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| 2002 Designees |
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Albion Business District
albion, orlean county
threat: economic decline and deterioration
For over a century, the Erie Canal was
considered the “Main Street” of upstate New York, and
its presence led to the construction of densely packed commercial
cores in communities all along the canal. The Village of Albion
has one such core, which still contains an almost completely intact
collection of 19th century buildings. As in most of the villages
along the Erie Canal today, however, the economic viability of
Albion’s historic downtown
is threatened by underutilization and new commercial development
in the region, which is creeping toward the community’s
fringes.
Albion awaits change, but the assistance that it and every
other canal community desperately requires is not available. There
is a strong need for a sustained “Main Street Revitalization
Program” for
canal communities, which has to come from state government. With
the new State and National heritage corridor designations for
the canal, there are new opportunities to focus attention on
these villages.
Promoting a return to Main Street and using preservation
as the means to economic development is the key to revitalizing
the entire canal corridor. With the right tools, creative incentives
and the elimination of existing barriers to downtown reinvestment,
Albion can be a model, not only for western New York, but for
the state as a whole.
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