Resurrected Building Helps Stop Port Jervis Energy and Brain Drain, Says Owner
A downtown Port Jervis building that was collapsing and condemned in 2015 now houses several businesses, and tenants are beginning to occupy the 20 new apartments being completed upstairs. Energy efficiency is an aim for all, and one unit will be a test model for newer sustainability measures, says co-owner Jim Blanton.
“We haven’t advertised. People just call us about them,” said Blanton, who, with his partner Dan Radtke, acquired the 23,000 sf foundering building, 24-32 Front St., soon after it was condemned, with an expected demolition cost of $250,000. Certain of the potential of Port Jervis and invested in it, they were horrified at the idea of a hole in downtown.
They had a vision for the building that coincides fortuitously with the sustainability focus ascendant in the city after architect Jeremy Shannon launched the Carbon Positive Port Jervis 2026 initiative a few months ago. The goal is for Port Jervis to produce more energy than it takes from the grid by 2026.
The resurrected building, now called the Phoenix, may co-operate. Its walls, erected in 1878, have four layers of brick, to which insulation is being added consistent with building codes.
“Usually buildings just have a single layer of brick over a wood or, in big buildings, metal structure,” Blanton said. “Few have quadruple brick layers.”
Heat and air conditioning is provided by a heat pump, energy-efficient technology that draws warm air into the apartment in cold weather and draws it out in warm weather with a mini-split unit.
Blanton expects the eight second floor apartments to be complete by spring or summer. One is already occupied as is a downstairs apartment, and a third will soon be ready, he said. The third floor will have 11 apartments with lofts. The new plan is to make one a model for extra energy efficiency, with guidance from Shannon about technology and costs, tapping into Shannon’s expertise as well as supporting his city initiative. His ever-updating knowledge stems from being in charge of sustainability for all 1500 New York City school buildings.
“One of two mirroring apartments will have extra energy efficiency, so we can compare the outcome,” Blanton said. “It will cost a little more, but we won’t charge more. It’s an emergency. The world is burning.”
Apartment rents will range from $865 on the second floor to $1550 on the third floor, depending on shape and size, he said. He expects the final cost of the building renovation to be about $1.6 million.
“People used to assume the goal was to have a house in the suburbs with a golf course size lawn, but more youth and seniors want the nearby services, stores and restaurants,” said Blanton, who has several other rental properties in Port Jervis. “Half our tenants have moved out of a house, including three who sold their houses.”
He also noted that he was encouraged by the way more promising Port Jervis High School graduates are staying in the city rather than moving on after graduating.
“Some smart, educated youth are moving in because they love downtown, with the brewery, places to walk and shop,” Blanton said. “We’re stopping the brain drain.”
We are so lucky that Jim and Dan chose to move to Port Jervis from the city!--Julia Healy