At the July 13 Rochester planning board meeting, Renn Hawkey presented a proposal to convert a vacant commercial building at 11 Towpath Road into a martial arts and yoga studio.

“Our hope is to breathe new life and health into the old building with martial arts, yoga, and other movement-centric programs,” Hawkey said. “The decision was made early on to save and honor the building, and work with as much existing fabric as possible, and stay within the existing footprint despite added costs and stress.”

The studio would be run by Ezra and Carrie Firestone, who were present at the meeting. The couple, who are raising their children in Accord, first purchased land here in 2017 and moved to the area in 2020.

“Our tagline is ‘Movement for a Happy Life’ because we think you feel better when you move,” Ezra, who has done martial arts since the age of four, said. “It's carried me through my whole life, and it's been a really beautiful thing. And we want that for our children, and we want that for the children and adults in our community.”

Carrie said that their studio would be called the Dojo Accord and would include two parts; the Fire and Stone Academy and River and Sky Studios. Ezra said they intend to have a homeschool and after-school programs, intending the studio to serve as a “third space” for the community.

The Fire and Stone Academy would include martial arts for children and adults, women’s self-defense classes and parent-child programming. It would also include a room for babies and toddlers that parents could have a “moment to relax and connect.” River and Sky Studios would include yoga, Pilates, and dance.

Hawkey said that he wanted to apply sustainable building practices when possible and worked with the building department to update every system in the building. This includes a new insulated floor system, new plumbing and energy-efficient HVAC and water heater, new electric, insulated glass, high performance insulation, reclaimed siding, gutters, and drainage.

“The work done thus far converted a collapsing building into a standard of efficiency while preserving the envelope of the original structure,” Hawkey said. “We prepared engineered site plan, parking plan, landscape plan, architectural plans and renderings, lighting plan, lighting package and a signing plan.”

Additionally, Hawkey proposed a 60-foot curb cut, a 15-foot paved apron for the parking lot, and 27 parking spots. Classes are expected to last 60 to 90 minutes and an expected attendance of 15 patrons per class. Hawkey said that the parking lot will use fully-shielded light fixtures for dark sky compliance.

The proposal received support from members of the planning board, such as board members Hans Fetscherin, who said he was “super excited” about the idea to revitalize an old building, and Halina Duda.

“With my short time on the planning board, we hear a lot how there's nothing for kids to do in Accord,” Duda said. “It seems like your emphasis in front of us is for children... It's an activity for children to do.”

The proposal will be sent to the town planner and engineer for review. The planning board asked Hawkey to provide additional documents, including a Phase II environmental report, an existing-conditions site plan, and clearer occupancy and parking information. A $2,500 escrow account was established to cover professional review costs.

The next planning board meeting will take place on August 10.