CAZENOVIA, N.Y. (NCC News) — Just a few months back, the Cazenovia College campus was filled with hundreds of students, but this fall, the pavement on the campus is bare. Local businesses in the Village of Cazenovia, which is just a block from the campus, have been operating as usual, but say there is something missing.
“We don’t need them, but we do miss them. At least I do,” said Mark Viviano, the owner of Loka Leaf, a tea shop on Albany Street.
The school announced last spring that it would be losing its doors for good after 199 years in Central New York. School officials cited financial struggles as the main reason for the closure. It left nearly 800 students and 150 staff members without a campus.
Viviano said his tea shop has not been suffering from the closure, but there are fewer new faces around his store, especially on the weekends.
“When they had their open houses, people would come to Cazenovia to see if they wanted to come to school here. It brought families in on the weekends, so I think we miss that traffic. Also, the college brought in vendors and professors,” said Viviano.
Now, Cazenovia residents have questions about what will become of the campus. Hundreds of people filled a Hampton Inn ballroom on Route 20 Wednesday afternoon to hear proposals for the site. Ideas ranged from senior assisted living to a school for children with learning differences. Nothing has been decided for the site, as it is currently for sale and is being leased as a New York State Police Training Academy for the next two years.
“Right now, we’re just talking about concepts, so there’s still a lot of work to be done, but I’m encouraged at the level of interest both by individual community members and organizations,” said Lauren Lines, Executive Director of the Cazenovia Area Community Development Organization.
Lines said she hopes the development will continue to stimulate the village and town into the future. Whoever purchases the campus must let the two-year lease run with the State Police.
