The Landmark Society’s 2012 Preservation Awards will be presented this year at a special event on Sunday, November 4 at 3:00 p.m. in Rochester’s historic City Hall, the spectacular Richardsonian Romanesque landmark located downtown at 30 Church Street. The Awards are given each year to individuals and organizations in our nine-county area who have made outstanding efforts in the preservation of their homes, historic properties, and landscapes. In anticipation of this week’s Awards Ceremony, over the next few days we’ll be featuring some of this year’s award winners.

The Award of Merit is for the sympathetic rehabilitation of an historic building in our nine-county region completed within the past two years.

Located in the High Falls neighborhood in the City of Rochester and originally known as the Teoronto Block, this is the oldest surviving row of commercial buildings in the city. Built between 1844-1854, this unique row of  Federal-style architecture is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The buildings have historic significance because of their association with the Brown’s Race/High Falls neighborhood during its period of rapid growth as a milling center. In addition, the buildings have architectural significance for their well-preserved features typical of downtown commercial buildings of the period, including their three-story brick facades, original window openings, stone trim elements, common gabled roofs, and surviving original interior features.

Mostly vacant for the past several decades, five of the seven buildings in this row were purchased and rehabilitated into affordable housing by the Urban League of Rochester. Working with Barkstrom & LaCroix, Architects, Stantec Consulting Services, and Jensen/BRV/Engineering, this successful partnership of professionals overcame many structural challenges to complete this $7.5 million project, which  included the use of the Federal Investment Tax Credit Program and design review by NYS Office of Historic Preservation. This outstanding project was also a recipient of a 2012 Preservation Award from the Preservation League of New York State.

Some of the interior spaces that were adapted to residential units:

The banister and door below are some of the historic architectural details that were incorporated into the rehab project:

Visit our Success Stories page to see all of the 2012 Preservation Award winners.