OWEGO, N.Y. — The Village of Owego and TEAM Tioga are partnering to restore the historic building at 90 Temple St. that houses the Owego Police Department and village court.
The project began in 2021 when TEAM Tioga received a grant from Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for $468,416 to restore exterior features of the building. The project includes a 25-percent match of $157,395 from the Village of Owego.
“I know we have been trying a long time to save this historic building, not only for the aesthetic value, but in order to keep the Owego Police Department and the village court occupying and operating this important building,” Owego Mayor Michael Baratta said in a press release.
Work includes restoring or replacing all the windows in the building, repointing brick, repairing the foundation, restoring dental and bracket cornice, and repairing the exterior front steps.
“Work on this building is long overdue for those of us that work here and especially for the public that utilize these services,” Police Chief Joseph Kennedy said.
First built as a schoolhouse around 1900, the building went through several uses before the police department and court about 20 years ago.
TEAM Tioga continues to partner with the village on this effort by guiding village officials on the grant-administration process to administer, implement, and complete the grant project.
“TEAM Tioga realizes the importance of each building’s historic connection to our past, and the future economic development potential of restorative work to make these buildings appealing and contributing to the overall aesthetics of the Owego downtown to visitors,” Tioga County Department of Economic Development and Planning Director LeeAnn Tinney said.
The next step for the project is to hire an architecture firm to develop pre-construction drawings and provide oversight during construction as well as conducting archaeological and building-environment surveys. The village expects to begin construction in the summer of 2023.