Garnar: Plan Being Developed to Use Endicott Kmart Building

The future looks brighter for the abandoned Kmart building in the old Endicott Plaza.

The once-popular discount department store went out of business without holding a special sale due to the massive flooding that occurred nearly 15 years ago.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar said a developer wants to put the building back into use. He told WNBF News the unnamed developer is looking to get written agreements with prospective tenants.

Garnar said once there is a commitment from tenants, the county can move forward to secure some state funding that could be available for the project.

The county executive said $3 million to $4 million from previously-awarded Downtown Revitalization Initiative money earmarked for the area might be used to redevelop the old store. But that remaining money is available for a limited time.

Garnar declined to discuss the specific use being proposed for the Kmart building because it's "an active negotiation." He said "it would be a mixed-use purpose." He said there would not be a single entity using the site - "it's going to be a number of different things coming in."

He said "the important thing is the site would be cleaned up, the building would be renovated (and) it would be put back to active use."

Garnar said people would say "this is a really nice thing that happened here."

He said grant money will be needed to redevelop the property. That means there will have to be some cooperation between local and state government to make that happen.

Green Mountain Electric Supply of Vermont acquired the site for $1 million three years ago. But weeks later, the company learned the building could not handle the weight associated with the distribution center it planned to establish there.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A two-minute stroll around the abandoned Kmart store in what had been the Endicott Plaza.

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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 @bobjoseph.bsky.social on Bluesky or @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.