SKANEATELES - They did it before, and they can do it again.
In the early 1990s, the Skaneateles Historical Society raised enough money to restore the Creamery - the 28 Hannum St. building that served as an agricultural hub for 50 years - into its current state as a community museum and historical resource.
Seventeen years later, the society is again in the midst of a fundraising campaign for the Creamery, this time to expand its physical structure and offerings.
The $530,000 project, which has been in the silent fundraising stage for about a year, will include renovating the recently purchased neighboring property into a boat/transportation museum, as well as the creation of a connector building to join the two sites.
The final product will provide additional space for exhibits (particularly of artifacts now too large to display in the current facility), storage of the copious amount of records that the Creamery keeps and a room dedicated to researching one's ancestral or house history.
The proposed expansion, which will be the subject of a Dec. 17 public hearing at the village board meeting, is possible because Ron Fischer, who owned the adjacent 24 Hannum Street property, agreed to sell it to the Skaneateles Historical Society (SHS) for less than its assessed value, Karlene Miller, historical society president, said at the Museum Expansion Steering Committee meeting Thursday. Miller noted that Fischer's late wife, JoAnn, had asked prior to her death that the building, which formerly served as the Creamery's boiler plant, be made available to the society.
The purchase went through in July of this year, and the historical society deeded the property to the village of Skaneateles; the municipality also owns the Creamery and leases it to the SHS.
How quickly the expansion occurs depends on how fast the SHS receives funds for the project, said Bent Thomsen, a member of the steering committee.
The society has currently raised more than $230,000. That includes a $100,000 matching grant from an anonymous donor and $25,000 from the Central New York Community Foundation.
The group will soon be mailing out informational brochures to its 400-plus members in hopes of raising the balance of the project's budget.
The acquisition of the old boiler house and the addition of the connector building will more than double the footprint of the current museum, but the project will still have a reasonably low-impact use, given that the museum only has limited hours, said architect Robert O. Eggleston. Eggleston said that neighbors had been invited to the Creamery and that those who came were enthusiastic about the project.
“It's a net gain for the neighborhood and the village in helping to improve and upgrade Hannum Street,” Eggleston said.
Laurie Winship, director of the Creamery, is looking forward to the extra space. Currently, the museum has a lot of its larger artifacts in storage - from Lightning sailboats to the anchor of the City of Syracuse steamboat - because there is no place to display them, and other times, the museum has had to turn down items because of space concerns.
“It's ideal to get them in an appropriate, climate-controlled place,” Eggleston said of the larger artifacts now in storage. “We're just trying to be better stewards of the history of Skaneateles.”
The old boiler house is currently a storage workshop downstairs and a two-bedroom apartment upstairs. After the building is gutted, the floor will be removed and the roof raised two feet, giving the area a high ceiling that will allow for the display of large artifacts, and a catwalk will also be installed so that people can look down on the exhibits. The exterior of the building would have a similar architectural appearance to the original boiler plant.
The connector building, which Eggleston said would likely be the second phase of the project, would contain an expanded gift shop and a new front entrance.
The third phase would be an addition to the Creamery building. This addition would serve as an archive storage and research area, and it would give the structure a similar look to how it appeared before its ice house was torn down, Eggleston said.
All additions, and the renovated boiler house, would be painted to match the Creamery's green metal roof and yellow paint.
The project has received a special-use permit from the village's Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Planning Board has approved the lot merger, Eggleston said.
On Dec. 17, the village board will hold a public hearing for critical impact review, the latter because the Creamery is within 500 feet of the Skaneateles Outlet, Eggleston said.
“The project has been scrutinized by the village even though the village (is) the owner of the property,” said Eggleston, who hopes that renovations at the boiler house can begin this winter.
Down the road, the society would also like to acquire the property at 22 Hannum St. for the purposes of creating additional parking, along with an outdoor display area.
Project Budget Estimate
Purchase of building and land: $68,000
Professional services, including design€: $50,000
Demolition and sitework: $20,000
Creekbank stabilization: $15,000
Boiler plant restoration and addition: $155,000
Connecting wing: $125,000
Creamery addition and renovation: $70,000
Contingencies and miscellaneous: $27,000
Total: $530,000
• Some design services are being provided on a pro-bono basis.
The Creamery's history
1899: Opens as a place for farmers to sell their milk and residents to buy dairy products
1918: Best Ice Cream Co. buys Skaneateles Creamery Co.
1948: Borden Milk Co. buys facility
1949: Creamery ceases operations
1989: Local businessman donates the property to the village
1992: After raising funds for its renovation, the Creamery is reopened as a museum and home for the Skaneateles Historical Society
July 2007: Skaneateles Historical Society purchases 24 Hannum St. building (the Creamery's former boiler plant)
Nov. 2007: Museum Expansion Steering Committee announces public fundraising phase for Creamery's expansion
Source: Skaneateles Historical Society
Seventeen years later, the society is again in the midst of a fundraising campaign for the Creamery, this time to expand its physical structure and offerings.
