BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

POTSDAM — The village board has voted to abandon and decommission Liberty Street to make way for a major overhaul and restructuring of the Raymond-Depot Street block.  

Village trustees and the mayor voted for the abandonment and then conveyance of the street [which connects Raymond and Depot streets] and a portion of the Raymond Street North parking lot at their meeting March 4. The street and parking area designated in the resolution will be turned over to the Market Square Mall LLC, which is owned by local architect Brooks Washburn.

Washburn is overhauling the mall and is working on a rehabilitation and redesign of the former Scanlon Auto Parts building owned by local businessman Larry Hazen.

Under the agreement with the village, Washburn will trade over new land to the municipality for the construction of a new two-lane road connecting Raymond and Depot, effectively replacing the connection that was offered by Liberty.

The board held a public hearingMarch 4 on the issue and received no public comment. They later, during the meeting, voted for the property swap, after approving the negative findings of a State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) survey that determined the abandonment of Liberty would have no adverse environmental impacts on the community.

The village had previously hired the firm Barton-Loguidice, D.P.C. to perform a traffic and roadway abandonment study for the abandonment of Liberty, and the construction of a new two-way roadway connecting Depot and Raymond.

The firm concluded that Liberty Street would no longer be needed if a new two-way connecting roadway were to be built nearby to the west, the resolution passed by the board said.

According to the resolution, the fair market value of the street and parking area that was abandoned was $25,000. Washburn, under the auspices of Market Square Mall LLC, offered to exchange two parcels of land for Liberty and the parking area determined by appraisal to have a value of $85,000, said the resolution.

The work on the connecting street and in general on the Raymond-Street block will connect with the village’s overall $4.5 million The Downtown Streetscape Enhancement Project, and with independent work planned at the former Scanlon Auto Parts building planned by local businessman Larry Hazen.

The village’s Downtown project, funded by a state Downtown Revitalization Initiative award, will include areas of Market Street from its intersection with Depot Street to the intersection with Maple and Main Streets, and Raymond Street from the intersection with Market Street to its terminus at Garner Park. New sidewalks, pedestrian safety features, decorative crosswalks, pedestrian-scaled LED street lighting through National Grid, stormwater management facilities, new street trees, way-finding signage, and street furnishings are some of the enhancements expected under the project.

Other enhancements will include tightening up some of the longer pedestrian intersection crossings and the installation of new street trees and planters.

The village’s planned Riverwalk Trail project, also funded by state DRI money, will include sections of Garner Park at the end of Raymond Street.