The Loomis Block at 14-16 Broadway in Saranac Lake, also known as the Downing Block, is seen here Tuesday. (Enterprise photo — Elizabeth Izzo)

The growing prevalence of vacant storefronts in Saranac Lake’s central business district is on the minds of many here. They’re hard to miss — walk down Broadway and Main Street today and you will see at least seven empty storefronts between the Bloomingdale Avenue and River Street intersections.

We’re hopeful that the sale of the historic Loomis Block this month is a harbinger of a broader revival of sorts, a sign that change is in the air and some longstanding eyesores will finally be addressed.

But make no mistake: The gradual transformation of Saranac Lake’s business landscape has already begun. Just think about what’s changed over the last five years or so.

Human Power Planet Earth Bike Shop was sold to Justin Oliver and renamed Silver Birch Cycles in June. In February, Main Street Exchange closed its doors after 18 years. The Van Anden family, who owned Lakeview Deli for nearly 40 years, closed the deli counter last year and have moved into another building down the street to focus on the catering side of their business. Kathy and Roger Steinbrueck sold Scotts Florist to Isabel Williams last year after running the shop for three decades. Lake Clear resident Todd Hoffnagle took over the Hhott House garden store — now called the Hot House — last year from Citizen Advocates. Dave Cilley, who opened St. Regis Canoe Outfitters in 1984, sold the Saranac Lake portion of the business to Maeghan Farnham and Steve Cerri last year. With the death of Nancy Moriarty, who owned and operated Lake Flour Cakery for 24 years, that business closed. In 2022, DJ’s Rustic Restaurant and Adirondack Tire, both longtime Broadway mainstays, closed their doors. McKenzie’s Grill was destroyed by fire and demolished, as was the Saranac Lake Aubuchon plaza. Chrissie Wais and John Levy took over the Belvedere from the Cavallo family, who ran the restaurant for nearly 90 years. Amanda’s Village Motel, the Saranac Waterfront Lodge, Origin Coffee and Goody Goody’s also changed hands in the last few years.

This is just a sampling of business transitions and closures in Saranac Lake — there are countless others, with new businesses opening and closing all of the time.

Saranac Lakers do care about the state of our downtown — so much so, in fact, that in the last few election cycles, candidates have been grilled on their plans for addressing the vacancies and blight on Broadway and Main Street. Having a fun, robust downtown is key to residents’ quality of life and crucial when the health of the local economy is so closely tied to tourism. That’s part of what makes the sale of the Loomis Block so significant.

The new owner, Taimim Li of Long Island, plans to rehabilitate this infamous eyesore. The Loomis Block, also known as the Downing Block, has been owned by Ed Dukett since 1972. Many locals believed that, despite local realtors’ urging that it be sold, this property at 14-16 Broadway would continue to decay for many years to come.

The same could be said of the former Dew Drop Inn at 27 Broadway, which was also owned by Dukett until 2016, when it was sold to Calli Shelton. Shelton attempted to redevelop the inn, but the project got caught in a web of red tape and communication failures during the permitting process, which delayed it indefinitely. Li purchased the former Dew Drop Inn in 2022 with plans to revive the inn and restaurant, too.

Li has family connections to Saranac Lake — his aunt, Mildred “MiLi” Li, moved to Saranac Lake to seek treatment for tuberculosis in 1945 and and married Bill Distin, whose family owned the Branch and Callanan mill. He knows this area. With Saranac Laker and Adirondack Stiles Real Estate Broker/Owner Katie Stiles — who ran for Saranac Lake village board earlier this year — giving Li input on both the Loomis Block and the Dew Drop’s development, the potential for these properties are endless.

Given the attempts to rehab these properties in the past, it’s understandable that some residents may feel that it’s too soon to celebrate. It’s true that redevelopments here rarely follow a streamlined, straightforward trajectory; it’s also true that some redevelopments just simply never happen.

The village needs to balance the safety of the public, the safety of the building’s future tenants and ensure that the building is brought up to state and local code. But the village must also ensure that it communicates clearly and that it does not unnecessarily stall this building’s redevelopment. Mayor Jimmy Williams knows this issue all too well — while applying for a permit to build a deck at the bar he co-owns with his brother, Harrietstown Councilman Johnny Williams, he had to submit 18 redesigns of his plans to the village’s code office, which nearly doubled the price of the deck. It’s in Saranac Lake’s best interest to make sure the Loomis Block and the Dew Drop Inn are rehabilitated.

This most recent sale at 14-16 Broadway is a step in the right direction. It’s too early to say how big of a victory this will be for Saranac Lake, but it is a victory nonetheless.

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CORRECTION: An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly said that Casa Del Sol changed hands in 2020. The Enterprise regrets the error.