Rochester's oldest commercial building sits on the east bank of the Genesee River on Mount Hope Avenue.
Built in 1820, the large stone structure is now recognized as a national, state and local historic landmark.
In recent years it was used primarily as a warehouse and storage site.
And just a few weeks ago, the nearly 200-year old building got a new name and a new life.
It is now known as the Skalny Building - the new home of Bivona Child Advocacy Center, an agency that coordinates the investigation of local child abuse cases and offers counseling and treatment to more than 1,500 children a year.
Executive director Mary Whittier says the move has tripled the organization's working space.
"What this means to us is, we can grow our programs, we can grow our services, we can co-locate more professionals," she said.
Bivona raised more than $5.3 million in three years to purchase and renovate the building, including a $500,000 lead gift by The Joseph and Irene Skalny Charitable Trust, and 444 private and corporate contributions from the community.
Whittier said they've already seen an increase in family visits to the agency since its relocation three weeks ago.
"I don't know that there is more child abuse, but there is more awareness. So, more and more children are coming to us and getting referred to us because the model of the child advocacy center works and the partnerships work, and kids are not being re-traumatized by the very system that is supposed to be helping them."
A ribbon cutting and grand opening celebration is planned for this evening.
