One of Liverpool’s most historic buildings, the A.V. Zogg Building at 800 Fourth St., has been sold by its current owner, the Liverpool Community Church.
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, Joe Frega, chairman of the church’s Exit Committee, informed village officials that the new owner was in no rush to make changes to the former high school building.
“Joe informed me that the new owner is planning to keep the building as is for about a year, with the same occupants,” said village Codes Enforcement Officer Bill Reagan. “Liverpool Community Church will be completely moving out once their new site is ready.”
Deputy Village Clerk Sandra Callahan identified the new owner as Dr. Pramote Nakornthab, a professor of political science retired from Cornell University. He is listed at LinkedIn.com as president of First Global Community College in Nongkhai, Thailand.
“We understand that he’s interested in operating a prep school in Liverpool for students planning to enter Syracuse University,” said Joe Ostuni Jr., chairman of the village planning board.
The purchase price has yet to be announced.
After 10 years of ownership, Liverpool Community Church put the building up for sale 14 months ago.
The two blocks of property bounded by Fourth, Sixth, Birch and Hickory streets was handled by the Pyramid Brokerage Co., representing Cushman & Wakefield, a New York City real-estate firm.
“The new owner has lawn and other maintenance care in place and will be opening the playground [located along Hickory Street] shortly, once they have insurance in place,” Reagan said.
Nakornthab is expected to contact Reagan within a couple weeks and eventually make a presentation to the village planning board regarding the property’s future uses.
“We need to see a detailed site plan for the entire property,” Ostuni said.
The 86-year-old brick building was originally constructed in 1928 to house Liverpool’s junior and senior high schools. The structure’s adjacent ball fields stretch two blocks north to Sixth Street.
The Liverpool Community Church, a Free Methodist affiliate, purchased the property in 2003 from the Liverpool Central School District, which had been housing its administrative offices there since the early 1980s. The church paid $5,000 for the property and formally pledged to make $404,000 worth of needed repairs, including a new front door, an elevator and renovated offices and classrooms.
The church finalized its purchase in October 2003 and later moved from 7570 Oswego Road in Clay to the village location.
The village planning board negotiated an agreement in which the LCC affirmed its willingness to allow “access to the building for reasonable uses by community groups.” The village board of trustees, then headed by Mayor Marlene Ward, requested that the church maintain the green areas north of the building.
