Chenango County IDA moves ahead with purchase of vacant downtown building; Commerce Chenango to move in
The Chenango County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA) has signed a purchase agreement for an empty commercial building on East Main Street in downtown Norwich which the agency hopes to close on in the next two months. (Photo by Shawn Magrath)
NORWICH – The fate of a building in downtown Norwich is now in the hands of the Chenango County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA).
The CCIDA, the economic development arm of Commerce Chenango, is taking the final steps to procure the vacant two-story commercial building at 23 E. Main St., adjacent to East Park in the City of Norwich. The building, presently owned and previously occupied by Preferred Mutual Insurance Company, has been empty for nearly two years while Preferred collaborated with city officials to attract a potential buyer.
“The first thing Preferred wanted to know is what the city wanted to do with it,” said Erik Scrivener, planning and community development director for the City of Norwich. “They knew we were in the middle of our (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) project, so we wanted to align it with everything that was going on there and other development downtown.”
The city solicited a request for proposal on behalf of Preferred with an asking price of $300,000; but responses from private investors were few, most citing limited available parking as a key restriction for the 17,472 square foot space. The building itself has been well maintained by Preferred Mutual.
“Since nothing was coming forward, the IDA started negotiating the purchase so that Commerce Chenango could relocate there with some expanded programs and other things that maybe we could do for Chenango County.”
“Prefered had initially reached out to us to see if we knew any nonprofits who could use some of their equipment from the building,” said Commerce Chenango President and CEO Sal Testani. “They also started working with us to see if we could attract businesses that would fit the strategic planning for the City of Norwich.”
Testani said talks with Preferred and the City of Norwich ultimately led to the CCIDA’s decision to purchase the building and lease it back to its sister organizations, Commerce Chenango and the Development Chenango Corporation, in a move that Testani says “makes more financial sense.”
The CCIDA has signed a purchase agreement of $175,000. The agency aims to close on the building in the next 30-60 days.
Presently, Commerce Chenango, the CCIDA, and the Development Chenango Corporation are located in a leased space at 15 S. Broad St. in Norwich. However, proprietors of that building are exploring renovations for apartment units on the upper floor which would require access to the elevator located in the middle of Commerce Chenango offices.
“We had been talking to them about potentially reconfiguring our office space which would incur costs and expenses for either us or them, and it would require us to extend our lease agreement in order to be fair to them as landlords,” Testani explained. “In all my efforts to try to understand how we can maintain a stable organization, we want to make sure that the Chamber has a good solid home. Having these conversations with the IDA to purchase the Preferred building and leasing back to the Chamber, we can do that.”
Testani outlined plans of Commerce Chenango to locate their offices downstairs in the Preferred building and make it a hub of business information for Chenango County. Meanwhile the upstairs could be leased out and used for incubator space for start-up businesses.
The agency is still exploring other options for the best utilization of the second floor space.
“We’re trying to have our buildings fit the intended mission of the organization,” Testani said. “The IDA’s mission to help incubators and startups fits beautifully with that upstairs … There’s all kinds of potential opportunities to utilize the upstairs and I’m excited to explore those possibilities”
Scrivener acknowledged the pitfall of removing a commercial property from the city’s tax roll in favor of handing it over to a nonprofit entity, like the CCIDA. The building carries a full market value of $984,500 on the 2024 tax rolls, with a tax bill of nearly $10,000 that would be a loss for the city. On the other hand, he said there’s also some benefit to letting a branch of Commerce Chenango take control of the building.
“If we look at what we may be able to do with that building, which is to create space for business development, I think that would be very beneficial to assist entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground,” Scrivener said.
The CCIDA, the economic development arm of Commerce Chenango, is taking the final steps to procure the vacant two-story commercial building at 23 E. Main St., adjacent to East Park in the City of Norwich. The building, presently owned and previously occupied by Preferred Mutual Insurance Company, has been empty for nearly two years while Preferred collaborated with city officials to attract a potential buyer.
“The first thing Preferred wanted to know is what the city wanted to do with it,” said Erik Scrivener, planning and community development director for the City of Norwich. “They knew we were in the middle of our (Downtown Revitalization Initiative) project, so we wanted to align it with everything that was going on there and other development downtown.”
The city solicited a request for proposal on behalf of Preferred with an asking price of $300,000; but responses from private investors were few, most citing limited available parking as a key restriction for the 17,472 square foot space. The building itself has been well maintained by Preferred Mutual.
“Since nothing was coming forward, the IDA started negotiating the purchase so that Commerce Chenango could relocate there with some expanded programs and other things that maybe we could do for Chenango County.”
“Prefered had initially reached out to us to see if we knew any nonprofits who could use some of their equipment from the building,” said Commerce Chenango President and CEO Sal Testani. “They also started working with us to see if we could attract businesses that would fit the strategic planning for the City of Norwich.”
Testani said talks with Preferred and the City of Norwich ultimately led to the CCIDA’s decision to purchase the building and lease it back to its sister organizations, Commerce Chenango and the Development Chenango Corporation, in a move that Testani says “makes more financial sense.”
The CCIDA has signed a purchase agreement of $175,000. The agency aims to close on the building in the next 30-60 days.
Presently, Commerce Chenango, the CCIDA, and the Development Chenango Corporation are located in a leased space at 15 S. Broad St. in Norwich. However, proprietors of that building are exploring renovations for apartment units on the upper floor which would require access to the elevator located in the middle of Commerce Chenango offices.
“We had been talking to them about potentially reconfiguring our office space which would incur costs and expenses for either us or them, and it would require us to extend our lease agreement in order to be fair to them as landlords,” Testani explained. “In all my efforts to try to understand how we can maintain a stable organization, we want to make sure that the Chamber has a good solid home. Having these conversations with the IDA to purchase the Preferred building and leasing back to the Chamber, we can do that.”
Testani outlined plans of Commerce Chenango to locate their offices downstairs in the Preferred building and make it a hub of business information for Chenango County. Meanwhile the upstairs could be leased out and used for incubator space for start-up businesses.
The agency is still exploring other options for the best utilization of the second floor space.
“We’re trying to have our buildings fit the intended mission of the organization,” Testani said. “The IDA’s mission to help incubators and startups fits beautifully with that upstairs … There’s all kinds of potential opportunities to utilize the upstairs and I’m excited to explore those possibilities”
Scrivener acknowledged the pitfall of removing a commercial property from the city’s tax roll in favor of handing it over to a nonprofit entity, like the CCIDA. The building carries a full market value of $984,500 on the 2024 tax rolls, with a tax bill of nearly $10,000 that would be a loss for the city. On the other hand, he said there’s also some benefit to letting a branch of Commerce Chenango take control of the building.
“If we look at what we may be able to do with that building, which is to create space for business development, I think that would be very beneficial to assist entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground,” Scrivener said.
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