New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced the winners of the Capital Region’s seventh round of funding through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative Wednesday in Lake George.
Hochul joined elected officials and local business owners to award $19 million in state funding. The Town and Village of Lake George will share $10 million in DRI funding, while the Village of Schuylerville and the Village of Hoosick Falls are receiving $4.5 million apiece from the New York Forward program.
Speaking at the Fort William Henry Conference Center and Hotel, Hochul said the funding can be transformational.
“They want to talk about farmers’ markets, and ice rinks, and helping restore facades on local businesses that fall into little shabbier state that we'd like to see. So, it's also signage, it's making more bypass and parks and housing,” she said.
Hochul says funding like this supports smaller communities.
“All will be transformed as a result of these economic development dollars that are working to not just dictate what Albany wants, but living the vision that the local community say they want,” Hochul said.
Lake George Village Mayor Ray Perry says the village and town will work together to use the funding to improve tourist amenities and broadband capacity.
“As a community, we decided to apply together with between the town and the builders, we do a lot of things together,” Perry said. “Even though we are two different municipalities, we work together very, very well.”
Perry says over the next several months, a strategic plan will identify transportation, housing, and community projects along the Canada Street corridor to receive funding.
“I have a standing art project that is not as expensive but it's near and dear to my heart of canoes painted by local artists bolted to the sidewalks in the community,” Perry said. “We have a workforce housing project that I'm hoping we're going to be able to get off the ground. There's a potential for a distillery university, a brew master university with a local business that will be a public private partnership. That's just to name a few.”
Hochul also announced that the Villages of Schuylerville and Hoosick Falls will each receive $4.5 million through the NY Forward program which is meant to help smaller and rural communities revitalize their downtowns. Schuylerville Mayor Dan Carpenter says the funding is a “vote of confidence” in the Village’s future.
“The projects that we have outlined are a reception and wedding venue for the basin, a community center at Fort Hardy,” Carpenter said. “We're going to be reforming one of the culverts between the original Champlain Canal and turning basins so that we can get some kayak traffic going in there, and then building up a new building where the old Hotel of Schuylerville used to be.”
Hoosick Falls in Rensselaer County plans to use the state funding to create walkable and accessible corridors and parking, as well as for park projects. The Village also plans to use the funds for historic preservation. Hochul says the goal is return on the state’s investment.
“These are smart investments that pay dividends. When you can create an environment where more people want to live there where you can make sure that the businesses can prosper and grow, that is actually generated or attract more tourists a place like Lake George, that is generating not just sales tax dollars but local revenues for counties, local governments.”
Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez says funding is spent wisely through careful monitoring.
“We have a general long timeline,” Rodriguez said. “What we do in the beginning is try to make sure that we fit within our $10 million allotment. But certainly, things happen over time projects change and we have been able to relocate within that allotment as necessary, or find additional resources.”
Hochul adds that plans do change as communities change and initial proposals may not be the final result, but the state works to keep the money in the communities.
