Historic Owego Building Acquired by Tioga County Land Bank

A Broome County developer has scrapped his plans to renovate a large commercial building in the heart of the village of Owego.

John Maczko had hoped to restore the historic three-story structure at 50 Lake Street but he has just sold the site to the Tioga County Property Development Corporation.

Tioga Trails Café had operated on the ground floor of the building for several years. Ten years ago, property owners George and April Swaney developed plans to convert the second and third floors into condominiums but that project never moved forward.

New York state approved a $1 million grant to support rehabilitation work at the building.

Maczko had been looking forward to restoring the site. He acquired the property for $110,000 in June 2023.

The developer hoped to make the first floor available for commercial space and planned to put four apartments on the second floor. He intended to stabilize the third floor for future residential use.

But Maczko said he wound up encountering challenges in dealing with the state Historic Preservation Office. After he was unable to resolve the issues with the agency, he abandoned the project.

The Tioga County land bank purchased the property for $400,000 in February.

The agency is working to stabilize the building and find someone to take on the challenge of restoring it.

The building had four floors when it was constructed in 1907. It was used as a 56-room hotel and had a J.C. Penney store on the ground floor.

Fire ripped through the structure in 1943. The top floor was eliminated and the interior to the third floor was removed after the blaze.

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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.