Watertown wins $10M in state funding in downtown revitalization initiative

Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday visited the Watertown Masonic Temple to announce the award.

It now joins the City of Plattsburgh as a DRI award winner. Plattsburgh was the North Country region’s winner in the first DRI round.

“Watertown’s $10 million downtown-revitalization initiative award is a great step forward in our efforts to continue the North Country’s economic resurgence,” Cuomo said in the news release. “Investing in this local community will attract jobs, private investment and future development to transform downtown Watertown into an economic engine for the entire region.”

Developing a plan

Watertown will now begin the process of developing a strategic-investment plan to revitalize its downtown with up to $300,000 in planning funds from the $10 million DRI grant.

A local planning committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders, and other stakeholders will lead the effort. A team of private sector experts and state planners will support the work.

The strategic-investment plan for downtown Watertown will examine local assets and opportunities and identify economic development, transportation, housing, and community projects that align with the community’s vision for downtown revitalization and that are “poised for implementation.”

Watertown’s “strategic” investment plan for its downtown will “guide the investment” of DRI grant funds in revitalization projects that will “advance” the community’s vision for its downtown and that can “leverage and expand” upon the state’s $10 million investment, Cuomo’s office said.

Plans for DRI’s second round will be complete in early 2018.

“It is a great day in Watertown and the North Country! We thank Governor Cuomo for his support and for the investment our great State is making and for recognizing the potential that lives right here in Watertown,” Watertown Mayor Joseph Butler Jr. said in Cuomo’s news release.  

Selection process

As in the first round of the DRI, the state will select one municipality from each of the state’s 10 regional economic-development regions as a $10 million winner.

The state is awarding a total of $100 million in DRI funding and investments to help communities identify “catalytic downtown projects to boost the local economy,” Cuomo’s office said.

The North Country regional economic-development council went through a competitive review process of proposals from communities throughout the region and considered eight criteria before recommending Watertown as its nominee for the DRI funding award.

The criteria included the stipulation that the downtown area should be “compact, with well-defined boundaries,” according to the news release. In addition, the municipality should be of “sufficient size to support a vibrant, year-round downtown.”

The criteria also stipulate that the downtown area can “capitalize on prior or catalyze future” private and public investment in the neighborhood and its surrounding areas. The municipality should have identified “transformative” projects that will be ready for implementation with an infusion of DRI funds within the first one to two years, Cuomo’s office noted.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com