UTICA , N.Y.— As the revitalization of downtown Utica continues at a furious pace, it became clear to one Syracuse development company that all those new businesses meant there would be more people around that needed a place to live. Lahinch Group, LLC is in the final stages of an almost year-long certified historic renovation […]
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UTICA , N.Y.— As the revitalization of downtown Utica continues at a furious pace, it became clear to one Syracuse development company that all those new businesses meant there would be more people around that needed a place to live.
Lahinch Group, LLC is in the final stages of an almost year-long certified historic renovation of the former Utica Commercial Travelers of America Building that will add 32 new housing units to the market, as well as commercial space already home to one anchor tenant.
Salina-based Barton & Loguidice, D.P.C. became the building’s anchor tenant when it opened its newest office there in mid-May. The engineering, planning, environmental, and landscape-architecture firm leases nearly 8,000 of the available 10,000 square feet of commercial space on the first floor of the building. The Utica Observer-Dispatch plans to open its new office in the building in August.
The building, located at 70 Genesee St., is also part of the historic Bagg’s Square district, and Lahinch Managing Member Joseph Gehm said he could just see the potential and vision for that area.
The building is just down the street from Utica Coffee Roasting Co. and steps away from several restaurants. It’s a short walk or an even shorter commute to the new Wynn Hospital of the Mohawk Valley Health System that will open in downtown Utica next year. The building is also close to Routes 5, 5S, and 12 along with the Thruway, making it an ideal location for commuters.
“It’s a fantastic location,” he notes. That’s why he snatched up the building, which had been mostly vacant for several years, and began the renovation project last summer. Hueber Breuer Construction Co., Inc. and Morrisroe Lynn Development LLC, both of Syracuse, are Lahinch’s partners in the $10-million project. Bonacci Architects of Utica served as project architect.
The remainder of the building, which was mostly open-floor office space, has been converted into mostly one-bedroom apartments. “We’re going to have 32 apartments on floors two through five,” Gehm says. The units all have top-of-the-line kitchen cabinets and custom closets.
The building has two parking lots, and will also feature a fitness room, basement storage units, charging stations for electric vehicles, and a community room with a kitchenette.
“We expect to have folks moving in in mid- to late June,” Gehm adds. Lahinch is currently in the process of marketing the units to potential tenants.
“It’s been pretty well received,” Gehm says, adding that he expects to potentially fill the building by the end of summer.
A second development
Lahinch is already at work on a second building in Utica, this one at 600 State St., that will include 64 apartments along with a number of retail tenants. Brooklyn Pickle of Syracuse is already confirmed as a tenant, and Gehm hopes to make another tenant announcement soon.
“I think there’s a lot of promise for Utica,” Gehm says of his firm’s decision to take on projects there. “We’re very optimistic. You can just see it now.”
Citing the new hospital, the recently opened Wolfspeed silicon-carbide wafer fabrication plant, and the Nexus Center multi-surface sports complex under construction, Gehm said it’s hard to ignore the growth happening in the city.
“I think they’re doing all the right things,” he says.
Headquartered at 102 W. Division St. in Syracuse, Lahinch Group is a real estate and development company that also provides property management and brokerage services. The company operates a number of other mixed-use office and residential properties in the Syracuse area and has several more in development.