$3.7 million Clock Tower renovation to be unveiled at Elmira City Hall

ELMIRA, N.Y. (WETM) – The City of Elmira says it’s almost time to reveal a nearly $3.7 million dollar renovation of the Clock Tower at City Hall. Elmira City Manager Michael Collins told 18 News a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held in “the very near future.”

The city says the 129-year-old clock tower needed major repairs because it had become unsafe for people in and around the building. The city says the clock tower became a hazard due to “failing mortar, weed and water intrusion.” The clock stopped working in 2017.

The clock tower had been covered since October after workers put up scaffolding. Thursday morning, workers could be seen taking down a tarp that was shielding the clock tower from the elements.

Mr. Collins said scaffolding will come down next, before some final repairs are made to portions of the roof of the building. Collins told 18 News the project is being completed ahead of schedule and on budget. The city says the work is being done by Lupini Construction from Utica, New York . The project is being overseen by the Foor & Associates architectural firm .

The city initially set aside $3.5 million for the project. On October 12th, 2023, Collins said $2.9 million is coming from the federal Covid-19 American Rescue Plan. He said $600,000 is coming from a grant. As for the additional $175,812,47, Mr. Collins told city council members “interest from the Capital Accounts will be used to pay for this additional cost.”

On February 26th, 2024, the Elmira City Council unanimously approved an additional $175,812,47 for repairs . The construction company handling the project told the city the clock tower was more deteriorated than originally thought. That would raise the total cost of the project to nearly $3.7 million.

A contract proposal from Lupini Construction, Inc stated: “During Removal process, it was found that the Vine Growth that was evident on the exterior of the clock Tower is much more reaching in depth inside the wall, which has caused significant failures along with allowing moisture in the wall and the freeze thaw cycles have accelerated the mortar failure. The balconies require reconstruction and the interior steel beams require the concrete fireproofing be removed so that the structural integrity can be observed by the engineers. The following pages detail the scope of this work.”

A newsletter published by the City of Elmira on June 19th, 2024, stated: “After receiving many questions and comments regarding the clock tower project, we’d like to address what all is being done. The entire structural integrity of the clock, roof, etc. was not good. There was failing mortar, weed and water intrusion, and safety hazards for those inside and outside the building. The clock itself is being repaired as well, but it was not the only concern regarding this whole project.”

The hands on the clock have been stuck at 12:26 since it stopped working seven years ago. Once the clock is working again, you won’t hear it chime on the hour because it has no bell.

City Hall was designed by the architectural duo Pierce & Bickford. The Chemung County Historical Society says Joseph H. Pierce and Hiram H. Bickford designed and renovated hundreds of commercial buildings, public buildings and homes in the Southern Tier. Their works mainly featured an Italian renaissance style.

“They were in business from 1890 to 1932,” said Rachel Dworkin, the archivist at the Chemung County Historical Society. They designed and renovated literally hundreds of buildings throughout the Twin Tiers. They did City Hall. They did the Maxwell Place fire station. They did the YMCA building. They did the original Steele Memorial Library. They did the Iszard’s building. They actually did this building here in 1902. They renovated it added in these vaults and created a new entrance floor. They did at least 20 homes. So, there’s a lot of their work in Elmira that is still standing.”

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