Binghamton, NY According to Jeff Hyman of Hyman Hemispheric LLC, the firm has unveiled a proposal to redevelop one of the area’s most important and most underutilized properties into a regionally significant retail, food & beverage and hospitality project. The redevelopment will capture and enhance sales and hotel tax receipts in the local communities, create jobs, and dramatically improve a gateway to the city.
The project, currently referred to as “Southern Tier Gateway Plaza – Binghamton,” is located at the southeast corner of the exit 4 interchange in downtown off of I-81 and NY Rte. 17. The property is commonly known as the Stow Manufacturing site, referencing the name of an equipment manufacturing company that occupied and was active on the tract, and its buildings, for decades in the past. This project includes redevelopment within a targeted Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA).
The primary project components of the Southern Tier Gateway Plaza project include a 250,000 s/f regional retail plaza built out for end user tenants, national and regional alike; a 120-room hotel anchor for the retail plaza; and 1,350 parking spaces.
“The site represents a location at the highest traffic volume interchange in the entire Southern Tier,” said Hyman. “In fact, except for a few exits near the Downtowns of Syracuse and Albany, Exit 4 is, by far, the highest daily vehicle count in Upstate New York, and even well into Pennsylvania and New Jersey. From a development perspective, this presents a tremendous opportunity.”
The project location has had considerable development challenges including a lack of cohesive site control, lack of direct access from I-81/NY Rt 17 and Rt. 7 (Brandywine Expressway) into the site and environmental remediation needs. Hyman Hemispheric has addressed these challenges by securing and coordinating site control on the critical mass of the properties involved in the project, including the former DOT property currently owned by The Agency. In 2015, Hyman successfully applied to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation for entrance into the Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) which will assist in addressing a number of environmental remediation needs, and the NYS Department of Transportation has recently begun work on the exit 4 phases of the Prospect Mountain Construction Project, which will help to address direct access to the site as part of the larger regional transportation infrastructure project.
“This area of our community is ripe for revitalization and redevelopment,” said Senator Fred Akshar. “It’s great to see plans being submitted and I hope to see more transformative projects submitted like the one today.”
“This is an exciting project that will turn a blighted area into a development that will add jobs and needed tax revenue to the City,” said Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo. “This is a prime location for development, attracting residents along with travelers along the 17/81 interchange.”
“This is a perfect example of what can happen when the public and private sectors work together and shows that the economy in Broome County is turning the corner,” says Broome County Executive Debbie Preston. “This project will bring significant jobs and hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional revenue. We want to thank Hyman Hemispheric for their investment into the future of Broome County.”
“Thank you to Mr. Jeff Hyman and Hyman Hemispheric for their commitment to Broome County through this impressive development project,” said Broome County Legislature Chairman Daniel Reynolds. “Redeveloping blighted properties like the STOW site has been a top priority for my colleagues and I in the Legislature. I can’t wait to see the site when it is completed.”
“The STOW site is an example of a blighted and decaying former manufacturing site in need of a life-line,” said Kevin McLaughlin, executive director of The Agency. “Jeff has been committed to redeveloping this property and is doing the due diligence to make this a reality. This project will transform a significant gateway into Broome County and we look forward to working with him.”
Total project costs are approximately seventy million, including an application to the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council for approximately $7.9 million.
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