The Economic Development Council of the
\nCapital Region is seeking $500 million for
\nlarge-scale economic development projects,
\nincluding some in downtown Glens Falls.<\/p>\n
The grant application was revealed on Oct.
\n5. It calls for redevelopment efforts to begin
\nwith Glens Falls and Albany as pilot projects.
\nThe grant money is intended to help create
\nmore livable communities, that make students
\nmore employable and assist businesses.<\/p>\n
The funds come from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s
\nUpstate Revitalization Initiative. Three grant
\npackages of $500 million each will be awarded
\ntoward the end of the year.
\nA set of “downtown catalyst projects” has
\nan initial promise of more than $800 million
\nin “partner commitments which are largely
\ncontingent on winning the URI,” the report
\nsubmitted to the governor said.<\/p>\n
“The Capital Region has been on a journey
\nto transform its economy from one that is
\ndependent on the public sector to one where the
\nprivate sector is the engine of growth,” it states.<\/p>\n
In the plan, a proposed “population
\nhealth technology cluster” aims to transform
\nhealth care statewide and across the nation
\nthrough the development of “a unique public-private
\necosystem” that would bring together
\nregional providers and payers with “world class
\ntechnology firms, local community
\norganizations, and other partners to share,
\naggregate, analyze and mobilize data to enable
\nsmarter health care solutions.”<\/p>\n
The three grant winners will get about $130
\nmillion annually when regular REDC funding
\nis included. The governor said that even with
\nthe extra money going to top performers, the
\n“losers” of the competition will end up with
\nabout $90 million.<\/p>\n
The Capital Region’s Upstate Revitalization
\nInitiative plan was the result of an eight-month
\neffort that gathered ideas from people in public
\nmeetings and through social media. Experts were also consulted.<\/p>\n
The plan also calls for spending millions on
\nspurring tourism as well as marketing crafts
\nand helping area residents develop enterprises
\nthat produce specialty agriculture products.
\nSix other upstate New York regional
\ndevelopment councils are competing for
\nfunding.<\/p>\n
The plan leverages $800 million in “partner
\ncommitments” and $75 million to $140
\nmillion to support “catalyst projects.” This
\nlatter appropriation would be for smartgrowth
\ndevelopment efforts that complement
\nand support revitalization projects already
\nunderway.<\/p>\n
In Glens Falls, areas targeted are “underutilized,
\nvacant, and deteriorating properties”
\nin low-income neighborhood areas.<\/p>\n
Officials have said the project would be in
\nthe South Street, Broad Street and Hudson
\nAvenue areas, but also said the plan could
\nchange somewhat and no firm commitments
\nare signed.<\/p>\n
The grant application cites that in downtown
\nGlens Falls, commercial property has a vacancy rate averaging about 20 percent, partially
\nbecause of the exorbitant cost of renovating
\nhistoric buildings. It says that $30 million fund
\ncould partially offset that cost.
\n“Our downtowns must be able to attract and
\nretain young professionals, a critical group for
\nour future,” the plan states. It said young adults
\nare about 94 percent more likely to live in urban
\nneighborhoods than other settings.<\/p>\n
The first round of such projects in Glens
\nFalls and Albany would create between 10,000
\nand 12,000 jobs and generate $20 million in
\ntax revenue over the first five years of grant
\nimplementation, according to the community
\nleaders and consultants drafting the grant
\napplication.<\/p>\n
Businesses to receive loans will be expected
\nto create one job for each $40,000 in funding —
\nand maintain these jobs for at least two years.
\nLoans are expected to range from $50,000 to
\n$500,000.<\/p>\n
The website for the regional council is
\nregionalcouncils.ny.gov\/content\/capital-region
\nfor those interested in additional information
\non the organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Economic Development Council of the Capital Region is seeking $500 million for large-scale economic development projects, including some in downtown Glens Falls. The grant application was revealed on Oct. 5. It calls for redevelopment efforts to begin with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":88,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[66,68,76,91],"yoast_head":"\r\n