By Jolene Cleaver, The Oneida Daily Dispatch

ONEIDA >> A new year, a new home.

In early January, Costello Sr. – Allen Eye Associates and Costello Eye Physicians & Surgeons will both be moving into the Oneida Plaza building at 131 Main St. in Oneida.

The second floor will house an expanded space for the practices – more than 11.000 square feet compared to the roughly 6,000 square feet now occupied in the space across Route 5 from Oneida Healthcare.

Both practices expect to move in Jan. 10, with the first patients being seen on Jan. 13. The space is currently undergoing renovations.

“I never thought we would grow to this size,” said Dr. John Costello Jr. of Costello Eye Physicians & Surgeons, while looking around what will be the reception area.

There will also be more room for office employees to work. Currently even closet space is being utilized for billing at their present location, Costello Jr. said.

The building will feature more exam rooms, a larger waiting room to prevent or curb “standing room only” that is a regular occurrence at their current location.

There will also be a room for minor eye procedures. The practice will maintain its surgical center in Rome.

In addition, two rows of the municipal parking lot to the rear of the building were purchased by Costello Jr. and his brother Dr. Patrick Costello for use by both the practice and any tenants on the first floor. Those parking spots will be available for city use during nights and weekends when the practice is closed.

The brothers purchased the building and the rows of parking this past summer.

“We want to be a good neighbor to the city,” Costello Jr. said.

A plan had been in the works to make the practice an anchor to the downtown district starting two years ago. Costello Jr. said he approached the late Oneida Mayor Donald Hudson about the possibility of getting optimal parking for a practice, which is expected to draw upwards of 200 people to the downtown sector Monday through Friday.

Costello Jr., who grew up in Oneida, said patients come from all points in Central New York. He hopes this move will increase exposure of the area and draw more businesses to that portion of the city.

Source: Oneida Daily Dispatch