Chittenango man plans to convert Skaneateles village hall into retail, residential space

A Chittenango businessman soon will be the new owner of the Skaneateles Village Hall.

The village board Thursday voted 5-0 to accept the high bid of $830,000 made by Rick Moscarito.

Moscarito, president of Fingerlakes Luxury Homes Inc. in Chittenango, said he hopes to renovate the lakefront village offices for retail space on the first floor and living space on the upper floors. He is working with Skaneateles architect Robert Eggleston.

Weve been going around and around with ideas, but nothing is set in stone yet, Moscarito said. Whatever I choose to do with the building, its going to be absolutely beautiful and compliment the buildings surrounding it, in addition to preserving the historic look of the building.

Moscarito, 42, owns a development company, Ty-Cass Property Development, that renovates and constructs homes and commercial buildings in Central New York and the Finger Lakes region.

Moscarito, who spends his summers in Skaneateles, said he has renovated two homes in the village, one on Genesee Street and the other on Fennell Street. He also demolished and built another home on Fennell Street.

Those properties, along with two other homes on Owasco Lake about 10 minutes from Skaneateles are run under Fingerlakes Luxury Homes, Moscarito said. One of the properties on Owasco Lake has been renovated, while renovations are about to begin on the other, he said.

In 2007, Moscarito bought Chittenangos Hippie House mansion on Madison Street, and preserved the landmarks high ceilings, thick walls and Italian-style architecture before he moved his two consulting businesses there. The mansion, built in 1864, became known as the Hippie House because it was regularly occupied by bikers and transients.

We try to preserve the historic integrity of every building that we work on, Moscarito said.

The Skaneateles Village Board decided to sell its village offices at 46 E. Genesee St. to consolidate offices and put the building back on the tax rolls.

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Chittenango man plans to convert Skaneateles village hall into retail, residential space