ALBANY – State officials announced Tuesday that more than $763 million in economic and community development funding has been awarded through Round VIII of the Regional Economic Development Council initiative, with over $6.1 million going toward projects within Chautauqua County.
Among the local projects to see funding is the Welch’s Building Redevelopment project in Westfield ($1,000,000); the Chautauqua Avenue Green Street Retrofit Project in Lakewood ($695,000); SUNY Fredonia Technology Incubator ($625,000); Dunkirk Wingate Hotel & Recreation Center ($500,000); St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Bell Tower and Front Porch Stabilization ($500,000); the AgriAmerica Grape Juice Factory Revitalization Project ($498,6000) and Chautauqua Lake Mechanized Floating Vegetation Collection ($375,000).
The city of Jamestown also received $100,000 to develop recreational amenities on the South Bank of the Chadakoin River.
A complete listing of all local projects is listed below. You can also find a rundown of all awards across New York State online at the 2018 Regional Economic Development Council Awards website.
For the Western New York Regional Council Awardee, a total of $66 million was awarded to support a total of 118 projects.
Established in 2011 as a centerpiece of the Governor’s strategy to jumpstart the economy and create jobs, the Regional Councils replaced the state’s old top-down approach to economic development with one that is community-based and performance-driven. The initiative empowers communities, business and academic leaders, as well as members of the public in each region of the state, to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to their region’s unique strengths and resources to create jobs, improve quality of life and grow the economy.
LOCAL PROJECT AWARDS IN CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY
Town of Westfield – Welchs Building Redevelopment
The Town of Westfield will transform the former Welch’s Building in Westfield into a multi-use structure with commercial, retail and residential units aligns with the region’s smart growth principles. – $1,000,000
Village of Lakewood – Chautauqua Avenue Green Street Retrofit Project
The Village of Lakewood will use GIGP funds to transform Chautauqua Avenue into a green street. The installation of porous pavers and stormwater street trees will help revitalize the village center while reducing stormwater runoff to Chautauqua Lake. – $695,000
SUNY Fredonia SUNY – Fredonia Technology Incubator
The Fredonia Technology Incubator will provide new and enhanced services and programs for startups in the music, multimedia innovation (gaming and VR) and the food industries. – $625,000
Erie Land Development LLC – Dunkirk Wingate Hotel & Recreation Center
The Dunkirk Wingate and Recreation Center Project will feature a new eighty-three room, nationally branded hotel, restaurant, distillery, beer garden, swimming pool, and outdoor recreation center both facilitating existing tourist experiences and attracting new tourists to Chautauqua County. – $500,000
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Bell Tower and Front Porch Stabilization
St. Luke’s Church of Jamestown will complete a stabilization and restoration of two focal elements of its 1894 building, the 95 foot bell tower (containing a full octave carillon) and the gabbled front porch and staircase on Main Street. The completed restoration will preserve cultural institution open to the community, with a fully water and weatherproof building that removes the potential life safety hazards of key features at the façade of the building. – $500,000
AgriAmerica Fruit Products, LLC – AgriAmerica Grape Juice Factory Revitalization Project
AgriAmerica Fruit Products in Fredonia will purchase grape juice factory machinery to use in manufacturing and storage of different strength juices made from locally grown grapes for distribution to multiple markets. This project will revitalize a former grape juice factory in Chautauqua County, the largest grape-producing county in New York and part of the oldest Concord grape-growing region in the world, resulting in job growth in the fruit farming, distribution, construction, and retail sectors. – $498,600
Chautauqua County – Chautauqua Lake Mechanized Floating Vegetation Collection
Chautauqua County will purchase two skimmers to collect and remove floating vegetation and surface debris from Chautauqua Lake. The project will reduce the amount of floating vegetation, improving conditions in the lake and potentially reducing the growth of harmful algal blooms. – $375,000
Village of Lakewood – Lakewood NYMS Renovation Project
The Village will assist in the renovation of mixed-use properties in the Village’s Chautauqua Avenue Business District. – $340,492
Village of Lakewood – Lowe Park Green Infrastructure Improvements
The Village of Lakewood will design and construct green stormwater infrastructure improvements at Lowe Park, implementing the Chautauqua Lake Local Waterfront Revitalization Program and Watershed Management Plan. The project will reduce nutrient inputs entering Chautauqua Lake which contribute to excessive aquatic vegetation growth and threaten its recreational use. Park improvements will also include a pavilion, bike shelter, pedestrian bridge, interpretive panels, plantings and rain gardens. – $255,951
Dunkirk Local Development Corporation – Dunkirk Great Lakes Grand Prix Boat Races
