Construction starts on $26M Harbor View Square project in Oswego

OSWEGO — Construction crews have started work on a $26.2 million mixed-income, mixed-use housing development in downtown Oswego. 

The new development, called Harbor View Square, will provide 75 rental homes serving people with a range of income levels and offer 10,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space intended for small retail stores and restaurants. 

The development is being constructed on an underutilized, city-owned brownfield site located at the convergence of the Oswego River and Lake Ontario, according to a news release from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. Harbor View Square is a “priority project” of the City of Oswego’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI). 

Oswego was awarded $10 million in 2016 through the DRI, a statewide initiative to “boost local economies and foster vibrant neighborhoods.” Harbor View Square addresses several strategies identified in Oswego’s DRI plan, including infill development of underutilized space and creating new housing in the downtown area. Harbor View Square will also “activate the blocks between the heart of downtown and Lake Ontario, better connecting downtown Oswego to the lakefront and creating a more vibrant pedestrian environment,” the state contends.

The development’s location at 68 West First St. is the former home of Flexo Wire, a nationwide wire manufacturer and distributor. The long-vacant property was named a brownfield site by the state and will undergo remediation and cleanup under the Brownfield Cleanup Program.

Encompassing an entire city block, Harbor View Square will include a five-story building with 57 apartments and four ground-floor commercial spaces totaling 10,000 square feet. The development also includes 18 two-story townhomes. Eleven units will be set aside for persons with physical disability or traumatic brain injury. Apartments will range from affordable to low- and middle-income households. Nine apartments will be designated market rate.

Building amenities include a fitness center, rooftop terrace, resident lounge, media center, and conference room. Harbor View Square is within walking distance of Lake Ontario’s shorefront, downtown attractions, retail stores, and restaurants.

“The redevelopment of a brownfield site into an area that will anchor the ongoing revitalization efforts of Oswego’s downtown and waterfront will cement the forward momentum not only in the areas of community and economic development, but also addresses the critical need of providing quality housing opportunities for low-to-moderate-to-upper income families in the city,” Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow said in the release.

Barlow and other officials were on hand for the traditional hardhats and shovels groundbreaking ceremony at the construction site on Nov. 30.