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| Liz Rose, left, and Karey Foster of Oneonta Realty discuss plans for the ground floor with Mickle. |
One of downtown Oneonta’s largest empty buildings is a beehive of activity these days, as new owners seek to renovate its 11 apartments by June 1 and create a shopping mall on its ground floor.
Vacant for seven years, the property is the former Resnick Furniture building – it originally was the downtown J.C. Penney – at Main and Ford, across from City Hall.
It was purchased Wednesday, April 6, by Peter Clark and Ron Mickle, longtime associates in creating housing for students, in a foreclosure sale. Clark also bought the former Samson Furniture building, 9-15 Elm Street, Mickle said.
The total price for the two properties was $511,000, according to county Real Property Tax Services.
“I’m thrilled,” said Mayor Dick Miller. Clark “is a well-known Main Street operator. He is one of the best apartment operators we have. It cried out for new ownership and development.”
During a walk-through with Mickle the other day, crews from Roseboom Brothers, the Schenevus contractor, were at work throughout the bright, skylight-dotted second-floor, replacing kitchen appliances and counter tops, doing general repairs and painting. (The building had been re-roofed by the previous owner.)
There are three one-bedroom apartments and eight two-bedroom apartments on the upper floor of the two-story, low-slung yellow-brick building. Already, eight of the rentals are “locked in,” and conversations are underway with tenants for another two, Mickle said.
There is parking behind the building, not enough for everyone, but the city lot between Deitz and Ford is a half-block away.
“It’s in great shape,” said Mickle, who operates United Student Rentals with his wife, Jennifer, managing 38 buildings in the city, 200 beds in all. Clark, of Peter Clark Student Rentals, hired Mickle to handle maintenance in 1992, and the two men eventually began collaborating on projects.
Meeting on the 7,500-square-foot ground level with Liz Rose, Oneonta Realty general manager, she said the plan is to build 20- by 20-foot units for shops around a central food court. Windows will be added on the Ford Street wall.
Rose, accompanied by Karey Foster, her office manager, said she is already lining up clients – the plan lists a chocolate shop, a dress store, an art gallery – and hopes to have the mall functioning by early summer as well.
The building had been tied up in a lengthy proceeding brought by Fannie Mae, which prevented its sale and redevelopment. The Bank of Cooperstown is handling the financing for the partners.
While acknowledging this is a positive development for the downtown, the mayor was able to tick off a list of other properties in need of redevelopment, beginning with Bresee’s. (Developers have been solicited, and a contract could be let in the next several days.)
Java Island, a half-block west from the Resnick building, also needs work. And the lot between Foothills and Ristorante Stella Luna was recently cleared and is available for development.
The vacant second and third stories above Key Bank, owned by Sarkisian Brothers, the Binghamton developer, are also a matter of concern, Miller said.
At one point, City Hall had identified funds to install an elevator, which would have made the upper floors ADA compliant. While that money is no longer there, “if Mr. Sarkisian were interested in doing something upstairs that required an elevator, I certainly would put my shoulder to the wheel to find those funds,” Miller said.
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| Jim Kevlin/HOMETOWN ONEONTA Ron Mickle inspects progress in a second-floor apartment in the former Resnick building. Jim Connington of Jefferson spackles. |
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| Peter Clark got this Elm Street building as part of the package. |
A very positive story. Thank you for running it.
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