July 11, 2015
Longtime eyesore getting ready for tenants
Bob Ellis/staff photographer
The city has waived registry fees for the building at 51-55 Main St. Cortland, owned byVasilios and Irene Pothos, which has been vacant since a 2005 arson.
CORTLAND — On Tuesday, the Common Council waived $3,000 in vacant building registry fees for the owners of51-55 Main St. the site of a 2005 arson that has been a long-standing eyesore for city residents.
The property is owned by Vasilios and Irene Pothos and because they completed much-needed facade work, the council waived the penalties.
Because of extensive interior work the owners have undertaken to restore the structure, the first floor is now ready for a business tenant. It is unclear if there are potential tenants ready to move into the building. Property manager Emmanuel Pothos was unavailable for comment Friday.
Previously, Brix Restaurant had planned to move into the building from its current location across the street; at the last minute, Brix renewed its lease at its current location.
The upper floors of the building, not yet ready for use, also will be available to tenants.
The renovation project was funded by a $200,000 state Main Street Development grant the council approved in October. The total project cost could not be determined by Friday.
City officials say the move to waive the fees demonstrates the council’s willingness to work with landlords who are making efforts to renovate vacantproperties.
In February, the council set a June 1 deadline for completing the facade work. Since the building owner met this deadline, council members could officially waive the fees.
The vote to waive the fees Tuesday was 5-1 with Alderman Julie Bird (D- 1st Ward) voting against the motion.
“I just don’t want to set a precedent,” Bird said. “To have everybody else who has a vacant building not pay their fees so that we can waive them in the long run.”
During the meeting, Mayor Brian Tobin said that waiving the fees on this project is not a guarantee that other properties would also have their fees waived. Each case will be reviewed on its own merits, he indicated.
Last year, the city passed a law to levy cumulative fines against the owners of vacant properties in an effort to encourage them to rehabilitate buildings left vacant for long periods of time. However, fees could also be waived if owners brought their buildings back into compliance.
City Director of Administration and Finance Mack Cook stressed during Tuesday’s meeting that it is not the city’s intention to make money from the vacant-building fines.
“The object ... was to provide an incentive for people to get these buildings back into productive reuse,” Cook said.
Rich Cunningham, senior consultant with Thoma Developments, who has been working with property manager Pothos on the project, said Wednesday that since the grant funds have been used, the city’s role in funding the building’s rehabilitation is finished.
Cunningham said development will continue on the property and the building is one step closer to going back into use.
“It doesn’t look like a vacant ... burned-out building anymore,” Cunningham said. “I think it should be rented out and occupied pretty soon.”
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