New life for old Jamesville fire house

HAMLET OF JAMESVILLE – The old Jamesville Firehouse in the center of the hamlet will be converted into a new community center as part of a revitalization project funded by Onondaga County, the town of DeWitt and the Jamesville Fire District.
Last week, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon joined town and county officials to announce $476,000 in county funding for three projects in the hamlet. That funding will be matched with $247,000 from the town and $40,000 from the Jamesville Fire District, bringing the total investment to $760,000.
“The money is coming. We’re going to get these projects done,” McMahon said. “Our goal is to have these investments really shore up this community.”
The centerpiece of the project is the redevelopment of the firehouse into a community center. Currently, the building is used as storage for the Jamesville Fire Department and it also houses the Jamesville Food Pantry.
Jamesville resident Bob Catney, who served as the longtime principal of Jamesville Elementary School and is now the president of the Jamesville Museum, said the 6,500 square foot building will serve the community in a variety of ways. The facility will house before- and after-school childcare, activities for Jamesville’s senior citizens, a satellite location for the Community Library of DeWitt & Jamesville, and it will continue to host the food pantry, Catney said.
County Legislator Dave Knapp credited Catney, Duane Dix of the fire department, and former county Legislator Vicki Baker for “being that squeaky wheel that it takes to make these things happen.”
“Vicki and Bob have been working on this project since the new fire house was built,” said DeWitt Councilor Kerry Mannion. “It’s very exciting. It’s a good step forward.”
Construction on the new community center is expected to begin in 2022.
The other aspects of the project include the demolition of the old Coughlin’s Florist building at the T where Jamesville Road meets Route 173.
That property will be converted to a small pocket park that will connect to Grist Mill Park to the east.
With the conversion of the old fire house to a community center, the Jamesville Fire District will construct a new storage facility at the new fire house at the top of the hill east of the hamlet. That project is expected to cost $160,000, with $120,000 coming from the county and $40,000 coming from the fire district.