Newman Development targets late 2018 for $28M+ mixed-use development in Binghamton

BINGHAMTON — Newman Development Group, LLC (NDG) expects to complete work in December 2018 on a more than $28 million, 170,000-square-foot, mixed-use development project in downtown Binghamton.

NDG on June 13 broke ground on the project at 50 Front St.

The multi-million dollar project will include commercial and retail space and will also feature “market-rate,” rental-housing options at the site, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced June 13.

Empire State Development (ESD) is providing Newman Development Group up to $3 million for the project through a capital-development grant.

The ESD grant sought to “encourage” Newman to “proceed with the project,” Cuomo’s office said.

“This critical investment will help create a new anchor for downtown Binghamton, supporting growth and helping to spur additional economic activity,” Cuomo said in a news release. “With the groundbreaking of this new project, we are laying the foundation for a stronger, more prosperous future for the entire region as the Southern Tier continues to soar.”

NDG, a Vestal–based real-estate development firm, has offices in New York, Pennsylvania, and California, according to its website.

To make way for the project, the developer demolished the former Sheraton Hotel, which had had been sitting vacant on the site since 2011.

The project is adjacent to the Chenango River, across from Binghamton University’s new downtown campus.

This stretch of Front Street will “no longer be defined by a towering, deteriorating eyesore,” Binghamton Mayor Richard David said in Cuomo’s release.

“Instead, with this project, a new multi-million-dollar mixed-use development will fortify the neighborhood and act as a catalyst for revitalization on this side of the river.

The city as a whole will benefit as another property returns to the tax rolls, more market-rate housing becomes available and more residents and businesses are drawn to the area.”

“This project is a perfect example of a private and public partnership working together to redevelop a blighted urban site,” Marc Newman, managing member of Newman Development Group, added.

The announcement complements “Southern Tier Soaring,” the region’s economic–development blueprint. The plan won a $500 million state investment through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative that Gov. Cuomo announced in December 2015.

Another NDG project
Past NDG projects include Twin River Commons (TRC), a student-apartment development that opened in July 2012, Cuomo’s office said.

The development is located within the primary business district of the City of Binghamton, adjacent to Binghamton University’s downtown center and about three miles from the main campus in Vestal.

TRC is privately developed and owned by NDG Student Living, which is part of Newman Development Group.

The property was also designed to “fulfill the community’s need” to draw more students into downtown, support the university’s nearby investment in the city, and “revitalize a blighted, environmentally distressed and archeologically sensitive site,” Cuomo’s office said.