Crews finish transforming school into $22 million Endicott Square housing development

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Workers have completed a $22 million renovation of the “underutilized” Henry B. Endicott School building into 61 affordable apartments in the village of Endicott in Broome County.

Now known as Endicott Square, the development includes 15 apartments for formerly homeless families who will have access to on-site supportive services, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul announced.

The Greater Binghamton Fund of the Southern Tier Regional Economic Development Council named the building’s redevelopment a “priority project.”

State financing for the development came through the New York State Homes and Community Renewal’s (NYSHCR) allocation of federal and state low-income housing tax credits that generated $15.9 million in equity and an additional $2.4 million in subsidies. The Greater Binghamton Fund awarded $3 million for the project through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative.

Norwich–based NBT Bancorp (NASDAQ: NBTB) provided additional financing, Hochul’s office said in a news release.

“This is exactly the type of project we envisioned when the Greater Binghamton Fund was announced,” Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said. “Affordable housing continues to be needed throughout our community and these 61 units, including ones that are fully accessible and others that are designated for homeless individuals, continue our commitment to filling this gap. I appreciate the great work by NYSHCR, as well as our other state and local partners to transform another legacy building into a project that benefits the entire community.”

About the project

Endicott Square consists of 43 one-bedroom apartments and 18 two-bedroom apartments. Fifty-one apartments are affordable to households earning at or below 60 percent of the area median income (AMI) and 10 apartments are for households earning up to 90 percent of the AMI. There are seven fully accessible and adapted apartments for individuals with mobility impairments and three fully accessible and adapted apartments for individuals with hearing or visual impairments.

Fifteen households will have access to on-site supportive services provided by the YWCA of Binghamton and Broome County. About $375,000 in annual funding for services is provided by the Empire State Supportive Housing Initiative and administered by the New York State Office of Mental Health.

Building amenities include a common laundry facility, bulk storage, community room, playground and an outdoor patio. Endicott Square is located in a residential neighborhood with commercial businesses and retail stores nearby. The two-story 77,000 square-foot Henry B. Endicott School was originally constructed in 1927.