More than two years since the city moved to preserve the last cobblestone house in Rochester – and nearly a year since taking ownership – the property remains boarded, and no plan exists for what to do with the historic structure.
The Lockwood-Alhart house was slated for demolition to make way for a Dollar General parking lot when its previous owner, the now-deceased Arthur Kirsch, offered to donate it to the city. The deal, hammered out in August 2023, came with an agreement that Kirsch would be free from a pile of fines for code violations, while also offering him a tax write-off. Supporters of preserving the house had hoped that, once the city acquired the house, an assessment would be done of needed repairs, and a developer or investor would be sought out to fix it.
“A building like this is an incredibly expensive, challenging building to not just preserve, but to actually make sure that it is thriving and is online, and is done well,” said City Councilmember Mitch Gruber, a major proponent of saving the house in 2023. “...Historic Preservation is a remarkable thing in terms of speaking to the city's history and allowing the kind of charm and beauty of our city's history (to) speak. But until a developer is willing to put in significant dollars, it's a really challenging position to be in.”
It took some time for the Lockwood-Alhart house to end up in city hands, primarily due to the unusual nature of the lot it’s on. The building is part of a plot of land that needed to be split from a surrounding strip mall. The remainder of that land is still owned by Kirsch Land LLC, according to city property records. The purchase of the Lockwood-Alhart house was secured by the Rochester Land Bank Corp. on Jan. 7 of this year.
There are currently no plans for renovating the building or putting it out to a request for developer proposals, a city spokesperson said. Neighborhood groups have floated several ideas, including turning it into the area’s Neighborhood Service Center. While the spokesperson said that the building is being “preserved,” they declined to comment on what exactly is being done to protect the building from further deterioration.
The nearly 200-year-old building was not in great shape when the city first took it under its stewardship. Kirsch purchased the property in 2006. It’s been vacant since 2011. In the past 14 years, it amassed 28 code violations, which include a crumbling exterior and roof, missing gutters, and an infestation of rats and pigeons. Standing close enough to the boards encasing the building’s doorway, the scent of mold is evident.
It’s unclear how much it would cost to remediate the issues in the building enough to make it usable.
Kyle Crandall, president of the Beechwood Neighborhood Association, said so long as the building is under ownership of the city, he is hopeful that it has a future at some point.
“There's a lot of ideas that are being tossed around, a lot of brainstorming,” Crandall said. “We actually think it's a good thing that the city has acquisition to it, because then we can actually try to work together as a community, as well as the city, on preserving that building and coming up with its best use.”
The Lockwood-Alhart house is a one-of-a-kind building in the city. Built by Roswell Lockwood in 1835, the building was once the site of a 100-acre farm in what was then the town of Brighton. In 1949, it was purchased by Eugene Alhart, a prominent figure in the local Christian Temperance movement, one-time state Senate candidate, and father of local TV broadcaster Don Alhart.
Its construction is a bit of an oddity unique to the region. Cobblestone construction has been used for centuries, from ancient Roman roads to Middle Ages England cottages. But American cobblestone homes are a distinctly western New York creation.
In fact, the Cobblestone Museum in Albion estimates that about 90% of all cobblestone buildings in the United States are found within 100 miles of Rochester.
In 2015, the Landmark Society of Western New York listed the house as one of its “Five to Revive,” historically significant buildings in need of renovation and restoration.
Larry Francer, vice president of the Landmark Society, said some of the use cases he thinks would be best for the site are a café or a Neighborhood Service Center. He also acknowledged that the restoration would likely be costly.
“It is going to cost a lot, but it is such a significant building,” Francer said. “...So, I think that's really important, and people really care about it, especially the neighborhood. And I'm not sure that the city will feel that it's worth the investment, but that doesn't mean that it can't be saved.”
“You can bring in a local developer who really cares about it, and can put some housing units in, and surely, get historic tax credits and ways to make it work for them,” he continued
For Crandall, how long it takes to get the building renovated is less of a concern than it being done right and preserved for future generations.
“I think it’s good we’re taking our time,” Crandall said. “That at least helps ensure that we don’t end up in the same spot we were before.”
