(Fire crews work to contain a major fire on W. Main St. in the village of Falconer on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Andy Palermo, Jamestown, NY)
FALCONER – It’s been nearly a year since a major arson fire broke out on W. Main St. in Falconer, destroying a major portion of its downtown business corridor.
Since then village officials have been left waiting for the completion of the clean up to take place. Now it appears the final stage of clean up will be moving forward.
The Greater Falconer Area Economic Development Commission held a meeting on Wednesday and according to the Post-Journal, Falconer Mayor James Rensel said work is being done and progress is being made regarding cleanup of a building destroyed by fire last March.
Village attorney Greg Peterson said there’s been an agreement among the property owners to deed a portion of the land where there is debris to the village with “no strings attached.”
The Chautauqua County Land Bank has also committed some financial resources to help remove the debris.
Meanwhile, the property located at 39-43 W. Main St. that is currently condemned will be going through the town of Ellicott court system for enforcement.
Officials also say there are several opportunities to develop the space once the debris is removed and community input in future development is encouraged.
In addition to the March 2017 arson fire, Falconer officials are still reeling from another major fire on the same block that occurred in January 2018 and completely destroyed the Falconer Vac Shop business, which housed two businesses and several apartments. The official cause was never established, but investigators said that while they have to rule the cause as “undetermined” they also say nothing appears suspicious.
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