The Village of Lewiston Mayor, Terry C. Collesano and the Village Board of Trustees are issuing a major announcement that they have joined hands to save the iconic Frontier House, a regional landmark that has remained vacant for the last 14 years.
The Village of Lewiston will be requesting Greenway funding to help purchase the Frontier House from the Hastings Family for $800,000. A figure that is a million dollars less than the original asking price, and very close to the appraised value of the property.
The agreement has been reached in principle and awaits approval by the Village Board of Trustees.
Mayor Collesano commented “The Frontier House is the symbol of Lewiston’s character and culture. It is part and parcel of our rich heritage and embodies the hopes and dreams of our citizens. Some may look at it as just a building, but it is our touchstone to the past that will shape our community’s future”.
“This is the big news we’ve all waited years for, finally, we have a plan that will move us forward to our goal of complete and total restoration so the Frontier House can be revived to its original glory”. The Mayor Continued to say, “Everything is on the table and we want to see ideas that involve business, professional, commercial, residential and multi–use plans. Ideally, we would like to see proposals involving public access, especially on the first floor that would highlight the historical aspects of the building. Bottom line – we are open to anything as long as the Frontier House is restored and becomes a viable working building again. Our goal is to unleash the Frontier House’s potential and make it Lewiston’s crown jewel once again.”
The Frontier House was once recognized as the finest hotel in the United States, west of the Hudson River and has always been Lewiston’s premiere historic landmark. Stage Coaches once thundered up to its doors when it served as a place to stop, when Lewiston was the center of the “Great Overland Route Across the Continent”. Construction on the Frontier House started in 1824 and it opened its doors 18 months later in 1825.
It sits in the center of Lewiston’s business district and is considered one of the most historic structures in Western New York.
The Frontier House sits on nearly an acre of prime real estate with a building footprint of over 4300 square feet and hosts interior square footage of over 17,000. It consists of a large basement area and four floors, making it Lewiston’s tallest building.
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