Oneonta wins Mohawk Valley’s $10M prize in state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative

ONEONTA, N.Y. — Oneonta is the Mohawk Valley’s winner in New York’s $100 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), according to a news release that the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued Tuesday.

The Mohawk Valley regional economic-development council chose Oneonta as part of a competitive process.

Oneonta will use the $10 million in state funding to “revitalize the local neighborhood and generate new opportunities for long-term growth and prosperity,” Cuomo’s office said.

Under the DRI, Oneonta will focus on projects in the downtown area that will leverage “significant” private investment to promote sustainability and reduce the city’s carbon footprint, provide new housing opportunities, create a “food and craft beverage innovation district,” and expand upon its “economic potential as a regional center of culture and commerce,” the release stipulated.

Oneonta, situated along the Susquehanna River, is home to both Hartwick College and SUNY Oneonta.

The importance of this award to city of Oneonta “cannot be overstated,” Mayor Gary Herzig said in the governor’s release.

“I wish to thank Gov. Cuomo and the Mohawk Valley regional economic development council for investing in the future of the city of Oneonta and look forward to working together to make downtown Oneonta a true center of innovation where people of diverse backgrounds can live, work, and play together while enjoying an unparalleled quality of life,” said Herzig.

The award will include up to $300,000 in planning funds for private-sector experts to work with a local planning committee to draft a “strategic”-investment plan that will identify specific economic development, transportation, and housing and community projects.

Plans will be completed by early 2017, Cuomo’s office said.

The DRI program, first presented in Cuomo’s 2016 State of the State address, will invest $10 million into 10 downtown neighborhoods across the state.

Other winners in recent announcements include Oswego in Central New York, Elmira in the Southern Tier, Geneva in the Finger Lakes, Plattsburgh in the North Country, Westbury in the Long Island region, and Middletown in the Mid-Hudson region.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com