Retrofit Atlas

Other · New York

F. W. Woolworth Building

Imported, unreviewedReinhabitedRetrofit builtWatertown, NY

Retrofit completed 2013: housing (low-income) + retail. Ground floor commercial. Historic building. · summary, model-written

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Site profile5 elements · what this site is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors
Woolworth's Department StoreThis site: Woolworth's Department Store wikipedia · all sites with this
Place
County lost 10%+ of retail establishments since 2012This site: -11% census-cbp · all sites with this
Strategy
ReinhabitedThis site: …upper floors into low-income residential apartments. The ground floor is to remain commercial space. record · all sites with this
New use
HousingThis site: …upper floors into low-income residential apartments. The ground floor is to remain commercial space. newtypes-extraction · all sites with this
Retail (continued)This site: …new_use field newtypes-extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusRetrofit builtnewtypes-extraction reported
StrategyReinhabitedWikipedia no source
New useshousing, retailWikipedia no source
What is there nowupper floors into low-income residential apartments. The ground floor is to remain commercial space.newtypes-extraction reported
Retrofit year2013newtypes-extraction reported

History and original facts

Opened1921newtypes-extraction reported
Closed2007newtypes-extraction reported
Original developerFrank W. Woolworthnewtypes-extraction reported
AnchorsWoolworth's Department Store
CountyJefferson County
Census division2 · Mid-Atlantic
NotesDraft from Wikipedia, model-extracted, unreviewed: The historic F. W. Woolworth Building in Watertown, New York, originally a department store, was closed in 2007 and retrofitted into low-income residential apartments with ground-floor commercial space by 2015.

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA. Know it? Tell us.

Planning

No zoning change, subsidy or policy tool recorded for this site.

Site context

Housing permits, Jefferson County (NY), 20240 units in 5+ unit buildings, 0 in 2–4, 191 single-family; 2023: 0 in 5+Census BPS
Other atlas sites nearby1 within 10 km, 1 within 25 km: Ives Hill Country Club (0.0 km)computed
Retail trade in the county, 2025 (BLS QCEW)5,588 jobs in 386 establishments; average annual pay $38,461; employment location quotient 1.39; employment -1.5% on the yearBLS QCEW 2025, NAICS 44-45, private
Jobs located in the tract, 20224,459 jobs; 430 in retail trade, 354 in accommodation and food (workplace blocks summed to tract 36045062100)Census LEHD LODES8 WAC 2022
Upward mobility (Opportunity Atlas, 2010 tract)children of low-income (25th percentile) families reached the 38th income percentile as adults; 1.8% incarcerated at the 2010 count (683 children in the sample); born 1978–83, measured 2014–15Opportunity Insights
Food access (USDA FARA 2019, 2010 tract)not a low-access tract at 1 mile; poverty rate 28.9%; median family income $43,306; 782 SNAP householdsUSDA ERS
SchoolsWatertown City School District (PK-12); 3 public schools within 1 mile: KNICKERBOCKER SCHOOL; SHERMAN SCHOOL; NORTH ELEMENTARY SCHOOLNCES EDGE
Elevation469 ft above sea level at the site pointUSGS 3DEP
Storm events in the county, 2016-2025145 county-logged events: 125 thunderstorm wind, 9 flood, 5 hail, 2 lightning; $3,764,000 property damage reported; forecast-zone events (most flood, winter and heat) not countedNOAA Storm Events
Homes for sale in ZIP 13601, 2026-09median list price $199,900 (-16.5% on the year); 146 active listings; median 59 days on market; 15% with a price cutRealtor.com Research
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 2023422 establishments (-11%); 6,096 jobs (-11%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $234,099 (+6% 1 yr, +31% 5 yr); typical rent $1,496/mo (+8% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)13,390 vehicles a day on COFFEEN ST (principal arterial); 447 trucks; 21 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Retrofit completed in 2013, converting the 1921 Woolworth Building (closed 2007) to housing and retail. Upper floors are low-income residential apartments; ground floor remains commercial. Occupied since 2015.

Why. Retrofit already built (2013), new use includes housing as noted in records.

Where it stands. Status: built. Historic district contributor (Public Square Historic District).

For a planner

  • Ground floor commercial space maintained per after_notes.
  • Low-income housing focus on upper floors.

For a developer

  • Retrofit strategy 'reinhabit' confirmed in events (2013).
  • No current occupancy or tenant details in record.

What we do not know yet

  • Exact apartment count unknown (only 'low-income residential' specified).
  • Retail tenant mix not detailed.
  • Ives Hill Country Club (proposed, 0km) may impact context but not confirmed.

Generated by qwen3-30b-a3b-64k:latest on Dell 5820 RTX 3090 (Ollama, qwen3-30b-a3b) from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

  • Midtown Plaza, Rochester, NY · Malls · closed 2008; same strategy: reinhabit; also in NY
  • Lexington Mall, Lexington, KY · Malls · closed 2005; same strategy: reinhabit
  • Shepherd Mall, Oklahoma City, OK · Malls · closed 2003; same strategy: reinhabit
  • Frances E. Willard School, Philadelphia, PA · Other · closed 2010; same strategy: reinhabit

Elsewhere on the web

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Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built
  • housing in the record

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

Background

The Woolworth Building is a historic building in Watertown, New York. It is a contributing building in the Public Square Historic District. Plans for the Woolworth Building were begun in 1916 by Frank W. Woolworth, the founder of the Woolworth's chain of department stores. == History == Woolworth began his retail career at the Smith and Moore Dry Goods Store in Watertown in 1873. It was during his time here that he was given the idea of selling fixed price merchandise, which led him to create his successful chain of five and dime department stores in 1879.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1916 Plans for the Woolworth Building were begun
  2. 1919 Plans halted due to Woolworth's death
  3. 1921 Building opened
  4. 1921 Opened
  5. 1971 Woolworth's Department Store moved out
  6. 2007 Building closed due to declining occupancy and poor maintenance
  7. 2007 Closed
  8. 2008 Developer purchased building with plans for a boutique hotel
  9. 2012 Hotel plan abandoned, new proposal for low-income apartments
  10. 2013 Restoration work began
  11. 2013 Retrofit: reinhabit
  12. 2015 Restoration complete and building occupied

Sources

  • Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
    10 quoted sentences
    The Woolworth Building
    Plans for the Woolworth Building were begun in 1916 by Frank W. Woolworth
    Woolworth's death in 1919 initially halted these plans
    the new six story Woolworth Building opened its doors in 1921.

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