Barber Conable Award, Farmer's Creekside Tavern & Inn

This year's Conable Award recognizes an outstanding rehabilitation project in LeRoy that signifies the owner's tenacity and commitment to community revitalization. The handsome stone building located at One Main Street, overlooking Oatka Creek, was originally built in the 1820s, serving as a hat factory and private residence, prior to becoming a restaurant that was a major gathering place for residents and visitors. In 2004, a fire devastated the building, causing extensive damage that threatened the stability of the surviving structure. In 2007, Bill Farmer, founder of Catenary Construction, purchased the building and spent the next ten years rehabilitating it. His expertise as a masonry contractor and developer was critical to the success of the project, which posed numerous challenges, both structural and financial. Careful sorting of damaged building parts and materials allowed their re-use in the rehabilitation. The resulting four-level, 10,000-square-foot building blends the old with the new, with fine dining facilities, two bars, rooms for lodging, and a dramatic outdoor terrace with patio seating overlooking the creek.

Courtesy of The Landmark Society of Western New York