OGDENSBURG — A final real estate transaction may hopefully pave the way for the Massachusetts-based commuter airline Cape Air to open a ticket office downtown.
Watertown optometrist Dr. Noaman Sanni recently closed on his $350,000 purchase of the former U.S. post office at 420 Ford St. from the Ogdensburg Growth Fund Development Corp. He opened one of his Center for Sight eye care offices there in April 2011.
The final price is actually $245,000. Interim City Manager Philip A. Cosmo said Wednesday that Dr. Sanni asked for extensions on his original purchase offer while he arranged for financing to close the deal.
From the time his practice occupied the building, Dr. Sanni paid the Growth Fund $5,000 a month rent, which amounted to $105,000. That will be deducted from the $350,000.
Now that the building’s ownership has been settled, attention has shifted to the possibility of a lease agreement between Dr. Sanni and the airline for an undetermined amount of space for the ticket office. Center for Sight occupies 4,400 square feet of the 13,000-square-foot building.
Cape Air officials have said they prefer 420 Ford St. because of its center of downtown location and proximity to Ogdensburg International Airport, where it schedules flights. But last month, with the closing on the purchase not yet final, the airline’s vice president for planning, Andrew Bonney, said he was willing to look elsewhere in Ogdensburg for a ticket office site.
Told of the purchase closing, Mr. Bonney said Cape Air still likes the address.
“We’re still interested in 420 Ford St., but will keep all options open,” he said.
Jacqueline B. Donohoo, the airline’s Northeast marketing manager, is also optimistic.
“Hopefully, this brings us closer to signing a lease,” she said. “If Dr. Sanni plans for renters, we hope we can rent one of his open spaces.”
So does Mayor William D. Nelson, who is chairman of the Growth Fund.
“I see a hub of small businesses,” he said of the vacant space at 420 Ford St. “It’s a positive for the community.”
Dr. Sanni was unavailable Wednesday for comment.
The final price is actually $245,000. Interim City Manager Philip A. Cosmo said Wednesday that Dr. Sanni asked for extensions on his original purchase offer while he arranged for financing to close the deal.
From the time his practice occupied the building, Dr. Sanni paid the Growth Fund $5,000 a month rent, which amounted to $105,000. That will be deducted from the $350,000.
Now that the building’s ownership has been settled, attention has shifted to the possibility of a lease agreement between Dr. Sanni and the airline for an undetermined amount of space for the ticket office. Center for Sight occupies 4,400 square feet of the 13,000-square-foot building.
Cape Air officials have said they prefer 420 Ford St. because of its center of downtown location and proximity to Ogdensburg International Airport, where it schedules flights. But last month, with the closing on the purchase not yet final, the airline’s vice president for planning, Andrew Bonney, said he was willing to look elsewhere in Ogdensburg for a ticket office site.
Told of the purchase closing, Mr. Bonney said Cape Air still likes the address.
“We’re still interested in 420 Ford St., but will keep all options open,” he said.
Jacqueline B. Donohoo, the airline’s Northeast marketing manager, is also optimistic.
“Hopefully, this brings us closer to signing a lease,” she said. “If Dr. Sanni plans for renters, we hope we can rent one of his open spaces.”
So does Mayor William D. Nelson, who is chairman of the Growth Fund.
“I see a hub of small businesses,” he said of the vacant space at 420 Ford St. “It’s a positive for the community.”
Dr. Sanni was unavailable Wednesday for comment.
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