The Dunkirk Offshore Grand Prix is a new-to-New York State, internationally televised powerboat race that will bring excitement to the City of Dunkirk on the beautiful shores of Lake Erie. The event will feature racing, live music, food, and more, attracting tens of thousands of visitors to the region and highlighting all of the great things that Western New York has to offer. – $225,000
Northern Chautauqua Local Economic Development Initiative – White Inn
Renovations will be made to the shuttered historic White Inn in the heart of downtown Fredonia and reopen as a boutique hotel, restaurant and banquet facility. – $220,000
Village of Lakewood and Town of Busti Precision Swale Stormwater Retrofits
The Town of Busti will construct swale retrofits, including 2,100 linear feet of steep gradient swale riffle pool sequences and 2,500 linear feet of shallow swales with enhanced vegetated filter strips. This project will improve drainage throughout the town and village and reduce the amount of sediment entering Chautauqua Lake, including phosphorus that may lead to harmful algal blooms. – $202,478
Soil and Water Conservation District – Chautauqua Lake Watershed Road Ditch Stabilization
The Chautauqua County Soil and Water Conservation District will stabilize roadside ditches in the Chautauqua Lake watershed. The project will improve water quality by reducing sediment and nutrients entering Chautauqua Lake, including phosphorus that may lead to harmful algal blooms. – $162,000
City of Jamestown – Acquire Riverfront Development Property
The City of Jamestown will develop recreational amenities on the South Bank of the Chadakoin River along with development of mixed uses including housing, entertainment uses, water-front restaurants and open spaces and serve as a catalyst for economic development within the river corridor. – $100,000
Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Inc. – Cassadaga Lakes Nature Park Acquisition
The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, Inc. will acquire property on Cassadaga Lake to establish the Upper Cassadaga Lake Nature Park. The proposed park will provide year-round recreational opportunities on property that includes wetlands, lake shoreline, shoreline on a glacial kettle pond, and upland forest. – $90,849
Town of Sheridan – Sheridan Bay Park Improvements
The Town of Sheridan will design and construct improvements to Sheridan Bay Park, on the Lake Erie Waterfront. The improvements will consist of the completion of drainage on the northern and eastern sides for the park, construction of park amenities, including a pavilion and ADA accessibility upgrades to the bathhouse for users with impaired physical mobility, and bathhouse renovation. This project supports the Town’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program under development. – $90,750
Chautauqua County – Lake Erie Kayak Launches
Chautauqua County, in partnership with the City of Dunkirk, Village of Silver Creek, Towns of Hanover and Westfield and Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, will install five ADA accessible kayak launches. This project will advance implementation of Local Waterfront Revitalization Program goals by increasing water-dependent recreation and public access to Chautauqua Lake and Lake Erie. – $73,155
Village of Sherman Drinking Water and Stormwater Infrastructure Preliminary Engineering Report
Funds will be used to complete a preliminary engineering report of its rinking water and storm water infrastructure. – $50,000
Chautauqua Shores – Infiltration and Inflow Study
Chautauqua County will complete an engineering report to identify and reduce sources of infiltration and inflow within the North Chautauqua Lake Sewer District service area. – $30,000
Infinity Visual and Performing Arts, Inc. – Workforce Expansion
Infinity Visual and Performing Arts, Inc. will hire a development coordinator to implement and oversee the organization’s annual development strategy to achieve organizational financial goals. – $25,000
Village of Fredonia – Fredonia/Dunkirk Regional Biosolids System Study
The Village of Fredonia and City of Dunkirk will develop options for a consolidated regional biosolids system at a centralized receiving station. Biosolids from the City of Dunkirk and other county sources will be evaluated for the potential to generate biogas to power a microturbine at the Fredonia Wastewater Treatment Plant. – $23,875
Village of Sherman -Climate Smart Comprehensive Plan
The Village of Sherman will complete a Climate Smart Comprehensive Plan. The plan will incorporate policies and actions the village can undertake to mitigate the effects of extreme weather events, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, revitalize its business corridor, protect wastewater and stormwater infrastructure, and maintain its connection to nature, while stimulating sustainable economic development and improving quality of life for village residents. – $18,000
REGIONAL PROJECTS THAT INCLUDE CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY
Young Audiences of Western New York – Workforce Training and Development Programs
Young Audiences will hire student apprentices to work with a Master Teaching Artist and flex their creative muscles and learn essential career skills while producing works of art. Youth will define futures through the creative arts, learning the diverse skills required for the evolving workplace. – $75,000
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