by Kristina Gabalski
The historic Stone Store in Clarendon has been spared from demolition for a second time – at least for another six months.
Town Board members voted 3-1 during their regular meeting July 17 to give members of the Old Stone Store Preservation Committee (OSSPC) and the Landmark Society more time to find a buyer for the structure.
OSSPC leader Erin Anheier told board members the group has made remarkable progress over the past year and is “hopeful that in less than (another) year,” a buyer with an acceptable plan can be found.
She said currently there are three interested parties – two developing plans and one with an initial plan. She introduced Tim Seegler who presented his plan to Clarendon Town Board members.
“I don’t know how this fell into my lap, but it has been a blessing,” Seegler said. “I want to bring back the history and aesthetics (of the building).”
He told board members he would like to turn the building into an antiquity and collectibles store and would reside on the second floor with his young son.
Seegler said he would like to fund the restoration/rehabilitation work with commercial loans, but would pursue federal grants if the need arose. He said he estimates the cost of his plan to be about $200,000.
He described the exterior which would include a porch with steps on both sides and a re-grade of the property. There would be large storefront windows, “The idea is to bring the rich history back,” Seegler said, “bring the community back. The building was (at) the (core of the) hamlet for the town and should be brought back to something similar to that.”
“I want you to feel like you are walking back in time,” he said about the interior of the building, which would look like an old-fashioned general store. Seegler added he would use community resources to do the rehabilitation work.
Two residents (both neighbors of the property) raised questions about the plan. They noted parking space at the location is limited and could result in a driveway to the west of the store being blocked by customers. Concerns were also raised over the effectiveness of the proposed septic system.
“The building is an eyesore,” one neighbor said, “there’s nothing nice about that building.”
Seegler agreed parking is a challenge and defended the plan for septic as a viable option. It would need approval by Orleans County.
“We can make this work,” he said, “everybody wants to see this happen.” Board member Paul Nicosia told Seegler he was not criticizing the plan, “I don’t want to defuse your enthusiasm. … I would love to see it develop into something like this,” but he, too, warned of issues with parking and set-back. Nicosia said the plan would likely require variances and site plan approval by the planning board.
Responding to a question from the audience, Supervisor Richard Moy said there likely is money in the town budget to demolish the building, but he said he would like to save it.
“When a building comes down, it comes off the tax rolls,” he said. “Who makes up for that? You and me.”
Board member John DeFilipps agreed and said he was “in no hurry to tear the building down.”
One long-time resident said to demolish the building without considering proposals would be “short-sighted.”
The only no vote on the six-month extension was cast by board member William Campbell, who said he would like to see the deadline extended by one month so that he could “digest” all the materials provided by Seegler before deciding to make the extension longer.
