CNY Council Seeks Catalytic Projects for Round Seven of REDC Funding

Members of the Central New York Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) recently hosted a meeting at the Southwest Community Center to discuss project outreach efforts for the seventh round of the REDC funding process. Through this round Governor Andrew Cuomo will award more than $800 million for projects across the state. The council is actively seeking qualified projects to take advantage of this year’s funding opportunity. Consolidated funding applications are due July 28.

This round includes a second round of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) which will invest $10 million each in 10 municipalities statewide to execute downtown strategic-investment plans and advance catalytic projects that support the community’s vision for revitalization. Downtown Oswego was selected as CNY’s DRI recipient in the program’s first round last year.

Additionally, the New York State budget includes $620 million to build a world-class life-sciences cluster. This new initiative presents the opportunity for regional councils to expand efforts in the life-sciences sector to assure maximum success in industry growth and expansion. Each council is asked to work with the colleges and universities in its region to identify academic programs that develop life-science personnel, and to help establish a pipeline from training to employment in the life-sciences field.

Over the past six years, the Central New York region has received the most funding to date — $906.8 million — out of all 10 council regions. This includes the $500 million our region received for its strategic plan, CNY Rising, through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative. This funding has allowed businesses in our community to expand, invest in traditionally underserved neighborhoods, and create hundreds of new jobs. If your firm is considering an expansion project, I encourage you to contact Andrew Fish, CenterState CEO’s senior VP of economic development at afish@centerstateceo.com to learn more about the application and see if your firm qualifies to apply.

Robert M. (Rob) Simpson is president and CEO of CenterState CEO, the primary economic-development organization for Central New York. This editorial is drawn and edited from the “CEO Focus” email newsletter that the organization sent to members on June 8.