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WATERTOWN, N.Y. — As members of Neighbors of Watertown Inc. joined community leaders and local politicians for the newly renovated Franklin Building ribbon-cutting ceremony, some remembered a time long before the nearly $10 million project was even thought of.

Jefferson County Board of Legislators Chairwoman Carolyn D. Fitzpatrick, R-Watertown, said the former YWCA holds many personal memories for both her family and herself.

“I actually taught swimming when I first came to Watertown, my boys learned how to swim here,” she said. “Upstairs I taught the first exercise class. It was called ‘Slimnastics.”

Besides being used as a health organization until the mid‘ 90s, the Franklin Building, 50 Public Square, also played a role in women’s independence, as a “safe haven” for abused women and children.

“What a wonderful legacy that is,” Fitzpatrick said.

Sixteen apartments inside the three-story building have all been occupied and were renovated to “green standards,” according to Gary C. Beasley, chief executive officer of
Neighbors of Watertown Inc., which has owned the building since 2002.

“The building is state-of-the-art as far as the energy and mechanical systems,” Beasley said. “The entire envelope was sprayed with a soy product that met the ‘green’ criteria,”

Millwork throughout the building, as well as some wooden window panes, were also often taken off the walls and restored.

Neighbors of Watertown is now seeking commercial vendors for its first floor storefronts.