Chinese businessman buys again, hotel possible at ex-nursing home

OGDENSBURG — Chinese businessman James Ma has added a third Route 37 property to his local real estate portfolio, this time buying a former nursing home where he has tentative plans to open a hotel.

Mr. Ma said Monday he has a deal pending to buy the former United Helpers Cedars Nursing Home, 6695 Route 37, in the town of Oswegatchie. He declined to say how much he paid for the two-story, 29,046-square-foot property on the St. Lawrence River, but the property was listed for sale at $950,000 with Bruyere Chadwick Realty, Ogdensburg. It is assessed by the town at $1.5 million.

Mr. Ma, who plans to open an international, English-as-a-second-language school down the highway at the former Academy at Ivy Ridge, said the former nursing home has lodging potential.

“Maybe it’ll be a hotel,” he said. “It’s not really 100 percent yet.”

If the building is converted to a hotel, Mr. Ma said, it will not open until sometime in 2013.

He said the deal isn’t expected to be final for him until October. That’s because the Ogdensburg-based United Helpers continues to use the building for office space and for some of its services. Marketing and Communications Director Cinnamon M. Alberto said Monday the health services agency isn’t yet sure where those functions will relocate after the transfer.

Mr. Ma also owns the former Sholette’s restaurant, which faces Route 37 at 1000 Linden St. He plans to open an authentic Chinese cuisine eatery there, as well as to expand the property to include specialty shops.

Mr. Ma said contractors will be on site at the former school for troubled youths to begin renovations “when it gets warmer — It’s too cold.”

The Chinese entrepreneur paid $1,550,000 for the 238-acre property at 5428 Route 37. He said he expects to spend several million dollars on renovations which include new roofs, heating, and sewage and water systems.

The school, aimed at international high school seniors bound for college in the U.S., is set to open next fall with a projected enrollment of 500 students.

The former nursing home was built in 1967 and, according to the Bruyere Chadwick, is in good condition with full insulation and updated utilities.