Center for Technology & Innovation, Inc., 321 Water Street, Binghamton, NY 13901, Telephone: 607-624-1090
Future site of Southern Tier museum
designated as a Local Landmark
By George Basler •gbasler@gannett.com • December 26, 2009, 6:40 pm
BINGHAMTON -- The vacant building at 319-325 Water St. once housed an ice cream factory and later was the home of an auto parts dealership.
Now the city council has declared it a Local Landmark.
Council members approved the designation so a local group can qualify for state and federal funding as it works to renovate the site as a museum honoring the Southern Tier's industrial past, Council President Martin J. Gerchman, D-2nd District, said. No city funding is earmarked for the project, Gerchman said.
The designation, which the council approved at its Dec. 21 meeting, is important because it means the project is now eligible for state and federal historic preservation funding and historic preservation tax credits, said Susan Sherwood, who is leading the effort for the museum, to be called the Center for Technology & Innovation.
Organizers envision a facility that will feature displays marking the region's manufacturing tradition and history. They have applied for $600,000 in environmental protection funding to design the building's renovation and expect to hear early next year whether the application is successful, Sherwood said.
Organizers also have applied for $400,000 from the state's Local Waterfront Revitalization Program to create an outdoor Garden of Technology by the museum, she said.
Planning has been ongoing for several years. The original site was at the Trolley Barn at 375 State St. But organizers moved it to the Water Street site in September after the 30,000-square-foot building was donated by the former owners, Ed and Karen Levene, Sherwood said.
The council's designation of the Water Street site as a landmark came after the planning commission and Commission on Architecture and Urban Design determined it was in compliance with standards for Local Landmark Designation.
"What happened here is so amazing, and so important, and nobody else is telling the story," Sherwood said.
