Empire State Today

70 Projects Awarded $112.9 Million to Reinvigorate Downtowns and Generate Economic Opportunity

Four Municipalities Awarded $33.6 Million for Special Projects That Will Transform Highly-Visible Blighted Property to Stimulate Community and Economic Growth

Governor Kathy Hochul on may 22 announced more than $112.9 million has been awarded to 70 projects through the Restore New York Communities Initiative. Restore New York supports municipal revitalization efforts across the state, helping to remove blight, reinvigorate downtowns and generate economic opportunity in communities statewide. The program, administered by Empire State Development, is designed to help local governments revitalize their communities and encourage commercial investment, improve the local housing stock, put properties back on the tax rolls and increase the local tax base.

"These Restore New York grants will help to reimagine downtowns across our state and transform vacant, blighted and underutilized buildings into vibrant community anchors," Governor Hochul said. "Thanks to a more than $146 million state investment, we are breathing new life into communities from Hudson to North Hempstead, jumpstarting new economic activity and helping ensure that New York State continues to be a place where people come to live, work and raise their families.

The Governor also announced more than $33 million has been awarded to four municipalities in this round for special projects. Special projects are awarded to municipalities where a highly visible and blighted property causes severe economic injury and has a depressing effect on the overall economic development potential of the community. This round's special projects include:

•    The Town of Lyons in Wayne County will receive nearly $6.6 million for its Canal District project, 

•    The City of Auburn in Cayuga County will receive $8.5 million to renovate the former Bombardier facility, 

•    Ulster County will receive $10 million for renovations at iPark87, the former IBM campus, and 

•    Jefferson County will receive over $8.5 million for demolition of the former St. Regis paper mill in the Village of Deferiet.                       

Empire State Development President, CEO & Commissioner Hope Knight said, "The Restore New York Communities Initiative provides vital funding to help our municipal partners find creative ways to redevelop and transform neighborhoods into areas that uplift their communities after years of decay. Restore New York tackles urban blight head-on, allowing for new possibilities that spurs local economic development efforts for years to come."

Highlighted projects from each region are detailed below and a full list of projects receiving funding is available here.

The Capital Region was awarded $13 million to support 11 projects. Highlights include:

•    The City of Schenectady will be awarded $2.75 million to demolish a vacant auto dealership at 754 State Street, making way for a new commercial building. A grocery store is proposed for this site, located in a food desert.

•    The City of Rensselaer will receive $2 million for the rehabilitation of the former McManus School into 49 apartments, 7,500 square feet of commercial spaces and co-working amenities.

Central New York was awarded more than $23 million to support nine projects. Highlights include:

•    The City of Auburn (Special Project Winner) will receive $8.5 million for the former Bombardier facility located at 151 Orchard Street to rehabilitate the space to attract supply chain companies that will be interested because of the Micron megafab in Clay. 

•    The City of Cortland will receive $2 million for the redevelopment of the Parker Elementary School into workforce housing units.  

•    The Village of Mexico will receive more than $1.8 million for the former John Beck's Hotel, a historically-significant hotel built in 1897 that will be converted into a mixed-use building complete with a cafe, restaurant/bar and a hotel.

The Finger Lakes was awarded more than $20.5 million to support 10 projects. Highlights include:

•    The Town of Lyons (Special Project Winner) will be awarded nearly $6.6 million for the resurgence of the Canal District. This project includes demolition, deconstruction, reconstruction and rehabilitation of properties totaling 67,124 total square feet to build 37 residential units that include 25 affordable housing units.

•    The Town of Carlton will receive $1 million for the renovation of Nesbitt Manor along Johnson Creek to provide seven rooms for rent and an event space. A neighboring carriage house will be renovated as full-service café, kitchen and patio space.

•    Monroe County will receive $3 million for the renovation of the Sibley Triangle building in Rochester, creating first floor commercial and retail space and upper floor student residential units. 

Long Island was awarded $4.65 million to support two projects:

•    The Village of Hempstead will receive $2.65 million for the Carman Place Apartments. The village is working with Conifer Realty to demolish blighted and vacant parcels and complete infrastructure work to construct a mixed-use development with 228 affordable residential units and ground floor retail.

•    The Village of Port Jefferson will receive $2 million to demolish two vacant buildings and construct a mixed-use development in the Port Jefferson Station. The project would include 53 affordable residential units and about 2,500 square feet of commercial space.

These Restore New York grants will help to reimagine downtowns across our state and transform vacant, blighted and underutilized buildings into vibrant community anchors."

Governor Hochul

The Mid-Hudson region was awarded more than $21.7 million to support 10 projects. Highlights include:

•    Ulster County (Special Project Winner) will be awarded $10 million for the rehabilitation of a 200+ acre former IBM campus in the Town of Ulster to iPark 87/National Resources. The properties are now positioned for reactivation through substantial remediation and infrastructure improvements. The developer will invest over $200 million in the coming years at the campus. The proposed project is the rehabilitation of two campus buildings built in 1956. Building 1 is a 275,000 square foot prior manufacturing lab and offices. Building 2 is a 37,000 square foot building originally for food service and cold storage. These existing buildings have suffered from deterioration and require these renovations prior to their reuse. 

