Vote to improve upkeep of “rough” Clemens Square in downtown Elmira

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – Clemens Square, located in the heart of Elmira’s business district, is overgrown with weeds and littered with trash. On Monday the city council will vote on a new agreement to pay a developer $1,000 a month to take over daily maintenance duties.

“It’s an area that I think is critical to the continuation of building out downtown,” said Mike Krusen, Director of Development for Capriotti Properties, as he addressed a workshop meeting of the Elmira City Council. “If you’ve been over into that space, you know, it’s rough right now, it’s overgrown. There’s a lot of weeds and sidewalks. There’s a lot of garbage that’s left there every day, so it certainly would be tough for your crews to get there on a daily basis, but we are prepared to provide that service if we’re able to enter to this agreement.”

The city owns the square and says it does provide maintenance. However, Mayor Mandell told 18 News city crews are understaffed and can’t keep up with the work required to clean the square daily. The city would pay a maximum of $12,000 a year to “100 Clemens Square LLC.” Capriotti Properties will cover any additional costs.

The agreement is part of a larger effort between the city and “100 Clemens Square LLC.” The limited liability corporation owns the storefronts on the ground floor of the Centertown Parking Garage. The formerly vacant spaces are being redeveloped by Capriotti Properties.

One of the projects under construction is a new brewery and arcade style bar called “Centertown Social.” The developers are planning to use Clemens Square as part of the new layout, which includes a new rooftop deck. Krusen says Centertown Social will also be using the outdoor stage for live music. Inside, the space will have golf simulators and arcade games. Centertown Social is expected to open next spring.

“Our view is businesses certainly have a responsibility to maintain their storefronts and certain sidewalks in front of their storefronts. But this is more than that,” Krusen told Mayor Mandell, City Manager Mike Collins and council members Thursday at a workshop meeting.

“This is really all of Clemens Square, as well as that space between the Iszard’s building and the parking garage. Your troops, your folks, your Building & Grounds Department, I think it’s fair to say, are probably overwhelmed by their responsibilities,” Krusen said.

“They have hundreds of acres of parkland in addition to other facilities. So, our proposal is simply to provide that service on behalf of Capriotti Properties at one Clemens Square through a license agreement that John Ryan and our attorney have put together.”

“What we’re proposing is that we’ll maintain that entire area both summer and winter. All of the landscaping, all of the garbage removal, snow and ice removal for a fee of $1,000 a month,” Krusen added.

“So, the question certainly is, is it worth it for you folks. Of course, we think it is. We’ve done some pricing. Just the landscaping itself for the first year would be $20,000. That doesn’t include any of the winter service or any of the snow and ice removal for the winter or the garbage area, and then a monthly fee of 1450 for six months during the summer months. So, you can see that the rate that we’re suggesting doesn’t cover all of the expenses, and we’re more than prepared to pick up the additional cost through that partnership with you.”

One business, a co-working space called “Elmira Works” opened on the ground floor of Centertown Garage last year. Capriotti Properties is also planning a new tapas-style restaurant at the former Deister & Butler jewelry store. Capriotti is also redeveloping the former Iszard’s department store into new apartments in the upper floors, and a food-court style eatery on the ground floor. The plan is for the food court space to have an opening that connects to Clemens Square. Capriotti is also planning a new Italian Deli & Bakery next to Iszard’s on North Main Street, by the entrance to Clemens Square.

Capriotti Properties also owns the Mark Twain Building. The former Mark Twain Hotel just went through the first major apartment renovations in 50 years .

The city is also working on fixing the elevators at the Centertown Garage. All three have been down for at least a year-and-a-half, when 18 News first reported on the issue at the garage in April of 2023. Thursday, Mayor Mandell told 18 News the city is still going through the bidding process with contractors.

A June vote to pay for fixing two of the three broken elevators was postponed. A resolution on the June 3rd agenda of the Elmira City Council called for authorizing an agreement with the “ Otis ” elevator company for “updates and upgrades” at $192,998.11 for each elevator.

City Manager Collins told 18 News the vote was withdrawn after the city was notified that it needed to bid out the contract for repair work, according to New York State General Municipal Law. “Purchasing notified us prior to the meeting; therefore, it was pulled,” Collins told 18 News on June 5th. “We will in the very near future have this back on a future agenda,” Collins said.

Thursday, Mayor Mandell confirmed plans are also moving forward to install new security cameras inside the Centertown Garage, including the elevators and stairwells. Krusen said Capriotti Properties also plans to install outdoor security cameras at Clemens Square.

Monday’s City Council meeting is at 5:30 at City Hall.

You can watch Mike Krusen’s full presentation to the city council below:

You can read the full resolution for the agreement below:

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