The Kingston Pop Museum on Broadway has been granted a certificate of occupancy

KINGSTON, N.Y. >> The Kingston Pop Museum on Broadway has been granted a certificate of occupancy, bringing to fruition a project that’s bene in the works for three years.

The certificate was issued Monday to museum owner John Stavros, according to Kingston Deputy Fire Chief Thomas Tiano, who heads the city’s Building Safety Division.

The 5,400-square-foot building at 672 Broadway in Midtown has the museum on the first floor and six newly renovated apartments on the second and third floors.

Stavros, who lives in one of the apartments, said Wednesday that he invested about $600,000 in the project, along with countless hours of his own sweat equity.

He said the renovation has breathed new life into a building that “was one of the worst I have ever seen in my life.”

“It was the biggest challenge in my life,” he said. “It was sad for Kingston and it had to be brought back to life.”

Stavros said he feels like part of a Midtown renaissance, and “I did not want to fail.”

Stavros is a former professional soccer player and enthusiastic fan of the sport, and on Thursday, women’s soccer stars Lianne Sanderson, of Great Britain, and Ashley Nick, an American, will visit the museum for meet-and-greet and to sign autographs to coincide with the men’s World Cup tournament, which is going on in Russia.

The Kingston Pop Museum then will host its first exhibit, fashion illustrations by Antonio Lopez, Stavros said.

Stavros said the renovation of the foreclosed brick building took a while but resulted in “something delightful too look at.”

The building has new sheetrock, resurfaced brick walls, a renovated 12-foot-high main gallery with an exposed-beam ceiling, a sprinkler system and a cleared-out backyard that features a wall mural and planted vegetation.

Also, the Broadway façade has been redone, new electrical systems have been installed, new boilers have been placed in each apartment, acid-stained cement floors have been laid down throughout, and here’s a production studio in the basement.

There also are new bathrooms throughout the buildings, with marble floors; steel black handrails line revamped pine stairwells; and there’s a large vault containing Stavros’ soccer trophies.

Of the apartments not being used by Stavros, two are reserved for artists while their exhibits are in the main gallery, and the other three are being leased for $850 to 900 per month.

Stavros has 29 years of experience in the promotion, marketing and the production of creative endeavors, and he is owner of PMP Studios in New York City.