The Haberer Building (Tax Map ID: 318.042-1-29) was likely built in the 1870's. To the East is Sayer Alley, and adjoining on the West side is the Jones Building.
Facing to the South are the results of Utica's last urban renewal effort: A never completed 1st floor retail, 6 story, hotel. Today it is an Unattractive Warehousing Operation and underground parking garage. Today we know the buildings as the "FotoFare" buildings.
August 9, 2010 -Some backstory on building's former owner, Massachusetts developers see bright prospects in Utica
Today @UticaLandmarks went by @CityofUtica's Haberer Building https://t.co/vzGBtBn8RZ For #HeartBomb2018, Spread the Love for Historic Places | National Trust for Historic Preservation. Learn more https://t.co/LIwIf3rd4z via @savingplaces pic.twitter.com/XpnXCDH4Z7
— Brett Truett (@BrettTruett) February 11, 2018
The Haberer was featured in this newspaper article Are historic buildings in downtown hospital site worth saving? We firmly believe the Haberer Building should be saved, so do these folks, Landmarks Heartbombers.
Learn more about the Haberer's neighborhood here: Landmarks Newsletter, Page 4
The local paper again features the Haberer, but got it terrible wrong. They stated,
"If we kept all the buildings of yesterday, there would be no tomorrow."
Really, no tomorrow? What city do you know that has blocks and blocks of old buildings, and newer buildings placed elsewhere?
People must realize are a few basic realities; 1) A new shiny hospital doesn't turn Downtown Utica into a large, modern, cosmopolitan city, 2) The Columbia Lafayette Neighborhood needs reuse and in-fill development, not a massive, out-of-scale project, 3) Utica is a poor and very small city- moving around hospital infrastructure will make us poorer and would arrest downtown's current rebirth.
Another project, suitable to revitalizing the Columbia Lafayette Neighborhood, would be this In-fill Condo project.
BetterUticaDowntown (BUD) Says: "You will see how the Columbia-Lafayette Neighborhood will be further developed to Become a more desirable place to do business, visit, and live. You'll learn how we will work with other Utica Neighborhoods to develop increased "connectedness"