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About All In
All In is a place for everyone who works at NCPR to share behind the scenes activity, and surprising, curious, lovely or distinctly local tidbits from our travels around the region. We’ll post the best of what we find online, too. From time to time, you may hear from others—if you’d like to write an entry, send it to [email protected]. What makes this place what it is? How do we connect to each other and the world? That’s what ALL IN is all about.
Canton is fortunate to have developers who will take the risks that are being taken on this project. All in all I believe it will end up a nice positive for the community.
David,
I like your idea of the brew pub…
I think this will turn out very nicely, I just hope they can rent or lease all the units. It’s to the point where just about any use is better than an old eyesore.
I am torn. Growing up in Canton, I can still remember when they first painted the mural that was on the side of Gray Lanes. That in my eyes was a piece of our culture. When I visited my family last, I was highly discouraged to see it was gone. On the other hand, the building itself was in a state of disrepair. I am sure that whatever the building is used for, it will make Canton a more beautiful community, however the mural is an irreplaceable piece of our heritage.
I miss the bowling alley and wish we still had it.
I grew up in the county and have fond memories of bowling at Gray Lanes; however, I am beginning to like what is unfolding on the site. I don’t look at the bowling alley transformation in isolation from the larger community and other nearby changes. The renovation is part of a larger set of actions being taken through a combination of efforts focusing on the river, parks, downtown, and larger community. The nearby TAUNY Center, for instance, brings people into the downtown for a variety of events; and I look forward to the new condos and offices at the old bowling alley adding to a richer mix of options for people who live, work, and/or shop in Canton.
I grew up at the bowling alley. This community wonders why our children don’t stay to raise their children. Their is nothing in this village for kids to do. The bowling alley should of stayed as a Bowling alley. Canton needs more empty office space and condo’s.
I regret that the developers did not use an historically sensitive architect. Every other building on the north side of Main Street was built in the late 1800’s, unlike the tacky south side of the street. The St Lawrence County Housing Council has applied for a grant to help owners maintain the character of the north side. This was an historical building, but you would never know it from the new design. It would not have been all that hard to make it fit, if they cared. I’m sorry so much of our money was used to do that.
I think the site is looking terrific and fits in with the rest of downtown.
I am just glad someone is doing something with the building. It looks nice and they are doing a good job on it.
Overall, I think the site is a huge improvement for the town, Although I think they missed the boat for two reasons:
1. The aluminum siding on what will be the office part of the building does not go with the rest of the building and the rest of main street.
2. This is the big one. Every prosperous historic main street has a successful restaurant business. Every prosperous main street that has scenic waterfront has a nice place to eat on the water front (Imagine watching the sunset out the windows of the Rushton place while enjoying a great meal). If there were to be a waterfront brew pub I believe that it would really put Canton on the map as a destination in the north country for travelers from near and far. On daily basis I interact with a number of people who are invested in the Canton area, and everybody has been calling for a brew pub, or nice waterfront restaurant. Not pursuing this is denying the community what they are asking for and missing a huge opportunity for economic growth.
Examples of why this would work:
-This summer on the same day, I saw two weddings doing photos on the heritage islands, a Restaurant there would be an ideal location for wedding receptions.
-There are a lot of different organizations on the two (four if you count the two in Potsdam) college campuses that have to travel as far as Ogdensburg to hold formals
-The colleges bring all kinds of visitor to the area, this would be a great place for them to go (parents would love it)
-Another nice place in town, would keep business in town rather than leaving for Potsdam, and even bring some people from Potsdam to Canton
The problem in lies in the developer, they have requested that there would be no food service establishments in the building. Denying the opportunity for the right fit before it even pops up. This also is a poor decision for them, because I bet if a nice establishment were placed in the building it would only drive the property values up!
Finally, if finding the right fit is a problem, Canton is home to two great colleges, both of which have expansive alumni networks, with many sharp businesspeople. I see no reason that those resources could not be tapped to find an alum, who would like to return to the area and open a waterfront restaurant.
Once again, I can not emphasize this enough, that corridor being cleaned-up and renovated is a great for this town we all love so much, but we are really missing the opportunity to take Canton to the next level with this project.
I like the comparison of economic development to managing a baseball team. Humorous and pretty accurate.
Everybody has great ideas about what should be in downtown Canton and what SHOULDN’T be in downtown Canton. I went to college in Canton, left and came back. I have heard all kinds of brilliant ideas over the last two decades.
I’d love to see Family Dollar move to the old IGA location in the Midtown Plaza so that IGA building could be torn down and replaced with replicas of some of the old buildings that were once there, but where is the money going to come from, who will take the lead and manage the project and, most importantly, how would a project like that sustain itself? “If you build it, they will come” works for awhile, but what about long term?
I can see the community value of building a replica of the old Canton town hall where Nice and Easy plans to build. A great community space with a performance space and office/work space for the handful of established community groups. Would those community groups be able to pay rent and help maintain and sustain the facility on an on going basis? Could those organizations raise enough money on an ongoing basis to fund their increased need? Would the building be owned by for profit company (paying taxes) and leasing space back.
Our vision of the perfect downtown have to be balanced with the economic realities of the day.
I think the Rushton Place development is a good one for the greater community. The Place is still very much a work in progress. Many of the concerns about the project are based on rumors. I have spoken a few times with John Gray (one of the developers) he is very open and honest about their progress, the intended outcome and (wait for it….) actual business strategy.
The interest in the condo portion of the development far exceeds the available units. They want 10 year leases for the office/retail space. 10 year leases make sense: any small business that is willing to commit to a 10 year lease knows how to sustain itself.
I always hear and read how there need to be “things for young people to do” to keep them in town. If they had kept the bowling alley open or converted the place to night club that wouldn’t be enough.
First and foremost, the community has to be open enough to allow young people to make it their own. That isn’t a building or a facility, that is an attitude and a perception.
Rushton Place shows people who live here, go to school here and who pass through here that something is happening here and in this era of stagnation, that means something.
i do not like the siding.!.they clad a brick bldg. w/ plywood and then attached fake brick !!!..aesthically&historically inappropriate..Besides which the siding will not last..it is a cheap,lowrent facade..!…if they had to cover exterior,they could have clad it in high density foam board and then a drivet system(stucco)..At least it would have improved thermal propertys by enclosing original walls in an unbroken insulation barrier and i certainly prefer stucco to fake brick,z-brick or whatever they have named it now..probably some grand sounding name,no doubt..always give crap a evocative title,don’t they.?.