Six capital projects will receive funding from The Preservation League of NYS’s Preservation Opportunity Fund, which provides funding for urgent historic preservation projects. The creation of the Preservation Opportunity Fund in 2024 allows the League to have an immediate impact on historic sites in need of maintenance and repair.
Annual grants made from this fund support discrete capital projects on historic buildings, sites, structures, and objects. Organizations with an ownership interest in, or a long-term lease of, a historic property requiring preservation, restoration, or rehabilitation, are eligible.
These grant funds aim to help those organizations that already have a clear idea of what their historic building needs — but may not yet have the funding in place to make it happen. A total of $110,000 was awarded in this grant cycle, an amount bolstered by a $60,000 grant from the 1772 Foundation.
Cathedral of All Saints: Guild House Emergency Roof Repair Project, Albany, Albany County
This project will address persistent but repairable roof leaks that have badly affected the interior walls and floors of the Guild House. Urgent repairs will be made to the roof to halt this damaging water infiltration, which an engineering report identified as critical to the building. Mark Thaler, of Thaler Reilly Wilson Architects is overseeing this project.
This grant announcement follows close behind the League’s inclusion of the Guild House on its 2025-2026 Seven to Save list of the most at-risk historic sites in the state.
Read more about the Guild Hall project.
Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society: Asbestos Removal Project, Athens, Greene County
This POF grant will fund retention of a licensed asbestos removal company to remove all asbestos in the insulation of the pipe wrapping and defunct boiler in the Lighthouse’s basement, as well the removal of coal and post-removal air monitoring to ensure achievement of a safe environment. The project will be supervised by the structural engineering firm Proper & O’Leary. All future utility systems (electric, plumbing, heating) will be grounded in the basement, but none of the required upgrades to these systems can be accomplished until the asbestos and coal are removed. Likewise, the sagging foundation wall cannot be adequately accessed and repaired until this project is completed. Consequently, removal of the asbestos, coal and boiler are urgent as necessary next steps for all future rehabilitation work on the Lighthouse.
This capital grant follows earlier planning grants awarded by the Preservation League, as well as the Lighthouse’s inclusion on the League’s 2020-2021 Seven to Save list of the most at-risk historic sites in the state. In 2024 it was named to The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of Most Endangered Historic Places in the United States.
Read more about the lighthouse and its restoration needs.
Flower City Arts Center: Historic Firehouse Preservation & Rehabilitation, Rochester, Monroe County
Flower City Arts Center is contracting with window restoration expert Brandon Fleishour at The Old Window Company to preserve and rehabilitate the windows housed on the west-facing facade of their historic firehouse building, originally constructed between 1895-1905.
The project will address failing paint and glazing putty, sash damage, wood repairs, paint removal, wood preparation, priming, glass cleaning, reglazing, and more. These structural, safety, and aesthetic improvements will help to restore their historically significant building that has served as community hub for Rochester artists and art enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds for over 50 years.
Flower City Arts Center is a community-based not-for-profit organization that educates, encourages, and inspires all people to create and enjoy the visual arts, design, and media.
The Glen Conservancy: c.1831 Window Restoration, Fultonville, Montgomery County
Most of the glass and muntins (the vertical dividers that separate glass panes within a window) in Conservancy Hall are original to the building but have deteriorated over the years. Alden Witham of Contractors’ Millwork, Inc., in Sharon Springs, NY, will restore eight double-hung Federal period (circa 1831) windows, which feature 30-over-30 light sash and Gothic-patterned muntins in segmentally arched transoms.
The Glen Conservancy was established in 2002 with the mission of engaging in educational and cultural activities in support of the built and natural environments, encouraging historic preservation, and preserving rural character and open spaces in the hamlet of Glen and greater Town of Glen, Montgomery County, NY.
The timber-frame structure that is now called Conservancy Hall was built in 1830 for the congregation of the True Dutch Reformed Church of Glen and Charleston. It was in regular used for community meetings, pancake suppers, and cultural events until a major transverse beam and most of the ceiling collapsed due to hidden water damage in 2013.
The Glen Conservancy acquired the building and, with the assistance of neighbors and volunteers, cleared the debris and reinforced the roofing truss system. They are now in the process of restoring the structure to return it to use as a community arts and cultural center.
SculptureCenter: Water Infiltration Prevention & Building Preservation, Long Island City, Queens
SculptureCenter will use this grant to ensure the longevity and integrity of their historic 118-year-old building, a renovated former trolley repair shop. The project would enable SculptureCenter to conduct critical waterproofing within the building’s lower level, secure the building envelope, and set the groundwork for future strategic planning as the organization approaches its 100-year anniversary in 2028.
This critical rehabilitation work follows foundational recommendations from an earlier geotechnical condition report focused on significant water infiltration in the building’s lower level. That report was also funded by the League, through the New York State Council on the Arts partnership Technical Assistance Grant (TAG).
SculptureCenter engaged Langan, a leading land development engineering and environmental consulting firm with more than five decades of experience; projects in more than 100 countries across the corporate real estate, energy, and public agency and institution sectors; and extensive expertise in sustainability and environmental remediation.
SculptureCenter developed their POF project’s scope of work based on the findings from the TAG, including the identification of several high priority areas and recommendations on interior and exterior waterproofing through multiple techniques and points of entry.
Securing the building envelope and mitigating water infiltration will enable SculptureCenter to more fully utilize all the exhibition spaces, allowing SculptureCenter to better fulfill their mission of championing under-recognized talents across all artistic disciplines and broadening public access to experimental new work.
Friends of Harmony Hall – Jacob Sloat House: c.1848 Front Porch Restoration, Sloatsburg (town of Ramapo), Rockland County
This project will restore Harmony Hall’s front porch, preserving its defining architectural features and eliminating the non-historic addition at the north end of the porch. Bringing the porch back to its original dramatic design will create a safe and spectacular entrance to this historic house.
Once a thriving thoroughfare from New York City to the Catskills, the construction of the New York State Thruway in the 1950s left Sloatsburg isolated from the rest of Rockland County. Harmony Hall is the only year-round cultural resource that attracts visitors to this area. Harmony Hall’s cultural programming aims to serve the local community, drawing attention to the region’s rich yet often-overlooked history. A restored porch will provide safe access to the building.
A key component of the porch restoration project is incorporating trades training opportunities during the work. They are currently planning to have William Friedlich of Hudson View Contractors provide on-site training in rough and finished carpentry, masonry, and interior finish work, including plaster and millwork installation.
Scott Smith of the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters Local 279 has committed to offering volunteer training opportunities to their carpenters. Additionally, off-site window work will be completed by Kurt Riegel of Riegel Restoration and Consulting, who trains workers in the rehabilitation and restoration of historic windows.
More info is available at the Preservation League’s website.
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