DHCR Announces $7 Million in Main Street Revitalization Awards

ALBANY, NY (02/03/2009)(readMedia)-- The state Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) today announced 16 grants from the New York Main Street program totaling nearly $7 million. The awards will help revitalize traditional downtown business districts by renovating buildings and facades, improving streetscapes and expanding affordable and workforce housing. The awards are expected to leverage more than $17 million in additional investment from other sources.

The grants will help renovate 217 units of affordable housing, 96 commercial units and 122 building facades. Awards will also be used to make streetscape enhancements in 13 municipalities around the state.

Governor David A. Paterson said "A revitalized Main Street creates job opportunities, encourages small business investment, expands the commercial tax base, preserves residential property values, fosters Smart Growth practices and connects the community to its history."

DHCR Commissioner Deborah VanAmerongen said she requested and received, from the Governor and Legislature, more flexibility in awarding this round of funding, including changes to eligibility requirements and maximum awards.

"The program is currently only available to not-for profit agencies," VanAmerongen said. "We felt expanding the program and making local governments eligible would greatly enhance its effectiveness."

The maximum award for this round of grants was also increased, from $200,000 to $500,000 to accommodate larger projects and address rising construction costs. The changes to the program "enabled us to invest these funds more efficiently and increase the private investment that could be leveraged from our awards," VanAmerongen said.

Regionally, the awards are spread evenly around the state - four each in Western NY, Central NY, the Capital Region and Downstate. They are also divided evenly between eight municipalities and eight not-for-profit agencies.

More than 80 applications for funding were received, requesting a total of more than $30 million.

DHCR evaluated each application, seeking projects that would stimulate reinvestment in mixed-use (commercial-civic-residential) buildings, foster small business development and expand affordable and workforce housing.

The awards were approved by the state's Housing Trust Fund Corporation, which is administered by the Division of Housing and Community Renewal and chaired by DHCR Commissioner VanAmerongen. Information on the awards is available at the DHCR website. The full list of awards by region follows:

AWARDEE COUNTY AWARD

Western New York

Village of Mount Morris Livingston $400,000

Marketview Heights, Association, Inc Monroe $443,243

Elmira Downtown Development, Inc Chemung $450,000

Village of Montour Falls Schuyler $465,000

Central New York

Syracuse Model Neighborhood Corp. Onondaga $500,000

Village of Deposit Broome/Delaware $150,000

Snow Belt Housing Company, Inc Lewis $434,945

Carthage Industrial Development Corp Jefferson $424,075

Capital District

City of Amsterdam Montgomery $500,000

Village of Hudson Falls Washington $325,000

Western Catskills

Community Revitalization Council, Inc. Delaware $212,375

City of Plattsburgh Clinton $500,000

Downstate - New York City

Harlem Congregations For

Community Improvement New York $485,625

Village of Hempstead Nassau $500,000

Village of Port Chester Westchester $425,000

Ridgewood Bushwick

Senior Citizens Council, Inc Kings $500,000

DHCR also recently announced the availability of $5 million for the 2009 Main Street funding round. Applications are available on DHCR's website at www.nysdhcr.gov, and must be submitted by April 24, 2009.

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