FIVE South College Drive is a newly constructed economic and business development center that is home to the new Southern Tier office of ABC Creative Group. The building also houses The Agency (Broome County IDA/LDC), the Alliance for Manufacturing and Technology, the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, the National Development Council, the New York Business Development Corporation, and Visions Federal Credit Union. (Photo by Adam Rombel/ BJNN)
UNION, N.Y. — Plans for the redevelopment of the former IBM Country Club site moved forward Wednesday when The Agency board of directors approved an option for purchase agreement between the Broome County Local Development Corp. and the development team of Conifer Realty and LeChase Construction. The planned project would transform the space into affordable housing and green space.
The purchase-option agreement enables Conifer to begin a 90-day due diligence period and prepare a competitive application for housing tax credits from New York State’s Office of Homes and Community Renewal. The Agency selected Conifer through a request-for-proposal process in the fall of 2021, and the proposed sale price of the property at 4301 Watson Boulevard is $300,000.
Confier’s proposed development will transform the site into a 75-unit affordable housing complex featuring units at affordable or “workforce” housing costs between 30 and 90 percent of area-median income. All units in the three-story complex will be ADA-compliant, and there will be 18 one-bedroom apartments, 38 two-bedroom apartments, and 19 three-bedroom apartments. Ten percent of the units will be fully adapted for those with mobility impairments and four percent will be adapted for those with hearing or visual impairments. The proposed design also includes plans to make the facility completely carbon neutral.
The development team also proposed the inclusion of community greenspace along the southwest corner of the site and plans to begin engaging with the neighboring community in the spring.
“I am excited to being a new chapter at the former IBM Country Club site,” Stacey Duncan, CEO of the Leadership Alliance, a strategic partnership between The Agency and the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce, said in a release. “The team at Confier have a successful track record of completing high-quality affordable housing projects and have committed to integrating the history of this site into its design. In addition, this project will continue to advance efforts to address the need for new and modern affordable housing.”
“This is an exciting new chapter for the former IBM Country Club property, bringing in 75 much-needed units of affordable housing,” said Broome County Executive Jason Garnar. “What was once a destination for thousands of families in our community has turned into one of the county’s biggest eyesores.”
He added that the availability of federal America Rescue Plan funds makes redeveloping the site possible.
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