56 Apartments Planned for Binghamton’s Centre Plaza Office Tower

A residential redevelopment project is in the works for an eight-story commercial office building in downtown Binghamton.

The 50-year-old Centre Plaza complex at Chenango and Henry streets is mostly vacant these days.

The owner, James Slocum of Conklin, has revealed plans to convert the place into apartments.

Slocum told the Binghamton planning commission that he is seeking approval to develop 56 dwelling units with a total of 80 bedrooms. He said only the interior of the building would be changed with no alterations planned to the structure's exterior.

Slocum said the building now is less than 30 percent occupied. The Binghamton Veterans Center is located on the street level of the complex.

Hulbert Engineering and Land Surveying has its offices on the eighth floor of the tower. The company is planning to move out of downtown Binghamton by the end of this year.

Last December, Slocum presented a similar office conversion proposal to the city planning commission. The plan called for developing 66 apartments in an eight-story building at 59 Court Street. That project was put on hold, although Slocum said he still regarded the concept as "a great idea" for the property.

Slocum could not be reached for comment Tuesday to discuss his vision for turning downtown office building into residential space.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.