The Center publicly kicked off its redevelopment of the historic Hale House in Elizabethtown, NY, in August with a celebration that included local leaders, Elizabethtown residents, and Center board members and staff. 

About 35 people gathered on the lawn on a beautiful summer evening to launch the project, which will create 5 units of housing. Plans call for four apartments in the large house, each with two or three bedrooms, and a single-family, two-bedroom rental in the separate Law Library building on the grounds. 

The renovation, which is expected to cost about $3 million, will significantly increase year-round rental properties available in town. The main building was built in 1818 and significantly changed later in the century. The property is part of the Hale-Hand Historic District and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 

In a roster of speakers, Town of Lewis Supervisor Jim Monty, on behalf of the Essex County Board of Supervisors, talked about the County’s experience with understanding the acute need for housing, including for county employees. Data on local building permits show that Elizabethtown has averaged less than two units of new or restored housing per year over the last five years. 

Other speakers included Assemblyman Matt Simpson, Center Board member Aaron Woolf, Center President Rob Riley, Adirondack Program Manager Adam Bailey, and local historian Maggie Bartley who spoke about the building’s long history of housing prominent Elizabethtown residents ranging from the local match manufacturer and gunsmith to the Judge Robert S. Hale, who in the 1800s was a prominent lawyer, Regent of the University of the State of New York, and a member of the US Congress. 

Center staff are working with the design firm Simple Design on the renovation plans for the buildings. “We hope to get construction going next spring and have the units ready to rent in 2026,” said Adam Bailey, the Center’s Adirondack Program Manager.