Village of Liberty
167 North Main Street
Liberty, NY 12754Contact Person:
Allan Berube, Trustee, Village of Liberty
(845) 292-9742 home
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 13, 2004
Town & Country Springs to Life
LIBERTY, NY-- The "Town & Country" building, vacant since the early 1990s, was once advertized as the "Heart of Liberty." Now its heart is beating again as it becomes the next key attraction in Liberty's revitalization.
At the very center of Liberty's Main Street commercial district, with its diversity of buildings, uses and people, is the historic Town & Country building, with its own rich commercial and cultural past. It is an excellent anchor for creative development in a community that is undergoing a rapid economic revitalization.
The Village of Liberty has organized a series of exciting Spring events at the building:
- Restoration: Cornell University alumni and graduate students will spend the weekend of April 16th -18th rehabilitating the building.
- Matching Grant: The Sullivan County Planning Division has approved a matching grant to the Village for the costs of façade restoration.
- Historic Status: The Village has started the process of listing Town & Country on the New York State and National Registers of Historic Places.
- Tag Sale: The Village on April 24th is holding an Open House and Tag Sale of retail items stored in the building from its days as a clothing store.
- Opportunity to Buy or Lease: The Village has put the Town & Country building up for sale or lease. Proposal deadline April 30, 2004.
"It's a pleasure to be part of saving this landmark building," said Mayor William "Rube" Smith, "and making it flourish again as an asset to our community."
1. Clean-up
The Village is honored to have the Town & Country selected as the work site for alumni and students from Cornell University's Historic Preservation Planning program 2004 project. They will conduct their annual Work Weekend at the Town & Country building April 16 - 18. In recent years the Cornell group has selected an historic building in New York State in need of repair and stabilization, including the hospital at Ellis Island.
"The Town & Country building is a wonderful site from which we can contribute to Liberty's revival," said Kristen Brennan Cornell faculty supervisor for the work weekend. "We're very excited about this opportunity to build relationships with businesses, the Village, and community groups, who have already done so much to restore Liberty's Main Street."
Dozens of Cornell and local volunteers will work on washing, repairing and painting the façade, repairing and replacing the retractable awning, restoring the display windows and entryway, repairing and painting the windows, getting estimates for relighting the neon sign, removing shingles on the North Side to begin the restoration of the original clapboard siding, and securing the roof until it can be replaced with new shingles.
Do you have photos or stories about the Town & Country building?
To aid in the restoration project, the Village and Cornell volunteers are asking anyone who has photos of the building's exterior or interior, or who has memories of when the current façade was put up, to contact Trustee Allan Berube at 292-9742.
Sign up
To volunteer for the work weekend or make a donation go to the Liberty Village Hall at 167 North Main Street, or show up at the building on Friday or Saturday, April 16 & 17, from 9:00 AM to f:00 PM.
2. Matching Grant
The Main Street Redevelopment Center of the Sullivan County Planning Division has awarded the Village a matching grant to help defray the costs of facade renovation. The purpose of these grants, according to the Center, is "to provide the necessary resources to help Sullivan County's municipalities with their main street revitalization efforts."
"The Town & Country building," said Jodi Goodman, Sullivan County Legislator for District 6, who lives in Liberty, "is a visual center stage of our village. To have the opportunity to spruce it up with potential for economic growth is beneficial to all of us."
3. Historic Status
The Town & Country building, which at various times was a dry goods store, vaudeville house, movie theater, and clothing store, survived the Great Main Street fire of 1913 and more recent attempts to have it demolished. Now the New York State Board for Historic Preservation has recommended that it be listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. It will join a group of buildings on North Main Street which, in 1978, became the first Historic District to be designated in Sullivan County.
"For more than a century," said Allan Berube, Village Trustee, who is overseeing the Spring projects, "the Town & Country building has helped make Liberty a special place. Capitalizing on our architectural heritage adds value to our Main Street business district, while reopening this building will attract more shoppers into a pedestrian-friendly downtown."
4. Tag Sale & Open House
See the building and take home some vintage goods. On Saturday, April 24, from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, items on sale will include vintage office equipment and sign-making sets, bookcases, large work tables, trunks, wooden boxes, a baby-grand piano, display stands and racks, vintage hand-lettered signs, and a variety of display props. Proceeds from the tag sale will go toward renovating the Village Hall, including making it more wheelchair accessible.
5. Opportunity to Buy or Lease:
The Village of Liberty is requesting proposals consistent with the recommendations included in the Revitalization Plan and recent marketing surveys to develop this historic building into a commercial property that draws more people into the heart of the Village.
Building Stats:
The Town & Country building is a two-story wood structure, built in the late 19th Century. The first floor retail area is over 3,000 square feet. The second floor, offer an additional 3,000 square feet, with offices and two great rooms, one with a high arched ceiling, which served as Liberty's meeting halls for Civil War veterans and several fraternal organizations. A third-floor attic room would serve as a nice sized office, and there is a 4,000 square foot dry basement.
Location Perks:
The building is an attractive investment opportunity because of its strategic location in districts that offer high-speed internet services, grant funding, tax incentives, and low-interest loans. Location in the Village of Liberty's Empire Zone makes businesses with employees eligible for a series of State Tax Incentives. The building is adjacent to a municipal parking lot and is a few minutes away from exit 100 on Route 17 (Future Interstate 86).
Listing on the National Registry will make a purchaser eligible for Preservation Tax Credits and technical assistance without restrictions to renovations on the building.
The successful proposal will work closely with the Partnership for Economic Development and the Village of Liberty for the purpose of maximizing economic development assistance.
Deadline for Proposals
The deadline for submitting proposals is June 25. An information packet is available at the Village Hall, at 167 North Main Street (292-2250, ext. 13), and on the Village's website ( go to www.townofliberty.org and click on "Village of Liberty").