Auburn selects 13 projects to benefit from state downtown-revitalization money

AUBURN — The city of Auburn has unveiled a plan involving 13 projects that it will target with its $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) award. 

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the projects during a July 30 event at the Auburn Public Theater. The state had announced the funding award last July.

Auburn developed a plan to revitalize its downtown with $300,000 in planning funds from the $10 million DRI grant. A local planning committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders, and other stakeholders led the effort, supported by a team of private-sector experts and state planners. 

Projects involved

Crews will also redevelop a 1970s strip mall on Seminary Street as a new shared-services, public-safety building to create office space for a city and county emergency operations center and emergency-management office, as well as facilities to replace the deteriorating City of Auburn Fire Department facility “currently located in a dam inundation zone.”

Another project will renovate the Auburn Public Theater to allow for a greater variety of programming and ensure the community anchor’s long-term stability, the state said. The project includes the creation of a café, community event space, a black box theater, an Auburn Music Hall of Fame, an elevator, kitchen space, a new entryway, and exterior renovations such as a new entrance, digital sign, awnings, and marquees.

Auburn also wants to convert a vacant commercial structure at 22 East Genesee St. into apartments and ground-floor retail space. The scope of the project includes new plumbing, electrical, sprinkler, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems; energy-efficient windows; apartment kitchens and bathrooms; an elevator; fire-rated stairways; façade improvements; flooring and finishes; masonry and carpentry; and storage units.

In addition, crews will convert the Rudolph Building at 99 Genesee St. into a mixed-use development across from the Auburn Public Theater. New ground-floor retail space and upper-story residential units will boost traffic downtown following installation of a sprinkler system and new electrical and plumbing, renovations to apartments and other interior spaces, and façade improvements.

The plan also calls for work on a vacant three-story structure at 13 Chapel St. into a central facility for recovery, treatment, and complementary health-care services. The facility will house the existing nonprofit Nick’s Ride 4 Friends and other health-based organizations targeting issues of addiction. The project will include both interior and exterior renovations.

Auburn also wants to renovate the Willard Memorial Chapel, a National Historic Landmark, to improve its community event venue. The project consists of the interior restoration of the chapel in keeping with its original design and finishes, and exterior improvements to the parking lot and landscaping.

Also on tap is renovation work at the Seward House Museum’s barn and carriage house to serve as meeting, office, and event spaces. The project will include stabilizing and repairing the barn foundation and façade, repairing interior and exterior features, updating electrical service, conducting thermal improvements, and either fixing or removing an adjacent potting shed.

The plan also calls for the redevelopment of a centrally-located vacant site into a public plaza for events, festivals, and socializing to “round out the vision for the State Street Creative Corridor.” DRI will fund site preparation, water lines, stormwater management, seating areas, landscaping, fencing, hardscaping, and flexible performance space. The project will also include public art, moveable furniture, pedestrian-scale lighting, bike racks, and interpretive signage.

Crews will also rehabilitate 10,000 square feet of space within the Health Central building to house medical, surgical, behavioral, and dental specialties, as well as additional diagnostic and treatment services. Examples of improvements include the creation of a waiting room and reception area, exam or therapy rooms, individual and group offices, nursing or staff working areas, and administrative areas and storage.

Auburn additionally wants to establish a fund to support the establishment and growth of small businesses, improve the built environment, and increase housing options in the downtown area. The program will provide financial support to establish or expand businesses, implement exterior improvements that complement the character of downtown, and undertake interior improvements to renovate or create upper-story housing.

Arts projects

The Auburn projects include architectural and site improvements around the campuses of the Schweinfurth Art Center and Cayuga Museum of History and Arts, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release. 

Proposed improvements include a continuous outdoor walkway, parking lot and driveway upgrades, new plazas, new accessible entryways to both museums, and amenities such as lighting, signage, interpretive panels, bike racks, benches, and a play sculpture.

Crews will also renovate the vacant Plaza of the Arts building to accommodate Cayuga Community College’s new culinary arts program and provide a café and central space for community events. Interior renovations will include instructional space as well as build-out and fixed equipment for a commercial grade kitchen.

Auburn also wants to install public art throughout the DRI area to attract visitors to a new “Avenue of the Arts.” Proposed installations include sculpture and green-space improvements at the Boyle Center; a Harriet Tubman life-cycle sculpture at Freedom Park; a sculpture at South Street and Genesee Street; a mural at the Auburn Public Theater; a mural at Nash’s Art Supply; and light-pole banners along Loop Road establishing the “Avenue of the Arts.”      

