New “Interest” Reported in Old Endicott Kmart Site

There might be some new hope for redeveloping the abandoned Kmart building in Endicott.

The department store in what once was a busy shopping plaza in the village has been idle for more than 14 years.

The Kmart location had been doing well enough to remain open during a time when the struggling chain was closing stores. But the place went out of business suddenly when the the building was damaged by floodwaters in September 2011.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said a few people have called him in recent weeks to express an interest in the site, which is located between Vestal and Harrison avenues.

In a WNBF News interview, Garnar declined to identify those who might want to do something with the 18-acre property which for decades was known as the Endicott Plaza.

The county executive also would not describe the type of development that may be under consideration for the site.

Garnar said "it's a very promising prospect." He said there have been "a couple of potentially-serious inquiries" about the property.

He said "the interest is picking up" in the Endicott site. He said he hopes "we can get everybody together to do a really nice project there and clean the site up."

Garnar conceded "it's a very difficult site to work on." But, he added, "in the last month I've been much more optimistic" in terms of what prospective developers have discussed with him.

The property now is owned by Green Mountain Electric Supply of Vermont. The company paid $1 million for the site nearly three years ago with plans to use the building for a distribution facility.

The company scrapped that project after it discovered the existing floor in the old store would not support the material it planned to have at the site.

Luc Choquette of Green Mountain Electric Supply did not return a call seeking comment about the company's efforts to find a buyer for the property.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.