PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- The area of 25 Schoen Place, which sits on the Erie Canal, is the last undeveloped commercial parcel in the Village of Pittsford, which makes it ripe for development.
Paul Wilmot, of Wilmorite, has presented an idea to village government for a boutique hotel with a spa and restaurant on that site.
"We think Pittsford can be more of a destination than it is currently. In the village proper you currently have about 100 hotel rooms, we're going to be adding 80. And we're really looking for the customer that wants to get away for a weekend or a few days."
The presentation was the first step in getting this project off the ground. There's a process the developer must go through with various village boards.
"It's an exciting proposal. There's sort of been a gap in Schoen Place with undeveloped mill buildings and this is an opportunity to bring activity to that area of Schoen Place," said Pittsford Village Mayor Bob Corby.
Pittsford is the only canal community in New York State where old mill warehouse type buildings remain. Village leaders would like to preserve that history.
Wilmorite has yet to meet with Pittsford's architectural review board and the historic preservation board. Its plan calls for the project to fit in with the local architecture. The weigh station that sits along the canal path will remain, but other structures on the site may not.
"We are basically doing inventory within the three barns to see what we can recycle out of those barns. Ideally we would like to have those barns come down but incorporate some of the beams and some of the historic materials into the new development," said Wilmot.
Recycling those items sounds like a good idea. However, Mayor Bob Corby says removing those buildings may not sit well with others.
"One of the issues that has to be resolved the mills are over 100 years old, they've been landmarked since 1971, they're listed on the National Register of Historic Places, so the preservation of those buildings will be an issue that will have to be dealt with," said Corby.
Wilmorite says the project will be paid for with private funds and will bring about 100 new jobs to the community. The next step is to take this idea to the Pittsford Village Planning Board.