The $530,000 project, which has been in the silent fundraising stage for about a year, will include renovating the recently purchased neighboring property into a boat/transportation museum, as well as the creation of a connector building to join the two sites.
The final product will provide additional space for exhibits (particularly of artifacts now too large to display in the current facility), storage of the copious amount of records that the Creamery keeps and a room dedicated to researching one's ancestral or house history.
The proposed expansion, which will be the subject of a Dec. 17 public hearing at the village board meeting, is possible because Ron Fischer, who owned the adjacent 24 Hannum Street property, agreed to sell it to the Skaneateles Historical Society (SHS) for less than its assessed value, Karlene Miller, historical society president, said at the Museum Expansion Steering Committee meeting Thursday. Miller noted that Fischer's late wife, JoAnn, had asked prior to her death that the building, which formerly served as the Creamery's boiler plant, be made available to the society.
The purchase went through in July of this year, and the historical society deeded the property to the village of Skaneateles; the municipality also owns the Creamery and leases it to the SHS.
How quickly the expansion occurs depends on how fast the SHS receives funds for the project, said Bent Thomsen, a member of the steering committee.
The society has currently raised more than $230,000. That includes a $100,000 matching grant from an anonymous donor and $25,000 from the Central New York Community Foundation.
The group will soon be mailing out informational brochures to its 400-plus members in hopes of raising the balance of the project's budget.
The acquisition of the old boiler house and the addition of the connector building will more than double the footprint of the current museum, but the project will still have a reasonably low-impact use, given that the museum only has limited hours, said architect Robert O. Eggleston. Eggleston said that neighbors had been invited to the Creamery and that those who came were enthusiastic about the project.
“It's a net gain for the neighborhood and the village in helping to improve and upgrade Hannum Street,” Eggleston said.
Laurie Winship, director of the Creamery, is looking forward to the extra space. Currently, the museum has a lot of its larger artifacts in storage - from Lightning sailboats to the anchor of the City of Syracuse steamboat - because there is no place to display them, and other times, the museum has had to turn down items because of space concerns.
“It's ideal to get them in an appropriate, climate-controlled place,” Eggleston said of the larger artifacts now in storage. “We're just trying to be better stewards of the history of Skaneateles.”
The old boiler house is currently a storage workshop downstairs and a two-bedroom apartment upstairs. After the building is gutted, the floor will be removed and the roof raised two feet, giving the area a high ceiling that will allow for the display of large artifacts, and a catwalk will also be installed so that people can look down on the exhibits. The exterior of the building would have a similar architectural appearance to the original boiler plant.
The connector building, which Eggleston said would likely be the second phase of the project, would contain an expanded gift shop and a new front entrance.
The third phase would be an addition to the Creamery building. This addition would serve as an archive storage and research area, and it would give the structure a similar look to how it appeared before its ice house was torn down, Eggleston said.
All additions, and the renovated boiler house, would be painted to match the Creamery's green metal roof and yellow paint.
The project has received a special-use permit from the village's Zoning Board of Appeals, and the Planning Board has approved the lot merger, Eggleston said.
On Dec. 17, the village board will hold a public hearing for critical impact review, the latter because the Creamery is within 500 feet of the Skaneateles Outlet, Eggleston said.
“The project has been scrutinized by the village even though the village (is) the owner of the property,” said Eggleston, who hopes that renovations at the boiler house can begin this winter.
Down the road, the society would also like to acquire the property at 22 Hannum St. for the purposes of creating additional parking, along with an outdoor display area.
Project Budget Estimate
Purchase of building and land: $68,000
Professional services, including design€: $50,000
Demolition and sitework: $20,000
Creekbank stabilization: $15,000
Boiler plant restoration and addition: $155,000
Connecting wing: $125,000
Creamery addition and renovation: $70,000
Contingencies and miscellaneous: $27,000
Total: $530,000
• Some design services are being provided on a pro-bono basis.
The Creamery's history
1899: Opens as a place for farmers to sell their milk and residents to buy dairy products
1918: Best Ice Cream Co. buys Skaneateles Creamery Co.
1948: Borden Milk Co. buys facility
1949: Creamery ceases operations
1989: Local businessman donates the property to the village
1992: After raising funds for its renovation, the Creamery is reopened as a museum and home for the Skaneateles Historical Society
July 2007: Skaneateles Historical Society purchases 24 Hannum St. building (the Creamery's former boiler plant)
Nov. 2007: Museum Expansion Steering Committee announces public fundraising phase for Creamery's expansion
Source: Skaneateles Historical Society
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