The Landmark Society of Western New York is hoping their annual “Five to Revive” list will spark new interest in preserving old buildings.
The list aims to highlight historic landmarks, aging structures, and community gathering places that need attention.
This year’s list includes the memorial town hall in the village of Naples, and the Vacuum Oil site east of Exchange Street in the city of Rochester.
Landmark Society executive director Wayne Goodman said that this year’s list has already attracted grassroots support.
“It’s just really heartwarming to know that there’s a community of people who really get that, and who understand why buildings can be very, very important for the revitalization of their community, but also just for that purpose, that identity,” said Goodman.
Goodman was a guest on WXXI's Connections with Evan Dawson program on Wednesday.
In terms of the former Vacuum Oil site, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans said there are plans to clean up a long-contaminated site along the Genesee River.
The Vacuum Oil Campus near Exchange and Flint Streets is currently a brownfield. The nearly 18 acres of land have been compromised by industrial pollution.
The site has been selected by the Landmark Society of Western New York for revitalization.
Evans said a combination of support from the city, state, and ExxonMobil, which owns parcels of land near the site, makes the cleanup possible.
”It’s something that administrations have probably been talking about developing for the last 20 years, and now we are so close to finally being able to transform that area and really end up transforming that neighborhood along Flint Street right along the banks of the Genesee River,” noted Evans, “so it’s an exciting time.”
The Landmark Society said the revitalized site would be a fit for mixed-use commercial and residential development.
The Landmark Society launched the Five to Revive program in 2013 to call attention to five properties in Western NY that need investment.
