The State Regional Economic Development Corporation has awarded groups in Chautauqua County $3 million for various projects and initiatives.
The National Comedy Center is receiving $550,000 for their Destination Laughter initiative. This program is a strategic marketing campaign to drive visitation to Western New York by attracting leisure travelers and group tours, while engaging the travel trade through expanded outreach. The campaign leverages the Center’s national visibility to inspire meaningful travel across New York State through the power and universal appeal of comedy.
The City of Jamestown is receiving $60,000 to conduct a feasibility study to determine the best use for three vacant and deteriorating properties on the city’s waterfront.
Arthur Page LLC will receive $1 million to repurpose the closed St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church Parish in the Village of Fredonia. This property is considered an anchor in the village and is both architecturally and historically significant. However, there has been deferred maintenance and the condition has worsened over the years. This project will renovate and repurpose a former church, supporting the expansion of childcare and the redevelopment of Fredonia’s downtown.
The Western New York Land Conservancy, Inc. will use $675,000 to purchase the Bear Lake Preserve in the Town of Stockton. The conservancy will maintain the land as a publicly accessible nature preserve. The land is home to a diversity of plants and animals, includes many rare habitat types, and forms a complex of 700 acres of protected lands.
The Town of Hanover has received $497,751 to work with six building owners to improve their facades and residential and commercial units. In 2024, Imagine Forestville, a community organization focused on improving Forestville, received funding from the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth to create Design Guidelines for the commercial district. A New York Main Street Technical Assistance grant in 2025 used these guidelines to produce concept renderings, scopes of work and cost estimates for the facade improvements for of six buildings in the Target Area.
And the Growers Co-Op Grape Juice Co will receive $172,500 to expand their juice processing operation in Chautauqua County by installing a state-of-the-art juice filtration system. The new filter modules will improve processing efficiency and juice quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create less waste, and allow Growers Co-Op to expand their market. This will also allow NYS farmers the ability to grow and deliver more grapes and other fruits to Growers and allow these in-state farmed and processed juices to be sold to institutional markets including schools food banks and correctional facilities.
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