State Gives “Conditional” OK to IBM Endicott Demolition Project

There's some progress reported in the long-running effort to remove several abandoned IBM buildings in Endicott.

Mayor Nick Burlingame said the New York State Historic Preservation Office has give "conditional approval" for the plan to demolish the structures on North Street.

The five buildings that are to be torn down are on the Huron Campus east of McKinley Avenue.

Phoenix Investors - a Milwaukee-based real estate company - wants to remove the structures to create a ten-acre shovel-ready site for new industrial development.

Burlingame said the state agency has stipulated that the buildings slated for demolition be photographed with the images uploaded to a website. That would enable people interested in the historic nature of the structures to view what they looked like before they came down.

The mayor said the village also must conduct a full review of the potential environmental impact of the demolition project.

Burlingame said he hopes the conditions set forth by the state can be met quickly. If they can, he believes the job of tearing down the buildings could start early next year.

Last December, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the state would provide $6 million for the demolition of 550,000 square feet of vacant space at the Endicott site.

The total cost of clearing the property has not been announced.

Chris Pelto, who oversees Huron Campus operations, could not be reached for comment on the latest developments involving the State Historic Preservation Office.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.