Endicott Kmart Plaza Redevelopment Project Scrapped
A Vermont company will not move forward with its plan to turn an abandoned Endicott shopping center into a distribution facility.
Green Mountain Electric Supply acquired the former Kmart Plaza property between Vestal Avenue and Harrison Avenue for $1 million less than three months ago.
The company had intended to redevelop the 17-acre site south of East Main Street. The goal was to set up at 100,000-square-foot distribution hub by December 1.
Luc Choquette, Green Mountain Electric Supply vice president of operations, in March said he expected construction work would start soon. Test borings were being conducted inside and outside the former Kmart building by a crew from a Pennsylvania company.
But the project has now been scrapped. Endicott Mayor LInda Jackson said the state Department of Environmental Conservation had determined the existing foundation inside the structure would be inadequate for the Green Mountain facility.
Jackson told WNBF News that the additional work that would have been required to use the building could have doubled the cost of the planned facility.
The mayor said the company remains interested in developing the distribution center in Broome County. She said she believes Green Mountain is looking at an alternate site in Kirkwood.
Choquette could not be reached for comment on the new developments.
Jackson said she's disappointed that Green Mountain will not set up operations in Endicott. She said "they were going to be a very nice addition to the village."
The mayor said she doesn't know what might happen with the site, which has been unused since the Kmart store suddenly closed its doors due to the September 2011 flood.
Jackson said the village would still be able to use state money that had been awarded five years ago for demolition of what remained of the old shopping center.
Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.