Announcing the 2025 Preservation Opportunity Fund Grantees

The Preservation League of NYS is thrilled to share that six capital projects will receive funding from its Preservation Opportunity Fund in 2025:

Keep scrolling to learn more about this year’s grantees, or click the links above to jump to a specific project.

"The League's Preservation Opportunity Fund provides crucial capital funding for urgent preservation projects," said Caitlin Meives, Director of Preservation at the Preservation League of NYS. "We are thrilled to be able to support the hands-on preservation work each of our grantees is undertaking, ensuring these historic places can continue to serve their communities for many years to come."

As Preservation League President Jay DiLorenzo said when the grant program was first announced last year, “We have seen a clear need from nonprofits across the state for more grant funding specifically for capital improvement projects. Through our Preservation Opportunity Fund, we hope to meet some of that need.”

A total of $110,000 was awarded in this grant cycle, an amount bolstered by a $60,000 grant from the 1772 Foundation. “We are delighted to see these capital grants being made across New York,” said Ethiel Garlington, Executive Director of The 1772 Foundation. “Our benefactor recognized the critical need of repairs such as these and it’s gratifying to know these historic places will be repaired for future generations.”

The creation of the Preservation Opportunity Fund in 2024 was a strategic decision, allowing the League to have an immediate impact on historic sites in need of maintenance and repair. Granting organizations the money they need to complete pressing projects will enable them to more successfully steward the historic places they own and operate.

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.

Cathedral of All Saints - Guild House Emergency Roof Repair Project

Cathedral Dean Leander Harding thanked the Preservation League “for this critical expression of support for the restoration of the Guild House, one of our Capital City’s architectural gems. The roof repair project this grant will fund makes possible future preservation that is required to bring the Guild House back to life to serve the social needs of the adjacent community.”

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.

Situated behind the Neo-Gothic Cathedral of All Saints, the similarly styled Guild House was built in 1902 as an Immigrant Settlement House and school. Although the Cathedral has been well maintained, the Guild House has fallen into disrepair over the years and now is in dire need of rehabilitation to bring it back to its former glory – and return it to providing space for much-needed social services.

The Cathedral of All Saints supports an extensive array of social programs that include language skills to immigrant populations and literacy for young children. According to Dean Harding, “A restored Guild House will be the ideal place to host these programs and will once again be available as a resource to all of Albany’s residents.”

Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society - Asbestos Removal Project

“We are extremely grateful to the League for this funding,” remarked Kristin Gamble, HALPS President, “as it will remove a hazardous obstacle to our ongoing effort to restore the lighthouse for the enjoyment of many future generations.”

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.

Located in the middle of the Hudson River, between the City of Hudson and the Village of Athens, New York, the lighthouse was built in 1874 to prevent shipwrecks, and continues to function as a navigational aid today. The mission of the nonprofit Hudson-Athens Lighthouse Preservation Society is to preserve and provide access to the iconic Hudson-Athens Lighthouse and to educate people of all ages about the glorious history of the Hudson River Valley.

Flower City Arts Center - Historic Firehouse Preservation and Rehabilitation

“Flower City Arts Center is extremely excited to have the support of the Preservation League of NYS as we restore the windows on our historic firehouse building,” said Flower City Arts Center Development Director Joe Mangano. “This project will honor the historic nature of our building while reflecting the quality of artistry that happens within it.”

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. We embrace the fact that the arts elevate humanity, are naturally therapeutic, and provide tools for expression in the language of the heart in a world that needs healing. Flower City Arts Center strives to create social change through arts, education, and creative entrepreneurship.

The Glen Conservancy Hall - Window Restoration (1831)

The Glen Conservancy President Ronald Burch said, “The Conservancy is extremely appreciative and pleased to receive this grant. Conservancy Hall is a major contributing component of the hamlet of Glen’s National Register Historic District, and this award will greatly assist in our efforts to preserve and continue to stabilize this historic structure.”

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 and Building Preservation

“SculptureCenter is honored to receive this generous grant from the Preservation League’s Opportunity Fund,” said Sohrab Mobebbi, Director of SculptureCenter. “This critical support will help spearhead the next phase of securing the building envelope of our iconic industrial space and ensure that we can continue championing experimental artists and ideas for our audiences for years to come.”

SculptureCenter will use this POF 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.

Harmony Hall- Jacob Sloat House - 1848 Front Porch Restoration

Jacob Sloat's descendants, Harrison O. Bush and his son Peter Bush, expressed their profound thanks to the Preservation League for this grant. "After two decades of work, it is extremely gratifying and hopeful to realize the long delayed and desired restoration of the front porch of this important Rockland County homestead," said Peter Bush. "The front porch is a significant defining architectural feature of the house and has borne witness to 176 years of history. The restored porch will ensure that our participation in the semiquincentennial events will be a remarkable celebration and testament to the importance of preservation and revitalization." Bush and his son are founding members of the Friends of Harmony Hall and began advocating to save the Harmony Hall-Jacob Sloat House in 2004. 

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.

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