A new live music venue may open up in Downtown Binghamton.

Nate Levy, who plans to open the venue, grew up in Binghamton. He acquired a property on Court Street that was previously home to a CVS Pharmacy and plans to transform the property into an event space for the local community.

“I have a lot of good memories from growing up in Binghamton and a lot of friends I’m still in touch with from growing up in Binghamton,” Levy said in an interview with Pipe Dream. “So I guess I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for the town, the city. And I’ve been fairly fortunate in my career and so, on my list of things I thought about doing was, ‘What could I do to kind of help the city out at some point?’”

Levy had been searching for the right property to pursue this project for about four to five years. He finally settled on the Court Street location for its proximity to both Binghamton University and much of the local community.

Levy added that he plans to sell the building that is on the property and build the new venue on the parking lot portion of the site. In the future, he might partner with another developer to repurpose the former CVS building.

The music venue, which has a working title of “The Jynx,” will be an entertainment space that Levy hopes will be flexible to accommodate many different kinds of events, hosting everything from live bands and DJs to comedy shows and dance parties.

“I happen to have an interest in live music and I think live music and entertainment in general is something that can help stitch a community together and contribute to the cultural and economic wealth of an area,” Levy said.

He explained that he plans to turn the space into a location where touring bands will be interested in performing by installing a good sound and lighting system alongside other musical accommodations. Levy added that he wants the events to give people “things to do in town other than kind of hang out at the bars.”

“I read the different things that people post about the community and the University and stuff,” Levy said. “It feels like a recurring theme is like, ‘Yeah, it’s a good school. Binghamton is okay, but there’s not a lot to do.’ So I’m kind of hoping to work on the ‘not a lot to do’ problem.”

Levy plans to talk to the University eventually about the construction of his project, hoping that they will “get excited about it.”

He said that the response from city and county officials has been optimistic and supportive, as they hope the venue will be a cultural center for the city. Even though some people are reportedly “a little skeptical,” Levy described the community’s overall response as excited.

“I’m super excited about the new downtown venue,” wrote Ella Sperry, a junior majoring in economics. “I love going to see live music!”

Among the things Levy wants to sort out are funding sources for the project. However, he plans to fund most of the project out of pocket and plans to have the venue open as early as 12 to 18 months from now.

Levy’s family has lived in Binghamton for at least three generations. He now lives in Boston and is retired after spending his career as an investor in fixed income for institutional clients.

“I think we want to develop a community around events that people are comfortable going to and enjoy and recur on a regular basis, that you can start to build a little bit of a community and connections to,” Levy said.