Taylor's Island project: focus on roof and windows first

PB PHOTO | Architects Andre Tchelistcheff, right, and Eric Hildebrandt present plans for renovations to the town-owned Taylor's Island cabin at the board's work session Tuesday.

The architects for the Taylor’s Island restoration project presented their proposal for stabilizing the town-owned cabin in Coecles Harbor Tuesday at a Town Board work session. With the board’s approval, they hope to submit the plans to the state soon so that bids can be approved, contracts signed and work begin in the spring.

The $221,000 project, half of it funded by a state grant and half by the Taylor’s Island Foundation, is intended to stabilize the structure, which the town acquired through a family bequest.

Andrew Tchelistcheff and Eric Hildebrandt of Mr. Tchelistcheff’s New York firm spoke before the board and an audience filled with members of the Town Board’s Taylor’s Island Preservation and Management Committee and the Taylor’s Island Foundation. The committee, chaired by Kathy Gooding, has worked closely with town officials and the architects to implement a renovation project.

Mr. Tchelistcheff said his firm had focused on renovations to the roof and windows in order to secure the structure from the weather and “to get the most bang for the buck.” Future renovations will require additional grants and fund-raising, he suggested.