A new entertainment venue will be making its way to downtown Binghamton in the near future, featuring a wide variety of art forms to create a “cultural magnet” in the Southern Tier.
Nathaniel Levy, of Newton, MA, was born and raised in Binghamton before moving to Massachusetts over 20 years ago. Despite the move, Levy still feels a strong connection to Binghamton and spends quite a bit of time in the city, as his family remains in the area.
Levy, 63, felt drawn to give back to his hometown, which is why he decided to purchase the property at 34 Court St. back in October 2025 in order to turn it into an events venue.
A fan of live music, Levy said Binghamton’s live music scene was bigger when he was growing up in the 1970 and 80s than it is now, which is something he hopes will change once the venue is open.
Along with simply bringing more live music to the area, Levy said a growing music scene could also have positive impacts both economically and culturally.
“In addition to just the immediate benefit of having shows and getting people out and getting people to come to town to see things, I think it just overall starts to make the place a more attractive place to live and do business,” Levy said. “So, it kind of has a snowball effect on the community.”
New Binghamton venue will feature art of all kinds
In order to achieve his overall goal of appealing to the entire community, Levy said he aims to bring in a variety of acts and art forms.
For the college kids, the venue hopes to feature DJ dance nights, electronic dance music nights and other acts tailored to the younger crowd. Other events will be tailored to different tastes in the community with local bands, comedy acts, jazz brunches, independent movie screenings, and even potentially MMA or boxing events as well.
“I think people will come forward with ideas that we haven’t even thought of,” Levy said. “I’m hoping that when we’re a little further along and it’s a little bit more real, people will start coming forward with the ideas that I’m not creative enough to think of.”
What to know about new Binghamton entertainment venue
Located at 34 Court St., the property formerly housed a CVS Pharmacy before it closed several years ago. Now, Levy said a “purpose-built event space” will be built where the parking lot is and the former CVS building will potentially be redeveloped into housing and commercial space.
The event venue itself, which has yet to be named, will ideally hold a max capacity of about 600 people — 400 people on the main floor and 200 people in the mezzanine.
The goal, Levy said, is to be small enough for 200 or so people to come out and listen to a local band while also being big enough for larger, regional bands who may bring in a larger audience.
While there are local venues in the area, Levy said there isn’t one that fits the same “niche” that he is aiming for, making it a unique contribution to Binghamton.
“The goal is not to be just another bar or nightclub,” Levy said. “The goal is to kind of do a broader range of activities that draw in a wide range of people from the community and from the university.”
When will the new Binghamton entertainment venue be open?
While architectural plans have been drawn up and discussions are happening with the county and the city, Levy said he is still in the early stages of the process.
Levy will be the primary funder of the project, he said, but he is also exploring potential redevelopment funding, which he hopes to have “clarity” on within the next six months, ultimately making the earliest opening date to about 18 months from February 2026.
Overall, Levy hopes the eventual opening of the venue will not only bring in people from within the community, but also outside of the Binghamton area as well, possibly creating a “cultural magnet” for the region.
This article originally appeared on Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Inside Binghamton native’s vision for new downtown entertainment venue
Reporting by Sunshyne Lynch, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin / Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin
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