•    The City of Yonkers will receive $2.7 million for the Cottage Place Gardens Phase VI Redevelopment, which is a multi-phase project that will transform a distressed public housing complex into a campus of energy-efficient buildings with modern affordable apartments and new state-of-the-art commercial spaces. The former CPG complex, constituting 256 units across 14 buildings, contained aging structures, few amenities, and an isolated site design. Phase VI will replace three blighted buildings with a new 8-story, all-electric development with 92 units for households at or below 30%, 50%, and 60% AMI. This phase will be designed to achieve Passive House Institute (PHIUS) certification.

•    The Town of Liberty will receive $1.15 million for The Green Building which is an existing asset in the Village of Liberty. This 45,000 square foot rehabilitation project will re-establish 15,000 square feet of prime commercial real-estate on the ground floor. An additional 30,000 square feet on the second and third levels will be renovated and used as additional office space, or pending zoning changes, apartments that will add to Liberty's housing stock.

The Mohawk Valley was awarded $12.1 million to support seven projects. Highlights include:

•    The City of Utica will receive $3 million for the Hotel Street redevelopment. The project consists of three connected buildings totaling 87,000 square feet located in the lower historic District and is a connection point to Genesee Street, Mohawk Valley Hospital System, Nexus Center and Harbor Point.

•    The Village of Fort Plain will receive $1 million to rehabilitate 20-22 Main Street which consists of rehabilitating a currently vacant and underutilized, three-story mixed-use occupancy building that will include four apartments and two commercial spaces. The building represents a high hazard to public safety and rehabilitation will induce new commercial investment and improve local housing stock downtown.

The North County was awarded more than $21.5 million to support 10 projects. Highlights include:

•    Jefferson County (Special Project Winner) will receive over $8.5 million to demolish the former St. Regis paper mill in the Village of Deferiet and create a site with a goal to create multiple community-informed projects involving renewable energy, light-industrial/commercial, and habitat restoration improvements. 

•    The Village of Canton will receive $2 million to revitalize the Mid-Town Plaza which includes demolition, remediation, and reconstruction of a former commercial plaza consisting of 6 properties into mixed and commercial use and an Entrepreneurship Center.

•    Village of Tupper Lake will receive more than $1.6 million for Phase I of the Oval Wood Dish Factory redevelopment project which will include the redevelopment of 126,000 square feet of vacant space in nine connected buildings as workforce housing, co-working and new commercial space.

The Southern Tier was awarded more than $11.9 million to support eight projects. Highlights include:

•    The Village of Watkins Glen will be awarded $2 million for the redevelopment of a vacant car dealership that will be demolished. A new, purpose-built building will welcome visitors with exhibits, provide tours, educational programming and other activities that document and share this history in new and innovative ways by creating an experiential history center that celebrates motor racing history worldwide, including the 75 years of racing history in the Village.

•    The City of Binghamton will be awarded $2 million for the Crowley Factory Lofts project, transforming the 73,000 square-foot former Crowley Dairy Company building, which has been idle since 2017. The project, located at 149 and 135 Conklin Avenue, will restore the waterfront building's second and third floors with 48 one and two-bedroom market rate housing units. The ground floor will be flexible commercial space.

Western New York was awarded $12.8 million to support six projects. Highlights include:

•    The Town of Cheektowaga will receive $2.57 million for Harlem Villa Commons Project which will demolish three vacant buildings, combine seven lots and construct a five-story, 93-unit, quality affordable housing complex, including 1,500 square feet of new commercial space.

•    The City of Buffalo will receive $4 million to demolish 24 blighted buildings with 330 vacant, uninhabitable housing units located at 448 South Park and 339 Perry Street in the City of Buffalo. Developer is planning to construct 415 affordable housing units on these parcels after the demolition is complete. 

New York City was awarded $5 Million for one project:

•    New York City will receive $5 million for the Gowanus Green Building A project, an approximately 172,000 square-foot, mixed-use building featuring 188 units of affordable housing. Nearly 60% of the units will be affordable to low- and very-low income households. Building A will also contain approximately 8,000 square feet of retail space, reactivating 230 feet of street frontage and connecting retail corridors to the north and south.

The FY 2024 Budget, which includes $50 million for the Restore New York Communities Initiative, will strengthen the state's economy and accelerate Governor Hochul's vision of making New York the most business-friendly and worker-friendly state in the nation. The Budget will invest in local economies, raise minimum wage for three years and then tie future increases to inflation, and modernize New York's public workforce. 

About Empire State Development

Empire State Development is New York's chief economic development agency. The mission of ESD is to promote a vigorous and growing economy, encourage the creation of new job and economic opportunities, increase revenues to the State and its municipalities, and achieve stable and diversified local economies. Through the use of loans, grants, tax credits and other forms of financial assistance, ESD strives to enhance private business investment and growth to spur job creation and support prosperous communities across New York State. ESD is also the primary administrative agency overseeing the Regional Economic Development Councils and the marketing of "I LOVE NY," the State's iconic tourism brand. For more information on Regional Councils and Empire State Development, visit www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov and https://www.esd.ny.gov.

Original source can be found here.