Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the state has provided $2 million in Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program grants and the Mohawk Valley and the North Country are among 13 communities across the state to benefit from the funding. The program provides resources to develop data-driven revitalization strategies for economically distressed areas. These plans “forge a path to […]
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the state has provided $2 million in Brownfield Opportunity
Areas Program grants and the Mohawk Valley and the North Country are among 13 communities across the state to benefit from the funding.
The program provides resources to develop data-driven revitalization strategies for economically distressed areas. These plans “forge a path to transform blighted properties in urban areas into community assets and catalysts for neighborhood-wide revitalization,” the state says.
Brownfields are abandoned or underutilized properties where known or perceived contamination has inhibited redevelopment, turning the properties into economic and environmental drains on localities. The Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program grants have driven revitalization throughout the state, turning dormant sites into “vibrant and productive properties that attract jobs and private investment, ultimately expanding the local tax base,” the state contends.
“This funding will help transform blighted and polluted properties into economic engines in communities across New York,” Cuomo said in a news release.
Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program grants support:
• Site-contamination condition investigations;
• Environmental-impact assessments;
• Studies to determine the best use of brownfields and vacant sites;
• Redevelopment plans for impacted sites;
• Marketing to attract developer and investor interest;
• Forums and opportunities for public participation; and
• Additional actions to spur investment, cleanup, and redevelopment related to brownfield sites.
The Department of State administers the Brownfield Opportunity Areas Program. The recipients in the Mohawk Valley and the North Country are:
Mohawk Valley
• City of Amsterdam, East End Brownfield Opportunity Area ($97,200) & Northern Brownfield Opportunity Area ($97,200)
The City of Amsterdam will complete a Brownfield Opportunity area nomination for an approximate 129-acre area with at least nine potential sites in the East End neighborhood and about a 309-acre area with at least 35 potential sites in the Northern neighborhood. The primary objectives include development of a plan to address the environmental, physical, social, and economic problems facing both neighborhoods; environmental cleanup and productive reuse of old industrial sites; demolition of unsafe structures and reuse of those sites; implementation of programs to revitalize residential and commercial areas; and identification additional redevelopment strategies, according to the state.
• City of Utica, Central Industrial Corridor Brownfield Opportunity Area ($199,610)
The City of Utica will complete a Brownfield Opportunity Area nomination study for an approximately 1,705-acre area along the old Erie Canal and main railroad corridor in Utica. The objectives to be achieved by this project include facilitation of future investment and growth through focused community-based planning, strategic investment and marketing; conversion of properties from dormant brownfields to active buildings; and the revitalization of city areas that have high historic interest, underutilized natural resources, or architectural potential.
North Country
• Town of Canton, Canton Village Brownfield Opportunity Area ($176,000)
The Town of Canton will complete a Brownfield Opportunity area nomination for a 73-acre area with 27 potential sites and nine vacant or underutilized sites along the Grasse River and in the historic downtown. Objectives include an analysis of existing market and housing conditions, an assessment of environmental contamination on key sites and promotion of essential environmental cleanup, improved gateways into the historic downtown, increased public access to the Grasse River, protection of waterfront and open space resources, and an improved local economy. Specific projects will include studying the feasibility of relocating the County Highway Department, streetscape enhancement, and reviewing zoning and land-use regulations.
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