BINGHAMTON — Renovation work is underway on the Ansco Camera Factory building in Binghamton in a nearly $30 million, mixed-use development project that started in early July. The project will redevelop the former factory into 100 market-rate lofts, including 85,000 square feet of commercial space. Hueber-Breuer Construction Co. Inc. of Syracuse is the construction manager […]
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BINGHAMTON — Renovation work is underway on the Ansco Camera Factory building in Binghamton in a nearly $30 million, mixed-use development project that started in early July.
The project will redevelop the former factory into 100 market-rate lofts, including 85,000 square feet of commercial space.
Hueber-Breuer Construction Co. Inc. of Syracuse is the construction manager on the project, says Matthew Paulus, president of Syracuse–based Paulus Development.
Paulus Development is “very comfortable” with historic preservation and looked for “underutilized assets” in Binghamton.
“… and preserving their history, preserving the actual structural and architectural integrity of the building and using those to be catalysts for change in the community,” says Paulus.
Dalpos Architects & Integrators of Syracuse is the designer on the project. Paulus owns the building under the entity Freewheelin Ansco, LLC.
“[Broome County] had owned the building and they were marketing the building for sale,” he added. He spoke from Syracuse in a phone interview conducted July 27.
Paulus Development acquired the building for $350,000 and the purchase closed at the end of June.
Empire State Development (ESD) on June 14 announced its support for the project, providing up to $2 million for the building’s adaptive reuse through the “Southern Tier Soaring” Upstate Revitalization Initiative.
The Syracuse office of the Community Preservation Corp. (CPC) provided the construction loan for the project. On its website, the CPC describes itself as a “consistent source of capital to underserved housing markets throughout New York City and in communities across the state.”
“Eighty percent of the hard construction costs were financed through the [close to $20 million] construction loan. The remainder was financed through private equity,” says Paulus. The project is also eligible for historic tax credits, he adds.
“Anchor development”
The nearly $30 million project will serve as the “anchor development” for the first-ward district in the city of Binghamton, ESD said. It’ll connect the central business district, Westside, and Southern Tier Health Sciences and Innovation Park in Johnson City.
The state expects crews to complete the project in late spring 2019, ESD said.
The four-story factory, located along Emma St. in Binghamton, is “historically associated” with the cigar-manufacturing trade and the camera and film industry, “two of Binghamton’s most important industries in the late 19th and early 20th centuries,” ESD said.
The building was originally designed and built in 1927 for the General Cigar Company. However, it was the “nationally prominent” Ansco Camera and Film Company that ran its manufacturing operations in the building from 1937 until the company closed its doors in 1977.
The building is a “significant” landmark in Binghamton with its prominent water tower a “long-time feature of the skyline,” ESD said.
Commercial tenants in the Ansco Camera Factory include E&M Power, a power-electronics technology company that designs and manufactures AC and DC advanced power emulators and custom power electronic products; Glowa Manufacturing Inc., a manufacturer of cable assemblies; Crystal-lyn Chemical Company, which develops and manufactures “custom, specialized high value fine chemicals,” its website says; and All Phase Electric & Maintenance Inc., an electrical contractor.
“We have our commitments for the commercial space [in] the project,” says Paulus.
In addition to the Ansco Camera Factory, Paulus Development similarly repurposed the former R.E. Dietz Lantern Factory in Syracuse, a project that features loft style market-rate apartments and commercial space.
The Preservation League of New York State selected the Dietz rehabilitation project for its “Excellence in Historic Preservation” award, ESD said. The Preservation League presented the award in a ceremony held in New York City last month.
Paulus Development started operations in October 2015 and has four employees as of Aug. 3. Its office is located at 225 Wilkinson St. in Syracuse in the Dietz Lantern Factory.
