A BIGGER PROJECT

The Stone Office Building and Stone Mill are part of a bigger revitalization project for downtown Keeseville. It is based on a vision that AARCH and George Moore, the former owner, began discussing as early as 2014.

In addition to being a businessman and entrepreneur, George Moore was also a philanthropist who, for example, gave $2 million to Clinton Community College to renovate and re-equip its major campus building, the former, historic Hotel Lake Champlain. Before he died in 2016, he created and handsomely endowed the George and Shirley Moore Foundation to carry on charitable works to benefit the area and its residents. For about two years before he died, Moore and AARCH’s executive director Steven Engelhart had been discussing how AARCH’s current property and Moore’s adjoining property along the river could be turned into an exemplary project combining the non-profit, private, and public sectors.

Toward that end, with support from the Moore Foundation, AARCH acquired from the George Moore estate an additional 1.5 acres adjoining its Stone Office Building and Stone Mill property, including an additional 500 or so feet of river frontage along the Ausable River. This property also contained a very large, dilapidated, wooden mill building attached to the Stone Mill. This wooden mill had little or no historical significance or practical use. With several hundred thousand dollars of additional funding raised from federal and state sources, AARCH removed the dilapidated (red) wooden mill in 2020. AARCH is now in the process of:

___• cleaning up the wooden mill site
___• donating the major portion of the new property to the Town of Ausable for a riverfront park which will complement the town’s existing park on the other side of the river
___• retaining a portion of the new property for additional parking and privacy for the Stone Mill
___• gaining local subdivision approval to convey the Stone Mill portion as a separate property

The end result will be three parcels of land on AARCH’s side of the river:

___• The Stone Office Building on about 0.25 acres, which AARCH will retain
___• The Stone Mill on about 0.75 acres and 315 feet of river frontage, which will be sold to a private owner
___• The town park with about 1.15 acres, connected to the park on the other side of the river by the 1888 Swing Bridge across the Ausable.

Note: The deeds to the three parcels above will show larger acreage figures, because additional land under the river is included in the sale. The figures above show the approximate acreage of dry land.

\With direct access from Ausable Street, the Stone Mill will have sufficient land for parking 10-12 cars if the new owner has a use requiring it. AARCH also owns a separate adjoining property across Ausable Street which the Stone Mill owner will have the option to purchase at a nominal cost. This would provide additional parking capacity for an additional 40 cars. There is also additional, on-street or public parking in the neighborhood.

When completed, this area along the Ausable River, in the heart of Keeseville, will become the hub of an attractive historic area that will contribute to the vitality and quality of life in the community.