County may acquire properties next to Cayuga Community College child care center

Aug. 23—With an eye on allowing Cayuga Community College to expand its child care program housed on Wall Street, the Cayuga County Legislature this week will vote on a resolution to purchase three properties next door.

Using funds from the college's Faculty Student Association and the State University of New York, CCC is looking to add two vacant parcels and one parcel with a building at 83-87 Wall Street.

The county would hold the titles to the property in trust for the college, just as it does for the child care center at 81 Wall St. The college cannot own property under state education law.

The CCC day care is housed at the former Neighborhood House child care center, which closed in 2016 amid financial struggles. CCC opened its doors there in 2019, with considerably more indoor space than its previous on-campus location allowed.

The new properties include one building, currently empty, that has been used for multiple commercial purposes over the years. It had most recently been home to the Auburn Moose Lodge chapter.

The purchase price for all three parcels would be $180,000, according to a resolution the CCC Board of Trustees approved in June to move forward with the acquisition. While the county would not be spending any money for the purchase, the Legislature must approve it because the county would be holding the property in trust for the college.

The Faculty Student Association committed $175,000 toward the project, and SUNY has agreed to match that amount.

At the June college trustees meeting, CCC President Brian Durant said the college can use the excess funding beyond what's needed to buy the properties on development of the new sites.

At this point, the new parcels' most immediate benefit would be additional parking, which is limited at the former Neighborhood House site.

"This acquisition allows us to have lots of longer-term flexibility, whether it be additional enhancements to the structure; parking flow and safety was always a concern given the parcel of land that was currently there," Durant said. "This is something we think is important for us."

The county will be buying the parcels from current owner Bowtak Inc. The three sites, including the parcel with the 3,260-square-foot building, have a combined full market value of $115,369, according to Cayuga County property records.

The county Legislature meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 24, in the sixth floor legislative chambers of the Cayuga County Office Building, 160 Genesee St., Auburn.

___

(c)2021 The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y.

Visit The Citizen, Auburn, N.Y. at www.auburnpub.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.