Bath’s former Dana Lyon School building officially has new life.
Tenants will soon fill the recently completed 49-unit apartment complex in downtown Bath at the converted, long-vacant school building.
Denise O’Toole, development manager at Providence Housing Development Corp., called the $29 million Dana Lyon Apartments project a great addition to the Bath community.
“We’ve been on the project since 2019,” O’Toole said. “It’s been quite a long haul to get to where we are now, but it was well worth all of our efforts and hard work. We were extremely interested in investing in Bath. We felt this project was going to make a difference in the community to save a historic building, which was key in our decision making. We just love the community.”
Bath Village Mayor Mike Sweet said Dana Lyon Apartments turned an eyesore at 208 Liberty St. into an asset to the Steuben County village, which is home to the county seat.
“In 2007, when I was just a resident of the Village of Bath, Dana Lyon was an eyesore in the middle of the village,” Sweet said. “When I ran for Village Mayor in 2020 one of my first commitments was to do something with the school, either being torn down or renovated.”
Sweet said he spent countless hours working with the Save the Lyon Commission, a local non-profit that formed to preserve and spur redevelopment of the property.
“The Save the Lyon Commission was the one who worked with Providence Housing, who eventually purchased the site,” Sweet said. “It wasn’t the village vetting out Providence Housing’s resume and their history and experience. Save the Lyon Commission did that and made the decision to sell and the results are absolutely beautiful.”
O’Toole said Providence Housing purchased the Dana Lyons property in 2019 and broke ground on the project in December 2024.
Jamie Johnson, executive director of the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency, said he recently toured the large building and was impressed with the results.
“They’ve done a wonderful job reusing a long vacant building,” Johnson said.
Sweet, who also recently toured Dana Lyon Apartments, said he was stunned by the quality of the work.
“They have kept as much of the original architecture as possible,” Sweet said. “It’s really a stunning facility. It certainly looks much better when you drive through the heart of downtown Bath and see that renovated building than it did before.”
Providence also manages housing in the Rochester area and in Elmira at LaFrance Apartments, Clemens Manor, McNiff Commons and Eastgate Apartments.
Rent eligibility, onsite services at Bath’s new Lyon Apartments
The 49 residential units at Dana Lyon Apartments include 31 one-bedroom units, 10 two-bedroom apartments with kitchens and spacious living and dining areas. Thirty-four units are handicap accessible, visitable, and adaptable; five units are wheelchair accessible, and two units are for those who are hearing and/or visually impaired.
The building is targeted towards households earning up to between 50-60% of the average median income. Housing Choice vouchers will be accepted.
Monthly rent of the one-bedroom units is currently listed at $658 for one-two tenants with household income between $16,450-$36,000. Two-bedroom units for households between two-four people are available for $795 per month for households making between $19,875-$44,950.
“I’ve heard they have a lot of applications,” Sweet said. “So, the quality of people that are going to be living there is going to be great for the Village of Bath.”
Services for the eight supportive housing units will be provided by Catholic Charities Steuben/Livingston on site and through other community organizations.
An initial housing lottery was held in April to determine which applications will be reviewed for tenancy. All applications received after that date will be reviewed in order of receipt from a waiting list, Providence said.
The property features on-site laundry facilities, service office space, a management office, exercise room, community room, playground and outdoor greenspace, officials said. There will also be commercial space that will be leased for the operation of a community arts center.
O’Toole said a Tri-County YMCA fitness center satellite, which opened July 31, a daycare center and Waterman Arts Center will each have space in the Dana Lyons community center.
Dana Lyon Apartments add needed housing in Bath
Before launching the project, Providence conducted a housing study that determined Bath’s demand for housing could absorb the 49 new units. The village and the town have experienced job growth over the last several years, including a new Amazon warehouse center, a new LP Building Solutions plant and the growth of local companies like T&R Environmental and Momentum of Western New York.
The village was also awarded a $4.5 million NY Forward grant to fund 11 local projects.
The Save the Lyon Commission was founded about two decades ago to preserve the former Dana Lyon School building at the corner of Liberty and Washington streets in Bath. The Save the Lyon Commission raised money over the past few decades that funded some improvements, including roof repairs and a new handicap ramp and railing system.
“It’s been a long process for so many of us,” Commission President Walt Longwell told The Leader in 2023. “I remember in the early days people would look at you and say, ‘Tear it down.’ Our name says Save the Lyon, and that’s what we did. We’re very happy to have helped.”
This article originally appeared on The Leader: Dana Lyon Apartments repurposes empty Bath school with 49 new units
Reporting by Jeff Smith, Corning Leader / The Leader
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Smith, Corning Leader | USA TODAY Network
