Regional projects win funding in annual REDC initiative

Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier win ACHIEVE funding                        

New York State has awarded funding to projects in Central New York, the Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, and the North Country through New York’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative. The state allocated a total of $463 million to REDC projects across New York, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Dec. 23. In addition, the Mohawk Valley, Southern Tier, Long Island, and New York City were awarded funding in the ACHIEVE competition. As part of this year’s Regional Council competition, each REDC developed a transformational regional initiative for the chance to win up to $50 million in implementation funding or partnered on a joint multi-regional proposal. Established in 2011, the state describes the REDC initiative as a key component of its approach to investment and economic development. Selected CNY REDC projects Projects in Cicero, Camillus, and Cortland are among those in Central New York awarded a total of $26.2 million through the REDC initiative. The funding will support 34 projects across five counties, leveraging $62.8 million in additional public and private investments, Empire State Development (ESD) said in the announcement. “By awarding state funding to projects that align with regional priorities, New York is investing in new ideas, new efforts, and new developments to promote community growth throughout the state,” Hope Knight, president, CEO, and commissioner of ESD, said. The Central New York REDC awarded Schneider Packaging Equipment Company, Inc. a $500,000 Regional Council Capital Fund grant and a $500,000 Excelsior Jobs Program tax credit. Schneider Packaging Equipment will relocate a production line from its sister facility in Quebec, Canada to its location in the Brewerton area of the town of Cicero. The expansion will increase capacity for the new production line and allow the company to reconfigure operations to accommodate new roles, including engineers and other professional staff, adding 20 new jobs, ESD said. In addition, the Town of Camillus was awarded a $3.5 million Pro-Housing Supply Fund grant. The town, together with Cameron Hinsdale, LLC, will complete an infrastructure project to enable the development of the Church Street Station housing project, ESD said. The project will require new public infrastructure including roadways, sidewalks, sewer, utilities, grading, and drainage and stormwater improvements. The City of Cortland will use a $6 million Pro-Housing Supply Fund grant to complete the design and construction of essential water, sewer, and stormwater-infrastructure improvements along the Homer Avenue corridor, a high-priority infill area targeted for mixed-use redevelopment, ESD said. The project will replace infrastructure deficiencies, and coordinate utility upgrades required for two shovel-ready housing developments: Bridgeview Commons, a 61-unit affordable housing community with nonprofit and commercial space, and the Lofts at the Gillette Skirt Factory, a 28-unit adaptive reuse project with mixed-income units.

