Tag Archives: Sacred Places Symposium

“Second Life for Sacred Places” – Feature Article In Central New York Magazine: The Good Life

PACNY encourages all of our members to check out the July/August 2014 issue of Central New York Magazine: The Good Life, which features an excellent article entitled “Second Life for Sacred Places” by Renee Gadoua of Manlius (and a PACNY Member!). The article discusses the challenges facing the preservation of former sacred sites, and highlights the ongoing transformation of the former Holy Trinity Roman Catholic Church (501 Park Street) into Masjid ‘Eesa ibn Maryam (Mosque of Jesus the Son of Mary) and the revitalization of People’s AME Zion Church (711 East Fayette Street).

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PACNY’s Sacred Places Symposium (November, 2013) and our advocacy supporting the preservation and re-use of People’s AME Zion Church are also featured. We encourage you to pick up a copy today and learn about important efforts to preserve and revitalize sacred buildings in our area… and all your favorite places to get ice cream! A great issue of a great magazine!

“Endangered Churches” – From PBS’ Religion & Ethics Newsweekly – Featuring 2013 Symposium Keynote Speaker A. Robert Jaeger

A recent story featured on the PBS program Religion & Ethics Newsweekly includes a discussion with A. Robert Jaeger, the President of Partners for Sacred Places and keynote speaker for our 2013 Sacred Places Symposium.

Across the nation, declining church membership is taking its toll on the physical state of houses of worship. In Philadelphia, churches are venturing into new partnerships to try and preserve their historic buildings. “Congregations have shrunk so much and budgets have shrunk so much that it’s hard for congregations to keep up with their buildings,” observes Bob Jaeger, president of Partners for Sacred Places, who calls the neglect of houses of worship a national crisis. “Unless they do something creative and bold, many of them will close or merge in the next ten, twenty years,” he adds.

You can watch the segment from the PBS video below or see the official show page featuring a transcript of the event.

2014 PACNY Award Features Part 2 – Kate Auwaerter, Downtown Committee Of Syracuse, Inc., And Stevedore Lofts

2014 PACNY Award Feature #4 – Kate Auwaerter

2014may20_large_021109Auwaerter1MGPACNY is pleased to present a Preservation Merit Award to Kate Auwaerter for her advocacy for historic resources in our community. Kate Auwaerter represents the strongest voice for historic preservation within our local government. In addition to providing oversight to the City’s Landmark Preservation Board, Kate has pursued grants, funding, and partnerships to undertake comprehensive surveys and City Landmark/National Register nominations, including the Scottholm neighborhood, the former Village of Danforth, the Syracuse Downtown Commercial Historic District, and the former Village of Salina. Kate has provided effective leadership, fund-raising, and support for preservation efforts such as Save 711 East Fayette Street (dedicated to preserving and rehabilitating the former A.M.E. Zion Church). In short, Central New York owes Kate Auwaerter a great debt for her role in preserving important resources in our community. PACNY sincerely appreciates Kate Auwaerter’s tireless pursuit of grants, funding, and partnerships to identify, preserve, restore, and promote historic resources in the region. In addition, PACNY is indebted to her significant help organizing the Sacred Places Symposium in 2013.

2014 PACNY Award Feature #5 – Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc.

2014may20_DowntownCommitteePACNY is pleased to present a Preservation Merit Award to the Downtown Committee of Syracuse, Inc. in recognition of the organization’s ongoing service to our community by promoting the economic revitalization, beautification, security, and preservation of the built environment in Downtown Syracuse.

The Downtown Committee’s significant recent contributions to the preservation of local historic resources include: funding and preparation, in partnership with the Onondaga Historical Association, of the Historic Walking Tour of Downtown Syracuse; National Register nominations for the Armory Square Historic District (1984), South Salina Street Downtown Historic District (2006), and the Downtown Syracuse Commercial Historic District (2013); partnership and advocacy for numerous Historic Preservation Tax-Credit funded projects; and celebrating the historic character of downtown and promoting the reuse of historic buildings by featuring the architecture and historic building stock in recruitment videos and television commercial campaigns.

We appreciate the Downtown Committee’s support of commercial development and the residential renaissance of Downtown Syracuse, which contributes to the vitality, physical condition, and preservation of the unique and impressive architectural legacy of our region’s core.

2014 PACNY Award Feature #6 – Stevedore Lofts

2014may20_Stevedore3PACNY is pleased to present a Preservation Merit Award for the Stevedore Lofts project, which is an impressive and significant adaptive reuse of the former Standard Yarn Company woolen mill and warehouses in the City of Oswego.

The former Standard Yarn Company mill and warehouses, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, were built in three stages between 1897 and 1911 and represent one of the few remaining mills on the Oswego River.

Renovation of this National Register listed property was conducted in close consultation with the State Historic Preservation office and has resulted in a vibrant mixed-use building located on Riverwalk Park with 29 market-rate apartments with commercial and office space on the ground floor.

PACNY congratulates the Stevedore Lofts, LLC partnership – Ted Kinder, Robert Medina, Tim Stitt, and Larry Clark – as well as MacKnight Architects, MCK Building Associates, Sutton Companies, the City of Oswego, the Oswego County Industrial Development Agency, and a Restore NY Grant on the renovation of this major asset for the City of Oswego.