$85M in state aid for local projects
Region a ‘top performer’ in competition for economic development funding
The Mid-Hudson region has been awarded $84.8 million in New York state economic development money, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office announced Wednesday.
The Mid-Hudson was named a “top performer” in the state’s 2017 Regional Economic Development Council funding competition, and it was given the fourth-highest dollar amount among New York’s 10 regions, which are sharing a total of $755 million.
Among the big-money recipients in the Mid-Hudson region are JM Development Group LLC and Herzog Supply Co., which are getting $2 million for the The Kingstonian Uptown Revitalization Project, a planned mixed-use develop-
ment at the corner of Fair and North Front streets in Uptown Kingston.The project, announced in early December, is to comprise apartments, a hotel and a restaurant and cost about $48 million to build.
The state-designated Mid-Hudson region comprises Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, Sullivan, Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties. Columbia and Greene counties are part of the Capital Region, while Delaware County is classified as being in the Southern Tier.
The Mid-Hudson money announced Wednesday, earmarked for a total of 113 projects, includes:
• $1.5 million for improvements at Dutchess Stadium in Fishkill.
• $1.5 million for a downtown sewer system in Hyde Park.
• $1.2 million for the Winnakee Land Trust in Northern Dutchess to acquire two parcels totaling 335 acres in the town of Red Hook adjacent to the Saw Kill, the water supply for Bard College. The project aims to protect the supply, a bat habitat, hydric soils and wetlands.
• $1 million for the Hutton Brickyards redevelopment effort in Kingston.
• $750,000 for the design and construction of new sidewalks, bicycle infrastructure and crosswalks along the entire length of Franklin Street in Kingston.
• $750,000 each for sewer system improvements in the town of Ulster’s Spring Lake district and the town of Wawarsing.
• $650,000 for the Open Space Institute to build a visitors’ center at the main entrance to the Minnewaska State Park Preserve in the town of Gardiner.
• $405,000 for the Walkway Over the Hudson’s East Entrance Visitor Center in Poughkeepsie.
• $242,5000 for RUPCO’s Stockade Works media/arts/technology center on South Prospect Street in Kingston.
Among the awards for projects in Columbia and Greene counties are:
• $420,000 for the Olana Partnership to restore Frederic Church’s ornamental and working farm at the Olana State Historic Site in Greenport.
• $300,000 for the Catskill Mountain Housing Development Corp. to assist in the renovation of mixeduse buildings in the village of Catskill.
The only regions awarded more money than the MidHudson on Wednesday were Central New York ($86.4 million), the Mohawk Valley ($85.5 million) and the Capital Region ($85 million). Long Island came in just behind the Mid-Hudson, at $84.3 million.
Getting between $63.9 million and $68.8 million apiece were the Southern Tier, Finger Lakes, Western New York, North Country and New York City regions.
“These awards are critical to building the foundations for New York’s future and ensuring that our economic momentum continues,” Cuomo said in a prepared statement. “I congratulate each of the [Regional Economic Development] Councils ... and look forward to continuing to partner to keep our communities vibrant and thriving for years to come.”
The Mid-Hudson region was the top dollar recipient in the state’s 2016 round of awards, announced a year ago, landing $83.3 million.