Norm Johnston/Watertown Daily Times

Attendees mingle in the foyer of the Franklin Building on Friday during the open house following the official opening of the refurbished building on Public Square.

Ribbon Cutting: Guests impressed at transformation of former YWCA

For years, Sherry M. Wilson put kiddy pools around the old YWCA because the century-old building's roof leaked and she wanted to save the structure from further deterioration.

On Friday, Miss Wilson was among 75 city, state and federal officials and residents who celebrated a decadelong effort to save and restore the landmark, now known as the Franklin Building.

During Friday's ribbon-cutting ceremony, Gary C. Beasley, executive director of Neighbors of Watertown Inc., credited her efforts for "holding the building together" before his agency and the Watertown Local Development Corp. got the battle going to save three-story structure at 50 Public Square from almost certain demolition.

Miss Wilson, who started as the YWCA's recreation and physical education director 40 years ago and ended up as its board president, recalled how she went into the then-decaying building at all times of the day and night to take pails and dump the water out of the small pools she put in the third-floor gymnasium and other parts of the building.

She said she's "delighted" with the $10 million restoration project.

"I like the building, even when it was deteriorating," she said.

The Franklin Building has 16 apartments on the upper floors and eight to 10 commercial spaces on the ground floor. So far, the North Country Arts Council is the lone tenant, but there has been interest in the other storefronts.

The Watertown Local Development Corp., also known as the Watertown Trust, purchased the building in 2002 for $55,000 after the YWCA closed. In 1997, the city condemned portions of the building because it had decayed so much. It took nearly $700,000 in roof and stabilization work before the actual reconstruction could begin, said Donald W. Rutherford, chief executive officer of the Watertown Trust.

Calling it "a long haul" that began with his involvement "four jobs ago," James P. Fayle, regional director of the Empire State Development Corp., credited Neighbors and the Watertown Trust for their perseverance. Along the way, construction was delayed, driving up costs. Others got involved. For instance, city officials helped obtain a $375,000 Community Development Block Grant.

As it turned out, the project needed about 10 funding sources from the public and private sectors to save it, said Daniel P. Buyer, assistant commissioner of the state's Homes and Community Renewal regional office.

"Everyone involved in it has said that it was the most complicated building they ever worked on," Mr. Beasley told the crowd.

Miss Wilson and others in the crowd remembered the Y's pool on the ground floor. Some taught swimming lessons there, while others said their children simply enjoyed the pool.

Louise J. Haraczka stopped by to compare what the building looked like when she was a volunteer for the Women's Center of Jefferson County Inc. in the early 1980s. She was impressed by the refurbished skylights and the new look of the tin ceilings.

"I just can't get over how magnificent the building looks," she said.