New life coming to downtown buildings
NORWICH – Having been completely vacant and completely neglected for more than half a decade, local developers are breathing new life into what’s become an eyesore in downtown Norwich.
The mammoth three-story buildings located at 42 and 44-46 N. Broad St. in Norwich may have a rich history, but only recently have they gained a promising future. Owners Scott Sutton and Sharon Pelosi, proprietors of Hercules Properties LLC, closed on the two conjoined building last September. Thanks to the support of economic catalysts including Commerce Chenango and the City of Norwich, they’re now in the process of using multiple streams of public and private funds to restore the buildings to their former glory.
“There are too many big box stores being made,” said Sutton. “Something like these buildings – if they’re not taken care of – will, like a dinosaur, become extinct one day. We want to revive that species and keep it going.”
The circa 1880s buildings – once home to coming and going businesses including S.E. Johns department store and flooring, the Keating drug store., JC Penny Co., and Besdin Furniture Co. – will be restored to a prime commercial space with residential quarters occupying the second and third floors. Seven newly modeled apartments are included in the floor design; and on the ground floor, plans are to open a craft brewer on the left (44-46 N. Broad) and a regional market for local products on the right (42 N. Broad).
Work started on the facade of the buildings in April. The first step was to secure the 4,740 sq. ft. and 9,534 sq. ft. buildings, preventing any further damage before moving ahead with any interior renovations.
“This is a project that we want to have done as soon as we can, but it’s largely driven by different sources of funds,” Pelosi said. “Most of it is being funded by grant money and that really extends the time horizon because it’s a process to getting the funds.”
In spite of the snail-like speed of legal footwork and public funding sources, the undertaking is making progress. After the building went into tax foreclosure in 2010, it was taken over by the City of Norwich which, following a years-long campaign to sell the buildings to a private developer, named Hercules Properties as the preferred purchaser in July, 2013. Hercules Properties was sold the buildings for $1, saving the city the high costs of demolishing the building years down the road whilst also preserving the downtown landscape.
Since taking ownership, Hercules Properties has accumulated funding in the form of grants and loans from a number of sources, the most impactful being the Souther Tier Regional Economic Development Council. In December, 2014, the council disbursed more than $80 million to fund projects throughout the southern tier region. Of the $1.5 million allocated to Chenango County, $904,000 went to the City of Norwich. The city will use $250,000 of that allotment through the NYS Office for Community Renewal for renovation of seven mixed-use buildings in its Broad Street Revitalization project – a project that includes the buildings at 42 and 44-46 N. Broad.
“That block was once an intricate part of downtown,” Pelosi said, referencing the buildings’ retail history and proximity to the once thriving Chenango Canal. “We’re excited to bring it back.”
Sutton and Pelosi are currently in the application process for a loan through Souther Tier East to continue renovations. This will mark the ninth and tenth properties in the City of Norwich to be refurbished by Hercules Properties. And it’s by far their biggest, Sutton said.
“As we move forward with this, so many people are coming out of the woodwork with history about the building, pictures and postcards,” Sutton added. “We’re excited to see it moving forward. There’s been a lot of community involvement, showing an interest and wanting to help.”
The rehabilitation project also stands to benefit from a major undertaking from the City of Norwich to renovate the parking area shared by several buildings, including 42 and 44-46 N. Broad in the Heritage Block. That project is also largely funded by NYS Economic Development Council funding that was awarded in December.
The mammoth three-story buildings located at 42 and 44-46 N. Broad St. in Norwich may have a rich history, but only recently have they gained a promising future. Owners Scott Sutton and Sharon Pelosi, proprietors of Hercules Properties LLC, closed on the two conjoined building last September. Thanks to the support of economic catalysts including Commerce Chenango and the City of Norwich, they’re now in the process of using multiple streams of public and private funds to restore the buildings to their former glory.
“There are too many big box stores being made,” said Sutton. “Something like these buildings – if they’re not taken care of – will, like a dinosaur, become extinct one day. We want to revive that species and keep it going.”
The circa 1880s buildings – once home to coming and going businesses including S.E. Johns department store and flooring, the Keating drug store., JC Penny Co., and Besdin Furniture Co. – will be restored to a prime commercial space with residential quarters occupying the second and third floors. Seven newly modeled apartments are included in the floor design; and on the ground floor, plans are to open a craft brewer on the left (44-46 N. Broad) and a regional market for local products on the right (42 N. Broad).
Work started on the facade of the buildings in April. The first step was to secure the 4,740 sq. ft. and 9,534 sq. ft. buildings, preventing any further damage before moving ahead with any interior renovations.
“This is a project that we want to have done as soon as we can, but it’s largely driven by different sources of funds,” Pelosi said. “Most of it is being funded by grant money and that really extends the time horizon because it’s a process to getting the funds.”
In spite of the snail-like speed of legal footwork and public funding sources, the undertaking is making progress. After the building went into tax foreclosure in 2010, it was taken over by the City of Norwich which, following a years-long campaign to sell the buildings to a private developer, named Hercules Properties as the preferred purchaser in July, 2013. Hercules Properties was sold the buildings for $1, saving the city the high costs of demolishing the building years down the road whilst also preserving the downtown landscape.
Since taking ownership, Hercules Properties has accumulated funding in the form of grants and loans from a number of sources, the most impactful being the Souther Tier Regional Economic Development Council. In December, 2014, the council disbursed more than $80 million to fund projects throughout the southern tier region. Of the $1.5 million allocated to Chenango County, $904,000 went to the City of Norwich. The city will use $250,000 of that allotment through the NYS Office for Community Renewal for renovation of seven mixed-use buildings in its Broad Street Revitalization project – a project that includes the buildings at 42 and 44-46 N. Broad.
“That block was once an intricate part of downtown,” Pelosi said, referencing the buildings’ retail history and proximity to the once thriving Chenango Canal. “We’re excited to bring it back.”
Sutton and Pelosi are currently in the application process for a loan through Souther Tier East to continue renovations. This will mark the ninth and tenth properties in the City of Norwich to be refurbished by Hercules Properties. And it’s by far their biggest, Sutton said.
“As we move forward with this, so many people are coming out of the woodwork with history about the building, pictures and postcards,” Sutton added. “We’re excited to see it moving forward. There’s been a lot of community involvement, showing an interest and wanting to help.”
The rehabilitation project also stands to benefit from a major undertaking from the City of Norwich to renovate the parking area shared by several buildings, including 42 and 44-46 N. Broad in the Heritage Block. That project is also largely funded by NYS Economic Development Council funding that was awarded in December.
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