Excellence Award Spotlight: Art's Cafe
Volunteers pose in front of the restored storefront at 5 East Main Street in Springville, shortly after installing the Art’s Cafe signage.
“This project has meant so much to Springville,” said Martin Timm, Springville Center for the Arts Board President. “This award celebrates the many years our team, along with so many dedicated volunteers, have contributed to preserving this piece of our history.”
A collapsed building, rescued by a group of passionate citizens—this is the home of Art's Café in Springville. Three floors, steeped in history, feature an artisan bakery and café with a connected arts workshop, performance venue, fully accessible green roof, and artist residences.
The Italianate brick building at 5 East Main Street in Springville served as the home to many thriving businesses for over a century. Built in 1880, it is especially notable for the exuberant design of its second-story facade, which features brick piers between bays, round-arched window openings, recessed square brick panels, and a prominent bracketed metal cornice. Sadly, after 20 years of neglect, the roof collapsed into the basement, threatening neighboring buildings and passersby.
The green roof at Art’s Cafe was installed by a group of 30 trained volunteers.
In 2012, the nonprofit Springville Center for the Arts (SCA) acquired the building for a dollar and worked with the Erie County Legislature to free the property from back taxes. From the beginning, the project was propelled by community support. Springville residents rallied early on through an online campaign. Architect Jay Braymiller donated design work. The new steel structure was installed by the Iron Workers Local 6 apprenticeship program. Labor and love were given by carpenters, masons and more. The area's first green roof was installed by a crew of 30 trained volunteers. Through sweat and sacrifice, the structure was rebuilt, floor by floor.
Fittingly, Art's Cafe is owned by the community. To complete the financing and launch the business, SCA created a partnership between the nonprofit, community investors, and worker-owners who operate the cafe. This business structure reflects the mission of building community and reinvesting in Main Street. This unique business arrangement also allowed for a novel approach to the use of tax credit financing, which a tax-exempt nonprofit like SCA would not ordinarily be able to utilize. With targeted outreach, $380,000 in funding was raised from small, individual investors who were then able to use small pieces of the national and state credits to offset their personal income.
The photo on the left shows how the building had completely collapsed in on itself, with the roof falling into the basement. A dedicated community effort rebuilt the structure floor by floor, preserving the intact historic streetscape, and turning the building into a community gathering space. The photo on the right shows a packed house enjoying live music in the finished cafe space.
Major work was completed at the end of 2019. When the pandemic derailed original plans, Art’s Café opened in stages. First, the Café’s Backdoor Bakery started selling baked goods out of the back alley in the spring of 2020. The full Café opened about a year later and now hosts music, theater, school tours, garden groups, workshops, Spanish lessons, and everyday quiet moments. Art's Cafe has become a model multi-use redevelopment creating pedestrian activity in downtown Springville, driven by the preservation of a historic building.
“The transformation of Art’s Café is truly inspiring,” said Preservation League President Jay DiLorenzo. “From a building shell to a multi-use business, Art’s Café is a model for how historic preservation can help revitalize a community.”
Art’s Café was funded in part by: State and Federal Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits; NYS Parks Environmental Protection Fund grant; NYS Empire State Development grant; Village of Springville Main Street Grant; Environmental Facilities Corp Green Innovation Grant Program; Homes & Community Renewal Rural Area Revitalization Program
The Art’s Cafe project team included: The Board of Springville Center for the Arts, owner; Seth Wochensky, Executive Director and project manager; Jay Braymiller, Architect; Richard Rogers, tax credit attorney; Jonathan Johnsen, securities attorney; Jim DeBelis, tax credit accountant; Richard Berger, acquisition attorney; Tracy Maybray, volunteer coordinator; and the Art’s Cafe Board and worker-owners.
Since 1984, the League's annual Excellence Awards program has allowed us to shine a light on the people who are using historic preservation to make all our lives better —through exemplary restoration projects, indispensable publications, individual action, and organizational distinction.
For more about all of this year’s winners, please click here.