body blow for Albany, but few people have left such an inspiring legacy in this part of the State. The people hurting most are his family, and to them, we pass on our sincere condolences. But in a similar way to the loss of entrepreneur Paul Terry in 1993, his death is also a significant loss for this city. That was plain to see on Monday, when hundreds of people lined the streets for his funeral procession through the heart of Albany. For everything that he did for Albany, you can’t help but wonder what Mr Lionetti might have done in the next decade. Some of his closest friends were successful business people in their own right, but they will tell you they had a lot to learn from the man who started with very little and built an empire in Albany. As Albany Mayor Dennis Wellington said, he was a visionary. Not only did he have vision, he had a knack for getting things done, even if that meant putting his hand in his own pocket to pay subcontractors after the collapse of Pindan stopped work on the Hilton Garden Inn last year. The Hilton hotel was undoubtedly his crowning achievement as a developer. When he started pushing the project, people were sceptical about whether there was enough interest in Albany to warrant a fully-fledged hotel. Now, it seems his hotel was a harbinger of the rapid tourism growth our city is experiencing. At the opening of the hotel last year, he spoke about his two great loves — family and Albany. Whatever he could accomplish, he was determined to do it for them. We might not all be able to scale the same heights as Mr Lionetti, but his dedication to family and community is something we could all strive to emulate.