EDITOR’S NOTE: The Bricks & Mortar Report provides updates on major construction projects in Chenango County.

Chenango County Historical Society museum:

• The original plan for renovating the Chenango County Historical Society has been downsized with the downturn in the economy and increased building costs, said interim Museum Director Diane Hamblin.

• The board’s new plan involved transforming the assembly room in the Rexford Street Museum to include two executive offices and an enclosed gift shop. About $20,000 was set aside for the project. Executives are nearly ready to move in, Hamblin said. The room will still be used for business meetings and programs.

• The second phase, scheduled for September, targets the 19th Century building next door at 43 Rexford St. The interior will be gutted and rebuilt as the James S. Flanagan Research Center. It will house the county historian’s office plus historical materials and photos from the Society and the Norwich Pharmacal Museum’s archival collection. There are no plans to move the museum from the Eaton Center at this time, said Hamlin.

• “The goal is to have all research materials under one roof at 43 Rexford St. and the antique objects in the museum,” she said.

• Fundraising is well under way for the second phase’s estimated $200,000 cost. Architectural drawings are complete. A final phase three of the project, estimated at $100,000, would add an elevator, handicapped entrances and improved bathrooms at the Museum.

Chenango County Public Works Department: