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Pat Scutari, chief operating officer for , told Ë®¹ûÅÉAV the Syracuse-based real estate developer is set to close on the newspaper's shuttered 25 Dill St. building before the end of the month. The developer plans to renovate the building into Dill St. Commons, a mix of retail, office, medical and possibly restaurant space, with hopes of opening in early 2026.

The building's current market value is $660,133, according to Cayuga County property records.

Construction on the 26,000-square-foot development is anticipated to begin in July, Scutari said, and last six to eight months.

"It gives us an opportunity to create a redevelopment and adaptive reuse of a property in a real kind of unique setting. It's in a prime location with billboard-style signage exposure for the tenants," he said. "It also gives us an opportunity to mesh our project into the urban core of a city center."

The developer is no stranger to Auburn, where its properties include Ë®¹ûÅÉAV's current location, Seminary Commons. The newspaper moved out of the Dill Street building in 2021 after 51 years there. The Seminary Street development is also home to Achilles Heel Training, 3 Leaf Tea and Zen Den Studio, and more businesses.

Scutari said Washington St. Partners focuses on sustainable development and trying to use as much of existing buildings as possible, and Dill St. Commons will be no exception. The developer intends to preserve the integrity of the building while elevating the finishes to provide "unique" and "prominent" spaces for local and regional tenants, it said in a news release.

The developer went on to say the building will also be "truly four-sided," with several entranceways and walkable access from downtown Auburn. Architectural plans include enhancing the exterior by installing translucent glass for natural light, several glass front entrances, and polished concrete floors, high exposed ceilings and spiral ducts throughout the interior.

The former press room will act as a two-story atrium, where Washington St. Partners plans "a potential food hall concept, or small retail concept with larger retailers around the perimeter," Scutari said.

"We believe strongly in Auburn as a market," he continued. "The people are great and working with the city on past and current projects has been exceptional."