The Green Building on the corner of Chestnut and Main streets in downtown Liberty has been awarded a $1.25 million NY State ReStore grant that promises to provide 39 residential units for working families.

The three-story structure, which dominates the Liberty Village Historic District, was constructed on the site of the former Liberty Music Hall which was destroyed along with many other village buildings in the devastating fire of June 1913.

The huge, 45,000-square-foot rehabilitation will restore a third of the space to ground-floor commercial real estate, while the second and third floors will be renovated as apartments, thanks to rezoning changes approved by the Village of Liberty.

Town of Liberty Supervisor Frank DeMayo is very excited about the project and how it contributes to his vision of the establishment of a vibrant, community-oriented downtown space.

“Psychologically, what it does for people who live in and around the village, or even in the town, when they drive down Main Street, seeing these buildings fixed up, it gives them a sense of pride in the community,” DeMayo said.

Local developer and Liberty resident Abraham Mizrahi, the current owner of the Green Building and multiple other properties in the area, has worked closely with DeMayo and Confidential Secretary Nick Rusin to apply for and receive the ReStore grant. The award specifically targets neighborhood growth through the elimination and redevelopment of blighted structures.

The Green Building has had several of its store fronts gutted and boarded up, and many of the upper story windows have been removed in preparation renovation work.

“The building inside is a mess,” said one Liberty resident, standing on the sidewalk across the street from the structure. “But I hope they can fix it up. Downtown can really use affordable housing.”

The original Liberty Music Hall building was purchased in 1904 by businessman B.F. Green where he opened a department store on its ground floor. Following the fire which destroyed the wooden structure, Green rebuilt it of brick, added an elaborate clock over the front door and had his name displayed in large letters on the building’s cornice.

“They’re still gutting the building,” DeMayo said. “They still have a lot of work to do – the floors were buckled upstairs and the roof leaks were horrendous. But we expect eventually to have 39 apartments on the upper floors, and then retail down below.”