Oswego has extended some deadlines concerning the redevelopment agreement for a $64 million project with apartments, retail and a restaurant at the old Alexander Lumber property downtown.
The move extends deadlines from June 9 to Sept. 7 for the Shodeen Group to secure financing and provide a construction schedule for The Reserve at Hudson Crossing, a mixed-used development with two six-story buildings.
The Geneva-based developer’s plans are to build luxury apartments on the upper floors of the buildings and commercial space for shops and a restaurant as well as two parking facilities with approximately 500 spaces that the village will own.
The property is in the Main Street and Washington Street tax increment financing district.
In 2016, village officials said the 2.38 acres at Washington and Adams streets was the largest vacant site in the downtown, and a development there could serve as a catalyst for the revitalization of the area.
To encourage private investment in the downtown, Oswego trustees established a tax increment financing district and subsequently purchased the 59 S. Adams St. property for $1.45 million as a way to give the village more control over its future.
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On Dec. 11, 2017, the village entered into a redevelopment agreement with Shodeen for the site.
Village Administrator Dan Di Santo said the request to extend the deadline is mainly due to the developer needing time to close negotiations with a financial institution and acquire additional properties on South Adams Street.
Di Santo said the project remains viable.
“Shodeen has recently received a strong commitment from a financial institution and we are confident that full financing is a few months away,” Di Santo told The Beacon-News in an email.
He said the village is not discouraged by the request for an extension to the redevelopment agreement. The developer was originally given six months. However, village officials said they are not surprised that finalizing the financing would take a few more months.
Di Santo said Shodeen is also in the process of revising plans for one of the buildings that could potentially add apartment units and additional public parking to the project.
“Through the financing process, we have discovered these changes make the project even more viable,” Di Santo said.
Di Santo said village officials anticipate the developer will return to the village’s Plan Commission next month to review the revised site plan while they secure the financing.
As part of the redevelopment agreement, the village and developer are working to create a construction schedule for the project. Di Santo said they will have a better idea of when the developer can break ground for the project when the financing is finalized.
Di Santo said Shodeen also requested the extension to purchase several parcels on South Adams Street.
“Before Shodeen can close on the village properties, they must close on the South Adams properties. Shodeen does not want to close on the South Adams properties until financing is fully secured and the project has a green light for construction,” he said.
The village’s investment in the $64 million project is roughly $7 million, all of which is eligible to be reimbursed to the village through money generated by future tax increment financing district projects.
The village plans to lease parking spaces in the development to apartment tenants. The facility will provide parking for the public as well.
Alexander Lumber was a long-time family-owned business that closed in 2006. The village in 2013 authorized the demolition of 24,000 square feet of buildings on the property.