Two Kmart Buildings: Endicott Has A Future, Binghamton Does Not

A pair of structures in Broome County that were home to popular department stores for several decades are facing different fates.

The city of Binghamton now is moving forward with plans to demolish the old Kmart building on the North Side.

But several miles to the west, there is new hope that for abandoned Kmart building in Endicott can be put back into use.

Broome County Executive Jason Garnar believes there is a future for the old department store site in what had been the Endicott Plaza.

The Kmart store shut down suddenly - without a going out of business sale - when the plaza property was inundated with water during the massive flooding in September 2011.

Less than three years ago, Garnar said he want the abandoned building demolished because it had become a "run-down eyesore." But the county executive lately has said it might be salvaged and prospective developers have expressed an interest in the site.

Garnar told WNBF News Monday that he "was just having a conversation with one of those developers last week about it."

During a live on-air interview, he said "nobody has made any final decisions" on using the building "but there is interest in the site."

The county executive said there's still $3 million or $4 million "left from the Downtown Revitalization Initiative" that the state awarded to the village of Endicott.

That money was earmarked for Endicott several years ago "and the window is starting to close - probably at the end of the year" on the possibility of using the remainder of those funds.

Garnar said he's been working with state officials to try to keep the money available to possibly support redevelopment of the Endicott Kmart site which, he said, "needs a lot of work."

He said the building appears to be generally sound, although it will need a new roof.

Green Mountain Electric Supply of Vermont paid $1 million for the Endicott Plaza property in February 2023. The company planned to use the building as a distribution center. The plans were scrapped when it was discovered the existing floors could not accommodate the weight of the material that was to be store at the site.

WNBF NEWS VIDEO: A look inside the closed Binghamton Kmart store in February 2023.

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