AUBURN — The city of Auburn has unveiled a plan involving 13 projects that it will target with its $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) award. 

Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the projects during a July 30 event at the Auburn Public Theater. The state had announced the funding award last July.

Auburn developed a plan to revitalize its downtown with $300,000 in planning funds from the $10 million DRI grant. A local planning committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders, and other stakeholders led the effort, supported by a team of private-sector experts and state planners. 

Projects involved

Crews will also redevelop a 1970s strip mall on Seminary Street as a new shared-services, public-safety building to create office space for a city and county emergency operations center and emergency-management office, as well as facilities to replace the deteriorating City of Auburn Fire Department facility “currently located in a dam inundation zone.”

Another project will renovate the Auburn Public Theater to allow for a greater variety of programming and ensure the community anchor’s long-term stability, the state said. The project includes the creation of a café, community event space, a black box theater, an Auburn Music Hall of Fame, an elevator, kitchen space, a new entryway, and exterior renovations such as a new entrance, digital sign, awnings, and marquees.

Auburn also wants to convert a vacant commercial structure at 22 East Genesee St. into apartments and ground-floor retail space. The scope of the project includes new plumbing, electrical, sprinkler, and heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems; energy-efficient windows; apartment kitchens and bathrooms; an elevator; fire-rated stairways; façade improvements; flooring and finishes; masonry and carpentry; and storage units.

In addition, crews will convert the Rudolph Building at 99 Genesee St. into a mixed-use development across from the Auburn Public Theater. New ground-floor retail space and upper-story residential units will boost traffic downtown following installation of a sprinkler system and new electrical and plumbing, renovations to apartments and other interior spaces, and façade improvements.

The plan also calls for work on a vacant three-story structure at 13 Chapel St. into a central facility for recovery, treatment, and complementary health-care services. The facility will house the existing nonprofit Nick’s Ride 4 Friends and other health-based organizations targeting issues of addiction. The project will include both interior and exterior renovations.

Auburn also wants to renovate the Willard Memorial Chapel, a National Historic Landmark, to improve its community event venue. The project consists of the interior restoration of the chapel in keeping with its original design and finishes, and exterior improvements to the parking lot and landscaping.

Also on tap is renovation work at the Seward House Museum’s barn and carriage house to serve as meeting, office, and event spaces. The project will include stabilizing and repairing the barn foundation and façade, repairing interior and exterior features, updating electrical service, conducting thermal improvements, and either fixing or removing an adjacent potting shed.

The plan also calls for the redevelopment of a centrally-located vacant site into a public plaza for events, festivals, and socializing to “round out the vision for the State Street Creative Corridor.” DRI will fund site preparation, water lines, stormwater management, seating areas, landscaping, fencing, hardscaping, and flexible performance space. The project will also include public art, moveable furniture, pedestrian-scale lighting, bike racks, and interpretive signage.

Crews will also rehabilitate 10,000 square feet of space within the Health Central building to house medical, surgical, behavioral, and dental specialties, as well as additional diagnostic and treatment services. Examples of improvements include the creation of a waiting room and reception area, exam or therapy rooms, individual and group offices, nursing or staff working areas, and administrative areas and storage.

Auburn additionally wants to establish a fund to support the establishment and growth of small businesses, improve the built environment, and increase housing options in the downtown area. The program will provide financial support to establish or expand businesses, implement exterior improvements that complement the character of downtown, and undertake interior improvements to renovate or create upper-story housing.

Arts projects

The Auburn projects include architectural and site improvements around the campuses of the Schweinfurth Art Center and Cayuga Museum of History and Arts, the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a news release. 

Proposed improvements include a continuous outdoor walkway, parking lot and driveway upgrades, new plazas, new accessible entryways to both museums, and amenities such as lighting, signage, interpretive panels, bike racks, benches, and a play sculpture.

Crews will also renovate the vacant Plaza of the Arts building to accommodate Cayuga Community College’s new culinary arts program and provide a café and central space for community events. Interior renovations will include instructional space as well as build-out and fixed equipment for a commercial grade kitchen.

Auburn also wants to install public art throughout the DRI area to attract visitors to a new “Avenue of the Arts.” Proposed installations include sculpture and green-space improvements at the Boyle Center; a Harriet Tubman life-cycle sculpture at Freedom Park; a sculpture at South Street and Genesee Street; a mural at the Auburn Public Theater; a mural at Nash’s Art Supply; and light-pole banners along Loop Road establishing the “Avenue of the Arts.”