Work on DeVeaux School starts

Visit DeVeaux Woods and several things are immediately apparent.

The big trees, the cool dog park and a large, abandoned limestone building that served as an orphanage, a school and most recently a Niagara University dorm.

Today, the building is boarded and deserted. It was headed the way of the DeVeaux barn.

Instead, State Parks seems to be taking things more seriously and perhaps the building can have a reclaimed future.

Its doors are ringed by fence with fans running constantly on perforated doors. Dumpsters are staged behind.

State Parks tells me Mark Cerrone Inc. is the contractor. The work being completed is asbestos abatement and stabilization to ensure structural integrity at a cost of $1.9645 million.

When structural shoring is completed, a temporary roof and waterproof membrane will be installed over the flat roof areas to prevent future water infiltration.

Ultimately, state parks will issue a request for proposals for redevelopment according to state procurement guidelines which in Niagara Falls State Park results most often in a fair and open bidding procedure won by Delaware North.

(Editorial comment: The new, Delaware North boutique hotel will open in 2032, the same year removal of the Robert Moses Parkway begins and the power plant is renamed for someone more honorable.)