Apartments Proposed For Binghamton Parking Ramp

Binghamton's crumbling Collier Street parking garage could be redeveloped under a plan that calls for the addition of apartments and retail space.

Mayor Richard David says Vestal-based Newman Development Group has proposed a mixed-use project for the garage, which was constructed in 1960.

The plan calls for adding about 100 parking spaces, along with two floors of commercial and retail space. There also could be up to four floors of housing.

David says the proposal addresses the "needs of a seriously dilapidated parking structure."

City council has voted to seek $8 million in state funding that could be used for the project.

Newman Development would operate the housing and commercial space in the complex, which is being called "Collier Street Commons."

The garage currently has space for about 500 vehicles.

City officials six months ago ordered scaffolding be erected near the corners of the parking facility to protect pedestrians from falling concrete.

Some temporary shoring also was put in place inside the garage in areas that showed the greatest deterioration.

The city says urgent repairs for the parking ramp are expected to cost at least $1.3 million.