Selected Mohawk Valley projects The Mohawk Valley won $23.4 million to support 30 projects, including $3.9 million for the City of Rome and Nascentia Health to build new utilities, roads, sidewalks, and drainage to support the development of 125 senior housing units in the Nascentia Neighborhood project. Mohawk Valley REDC projects also include efforts in Utica, Marcy, and at SUNY Oneonta. The City of Utica will use a more than $228,000 award to create a new comprehensive plan to supplant its existing plan adopted in 2011. The effort will better reflect the city’s existing conditions, solicit public engagement, and plan for “vibrant, compact & sustainable neighborhoods and rational land use,” per the state’s announced list of projects. Hotel Street Ventures, LLC was allocated a $2 million award to undertake the redevelopment of a portion of Hotel Street in Utica’s blighted Bagg’s Square West neighborhood near the Nexus Center. The project will revitalize four adjoining blighted, vacant properties into modern, sustainable mixed-use space with market-rate housing units. In addition, PathStone Housing Action Corporation will use $1 million to develop Deerfield Apartments, a several-unit, mixed-use affordable-housing development in Marcy composed of 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, including some dedicated to individuals with special needs. The all-electric building will meet LEED Gold and Zero Energy standards through on-site and off-site solar and include a new childcare center. This grant will support the childcare center, addressing a local childcare desert and supporting working families. Mohawk Valley Garden will use $800,000 rehabilitate the former NYS Canals 1933 building located at the Utica Harbor into an event space that will be the centerpiece of the Utica Harbor Point development project. Mohawk Valley Garden is a hospitality and entertainment entity that owns and operates several restaurants in addition to the Utica Comets of the American Hockey League. SUNY Oneonta will use a $2 million award to renovate Netzer Hall. The project, located on the main SUNY Oneonta campus, involves a deep energy retrofit and renovation of Netzer Hall for student and administrative services. Selected Southern Tier projects The Southern Tier was awarded more than $26.4 million to support 27 projects, including more than $1 million for DMK Endeavors, Inc. to open a First Learning childcare center with a capacity for 144 children in the SouthWorks adaptive reuse development in the City of Ithaca. The Town of Ithaca will use a $5 million award to complete an infrastructure project to support significant housing development on 5.25 acres within SouthWorks, the redevelopment of the 95-acre Morse Chain/Emerson Transmission Plant site. Planned infrastructure includes site preparation, roadway network, watermain, and sanitary and storm sewer. The residential component of the project will feature 150 units consisting of multi-family apartment buildings (low-rise structures) and townhomes to serve a broad spectrum of income levels, per the state’s REDC project booklet. The project will use $2 million to construct the new Tompkins County Center of Government (CoG) building at the corner of North Tioga and East Buffalo Streets within the DeWitt Park Historic District in downtown Ithaca. The four-story, 50,000-square-foot CoG launches the overall revitalization of the county government campus, which will include a separate project to renovate nearby buildings (old jail, Daniel D. Tompkins Building) in future years. Broome County will use more than $6.2 million to complete an infrastructure project to enable construction of a residential development on 10.67 acres in Johnson City. The site is currently vacant land with no existing infrastructure to support housing development. Infrastructure components include site prep, demo, electric, and other utilities. The future housing development will create 68 townhome units within two blocks of downtown. The City of Binghamton will support the complete renovation of a 3-story, 6,200-square-foot mixed-use building at 121 Court St., adding to its efforts to revitalize critical anchors and address vacancies. The building’s rehabilitation will create jobs, commercial activity, and housing units for the area. Selected North Country projects The North Country has won nearly $12.4 million to support 34 projects, including $316,000 for Jefferson-Lewis-Hamilton-Herkimer-Oneida BOCES to purchase equipment and welding simulators for its Watertown and Glenfield facilities to support advanced manufacturing career training. The Village of Alexandria Bay will use $2 million in NYS CDBG (community development block grant) funding to make improvements to the water-distribution system and wastewater-treatment plant. The family-owned Seaway Marine Group was awarded $400,000 and plans to turn the Seaway Marina in Cape Vincent into a full-service facility with the construction of a marina, office space, a fuel dock, improved waterfront access, and other amenities to serve boater needs. Empire State Mines will use $380,000 establish a fully integrated natural flake graphite production in Gouverneur. The company will procure and install a micronization unit to enable bench-scale production of micronized graphite. By establishing the first domestic natural flake graphite processing operation in the U.S. since 1956, Empire State Mines will create jobs and attract manufacturing investment to St. Lawrence County. ACHIEVE competition The “Southern Tier SouthWorks” ACHIEVE proposal was awarded $38 million to support the development of SouthWorks — a mixed-use, adaptive reuse project in Ithaca that repurposes the blighted former Morse Chain Factory site. SouthWorks will offer housing for all income levels, an innovation hub to retain start-ups in advanced manufacturing, biotech and ag-tech, a living laboratory for trades-focused workforce development with childcare and wraparound services, and an integrated neighborhood with locally tailored amenities for recreation, livability, and the arts. In addition, the state awarded the “Rooted In The Mohawk Valley” ACHIEVE proposal $32 million for a six-county plan that builds on the region’s tourism and agribusiness strengths to establish the Mohawk Valley as a “model for rural resilience, regenerative enterprise, and community reinvestment,” Hochul’s office said.