Amsterdam City Hall

ClientCity of Amsterdam
LocationAmsterdam, NY
Date2011-2013 – Extensive property research, condition assessment, and documentation in the preparation of a Historic Structure Report
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Amsterdam City Hall

In the Spring of 2012, Landmark Consulting was commissioned to conduct the study and complete a historic structure report (HSR) for the former Sanford Mansion which has served as the Amsterdam City Hall since 1932. It is fitting that the old Sanford home would today serve as the seat of the city government, since the Sanford family played such a large role historically in the growth and prosperity of the city of Amsterdam. It has been written that “no name is more closely interwoven with the history and prosperity of the city of Amsterdam than that of Sanford.”

The Sanford Mansion was built by Stephen Sanford (1826-1913), the eldest son of John Sanford (1803-1857) the founder of the Amsterdam Sanford family who began his career as a school teacher, was elected to Congress and then spent the later half of his live building the beginnings of a carpet manufacturing business. John Sanford is considered the father of this great industry that put Amsterdam on the map in the 19th century. Stephen Sanford followed in his father footprints and built great wealth for his family and his city as one of the most prominent city leaders. It was Stephen that built the home at 61 Church Street in Amsterdam that eventually was left to the city to serve as the home of the municipal government. Originally built in the Italianate style in the 1870s, the building was dramatically renovated under the designs of prominent Albany architect, Albert Fuller in the 1910s.

The Historic Structure Report is focusing on just the main building (approx. 13,000 s.f.) despite several historic outbuildings and extensive landscape elements. The HSR which is funded in part by a PreserveNY grant through the Preservation League of NYS, is intended to serve several purposes for the advancement of the building’s preservation such as providing the City with a roadmap on how best to arrest current and accelerating deterioration resulting from decades of deferred maintenance due to limited capital improvement funds. This roadmap should not only identify the most urgent repair or restoration projects, but also explain how these repairs should be approached in order to achieve a 30-50 year minimum life cycle in order to be fiscally responsible and justifiable to taxpayers. The HSR will also serve as the City’s primary fundraising and public relations tool for promoting the City Hall building as a public asset and for securing the capital to apply appropriate and long-lasting preservation treatments.