City urban planning leaders have been exploring what it would take to make the historic Oneonta Armory building more accessible, potential uses for spaces in the building and what would need to be done to make those spaces code compliant.
Community Development Director Judy Pangman and Deputy Community Development Director Stephen Yerly are scheduled to present a structural report of the Armory building at the city Common Council meeting Tuesday, June 18.
Currently, the armory is home to the Oneonta Teen Center and a gymnasium.
The city commissioned the report from Johnson-Schmidt and Associates, an architectural firm based in Corning.
Yerly said on Monday, June 17 that they received the full report in July 2023, but wanted to present it to the Common Council to answer any questions.
“There’s been questions about whatever happened to the armory studies, so we’re basically just providing that to the council,” he said. “It’s one of those things where we’re just providing it, and they can ask questions.”
The report is more than 200 pages long and includes information on the building’s significance, an estimate of probable costs for repair, photographs and drawings of existing conditions, state building code review for various uses, a community survey for reuse of the building, historical drawings and an engineering report.
Yerly said that the report isn’t specific to any planned use of the armory — it just exists to inform the city for any future requests.
The city received a grant for a structural report to address the building’s current state and determine what changes would be necessary to be compliant with ADA requirements through the state Community Development Block Grant program.
The grant was effective May 2021 and completed July 14, 2023. The grant was originally $45,600, but the project came in under budget at $39,892.
Principal Architect Elise Johnson-Schmidt said in a letter dated July 14, 2023, to Pangman that the Armory is a “stately building” that other than the front second-floor balcony and the modified ramp, is “mostly intact but underutilized.”
“We hope that this report helps to define the work that needs to be done and that it assists the city of Oneonta to begin the process of finding funds to restore the building because it is a landmark for the city and its presence helps to define the city’s heritage,” she said.
The city surveyed residents in December 2023 and asked what they would like to see the armory used for. Recreation ranked first with children, and family outreach services ranking second.
The Common Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday, June 18.