Young Preservationists will tour Medina success stories

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 3 June 2015 at 12:00 am

File photos by Tom Rivers

MEDINA – The Landmark Society’s Young Urban Preservationists plan to be in Medina on June 13 to see the renovation efforts at the former R.H. Newell Shirt Factory on West Center Street. That building has been renovated the past decade by local attorney Andrew Meier.

He has made first floor space available for a coffee shop, a meadery and a performance venue out back. The second floor includes law offices and the top floor has loft apartments and hotel rooms.

The Young Urban Preservationists have visited many preservation success stories in the City of Rochester. The trip to Medina is the first outside Rochester for the group, said Caitlin Meives, a preservation planner with the Landmark Society of Western New York.

“We want to showcase all the cool stuff going on in Medina,” Meives said today.

Chris Busch, president of the Orleans Renaissance Group, is pictured in the main performance hall of the Bent’s Opera House. ORG is trying to restore the building, a dominant structure on Main Street.

The young preservationists will look at the Newell building, tour the Bent’s Opera House and get an update on that preservation effort, and visit other spots in the community.

Meives wants to highlight the young entrepreneurs in Medina who are leading the preservation efforts in the community, as well as a resurgence in the downtown business district.

810 Meadworks is one of several new businesses to open in downtown Medina.

The group from Rochester plans to be in Medina from 2 to 10 p.m. The schedule includes a stop at the 810 Meadworks, the new meadery in the Newell building.

The group will also take in a concert at the open air venue in the building. Meadworks owners are offering live music in the former Boiler 54 performance space this year. Meadworks is calling the venue “The Beegarten.”

Meives said the Medina trip is part of the “Backroads & Byways,” a series of day trips to small towns in the region that are promoting preservation.

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