Wellsville's 23 North Building - Seeing is believing!

Seeing is believing! That was certainly the case on Friday as Wellsville Regional News was invited on a tour of the newly renovated 23 North Building (former Burrous Building) at 23 North Main Street in Wellsville. The street level will be home to the Village of Wellsville government offices and is already home to Alfred Housing (a co-owner of the building with Two Plus Four Construction). The upper floors are senior living apartments. The transformation of the once vacant building that was collapsing…is amazing. There was plenty of hectic, but controlled chaos at the building today as village workers steadily moved in and technology crews were busy finishing installations. While any new construction ‘looks nice,’ this building was nothing short of amazing. Allison Green, Executive Director of Alfred Housing, conducted the tour…and she had a smile from ear to ear. Renovation work began in October 2018 and admittedly, there was community concern about the project as many called for the building to be demolished. Green worked through the challenging times, but today, she had a sense of ease and confidence-the project came together.

Apartments

“Each apartment is different,” Green said…there was no “cookie-cutter” approach, primarily because of the building’s design. Building security was evident. Green noted you can just walk in to the apartment side uninvited…and there are camera’s “everywhere.” The residential floors have “areas of refuge.” If a tenant is in distress, or there is an emergency, a resident can go to the station and hit the ‘emergency button.’ The alert goes to Alfred Housing and if it is after hours, the call goes to 911. The building features a community room overlooking Main Street. The residential floors also have laundry facilities and green stress that where possible, local vendors were used. In this case, the project contracted with Brand Names Appliances to provide washers and dryers and Lynch Paving handled blacktop and sidewalks. There is a total of sixteen residential units, with a mix of one and two-bedroom apartments. Green said three, one-bedroom apartments are still available. Amenities include free wi-fi service and tenant only pay for electric; Water, sewer and trash costs are included in the rent.

Commercial space available

There is commercial space available at 23 North. Green said they have a 520 square feet space that is available for rent.

Parking

Tenants-only will be permitted to park at the rear of the building and they will be issued parking permits. The village employees will park in a separate space, signed and accessed from East State Street.

Village Offices

Friday was moving day for the village government. Predictably, there was almost-controlled chaos between the Municipal Building and the new ‘digs.’ The new space is a little smaller than the Municipal Building, but workers on scene said “all will be well.” On Friday, most of the action was focused of getting the Village offices ready for the transition. Crews were busy hauling in boxes of “stuff’ but the Village Board table, we have led to believe, will be relocated with damage! Every move has challenges, but the village expects this transition will have minimal impact. There is one important note to mention…if you need to transact VILLAGE business, enter via Main Street…if you need Alfred Housing or have a tenant issue…enter via the REAR of the building. (Follow the signs, basically).

Remember

The only thing constant…is change.

An emergency station, in case a tenant is in trouble

23 North Community Room - a place to gather

How wide are these halls???

The new Village Board meeting space

Village employee parking and public parking - I didn't get a reserved spot...