Restoration for historic Owego Clock Tower faces financial hurdles

OWEGO (WBNG) -- Of the Village of Owego’s $10 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative, or DRI, funding, around $4 million goes to village projects, according to Village of Owego Mayor Mike Baratta.

However, some of the projects have been harder to get up and running, a major one being the Owego Clock Tower restoration.

Baratta explained the village received its DRI funding before the pandemic and the prices for project bids were a lot cheaper than what they are now. He said this is one of the reasons it has been hard to start on a complete restoration of the clock tower.

“Doing the historic restoration and bringing it back to like it was the day it was [built], that bid came a little bit over a million dollars, just for that [restoration],” he said.

The Owego Clock Tower was constructed in 1911 and donated to the fire department. According to Owego Fire Department Historian Patrick Gavin, the last time any major work was done on the tower was in the 1990s.

Another major project using the same DRI funding is the restoration of Marvin Park. This leaves less money for the fire station restoration. Baratta explained the reason the park restoration is given priority over the clock tower is due to the state choosing which projects they want to be completed first.

Gavin said they’ve now applied for other grants, including a state grant that targets fire station restoration projects directly.

For now, Gavin said they will be fixing the station’s roof leak caused by the clock tower. This will allow the fire station to house its companies again. That work will begin this summer.

“A house is where your home is,” said Gavin. “This is the home of the Owego Fire Department. It will always be the home of the Owego Fire Department. It’s the center of our village. It’s the most iconic building in the village and perhaps Tioga County. It needs to get taken care of.”

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