410-416 East Church Street

Located in the heart of Elmira’s Civic Historic District, the Reynolds Way project for Arbor Housing and Development brought four distinct long-vacant buildings back into active use as affordable housing. Together, the rehabilitated buildings now provide 41 affordable apartments while strengthening the historic fabric of downtown Elmira.

Situated across from City Hall and next to the Chamber of Commerce, the buildings at 410–416 East Church Street occupy a prominent civic location. Over time, the properties had served a variety of uses and had lost important exterior features, including the detailed porches that once defined their façades. As part of the rehabilitation, those porch elements were reconstructed, restoring depth, rhythm, and residential character to the streetscape.

Inside, the buildings were adapted for apartment use while preserving and repairing significant historic materials where possible. New layouts, building systems, life-safety improvements, and accessibility upgrades were carefully integrated to support long-term affordable housing while maintaining the character of the original buildings.

The completed work returns a highly visible group of historic buildings to productive use, providing affordable apartments in the center of downtown while reinforcing the architectural character of Elmira’s Civic Historic District.