Brockport sees development of its "north end"

Brockport continues to see growth within the village's business district including development in the "north end" which recently celebrated the grand opening of two new retail stores under the same roof.

Brockport's Economic Development Coordinator Scott Winner announced the opening of Dollar General and FAB Books, two stores that are the latest in an onging series of new businesses to open on Brockport's busy North Main Street corridor.

The 13,000 square foot building located at 48/50 North Main Street, and owned by longtime local businessman Marv Duryea, was built in the early 1950s. The building originally housed a supermarket and a drug store and later a night club and then a light manufacturing business. Duryea has made renovations to the building including installation of a new facade, new windows, new heat and air conditioning systems and a completely renovated interior space.

Brockport Federal Credit Union is also in the midst of finishing the remodeling of its new home just off North Main in the building formerly occupied by NAPA Auto Parts. Owned and partially occupied by local electrical contractor Larry Goforth, this building, too, has undergone a dramatic transformation, inside and out.

Local businessman Charles Scarpulla gained the preliminary approval of the Village of Brockport Planning Board for his plans to demolish the wood frame structure at 7/11 North Main Street. The small wood frame building, which had been the location of a series of pizzerias in recent years, has stood on the site for nearly a century but is no longer structurally sound. Scarpulla plans to construct a new office building and move the Brockport office of his insurance agency into the space upon completion.

All this activity is in addition to the opening of Hackers Hot Spot Cyber Cafe last January. "We are very excited to see this kind of activity on North Main Street. It's a great addition to the long established businesses in the north end," Mayor Josephine Matela said.

Winner echoed the mayor's thoughts, saying, "We've come a long way in a short period of time. Last year we saw the tremendous growth in the number of new businesses in the historic business district on South Main Street. This year our efforts are beginning to pay off on North Main."

Currently, Winner said, there are less than a handful of retail space vacancies on North Main Street, and even fewer on South Main.