By ANDY GARDNER MASSENA -- Talks with developers have stalled after months and months of talk that a Dick’s Sporting Goods would be coming to town, but the mayor isn’t ruling it out. “I remain …
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By ANDY GARDNER
MASSENA -- Talks with developers have stalled after months and months of talk that a Dick’s Sporting Goods would be coming to town, but the mayor isn’t ruling it out.
“I remain optimistic at some point we’ll get back to the negotiating table,” Mayor Tim Currier said. “Nothing has happened. The project hasn’t moved forward.”
The project was contingent upon the Harte Haven Plaza owners buying the Massena Arena annex, tearing it down and renting it to Dick’s. The plaza is owned by Michael Wachs and a partner whose full name Currier could not remember and identified as Mr. Goldstein.
“We were in discussions and negotiations with them and it hasn’t worked out,” Currier said.
He said they weren’t able to come to terms on a price.
“I’m going to avoid being specific on any numbers because we may encounter more negotiations on that property,” Currier said.
In July of last year, then-Mayor James Hidy said the 1.3-acre property is assessed around $1 million.
Currier said if they can hash out a deal with Wachs and Goldstein, there’s still a lot of red tape to cut through.
“That’s Greenbelt preservation property. It’s been designated as park land by New York State,” Currier said. “For us to sell that requires approval from the (state) Assembly, Senate and the governor.”
He said to get the votes, they will have to get fair value and replace the Greenbelt land.
“You’ve got to replace it with property that isn’t currently public property,” Currier said.
Speculation of Dick’s coming to Massena started as early as January 2013. Syracuse leasing firm Spinoso Real Estate Group had been trying to attract Dick’s and Kohl’s to the St. Lawrence Centre mall.
In May of that year, Dick’s made an official announcement that they would open a store in the former TJ Maxx, but the deal fell through.