About $85 million in state grants and tax credits has been awarded to 113 development projects in the mid-Hudson Valley region.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the awards in Albany on Dec. 13. The grant money comes from the latest round of funding in the state”™s Regional Economic Development Council initiative, a program launched by Cuomo at the start of his administration in 2011 as an attempt to spur jobs creation and economic development.
Under the program, 10 designated regions in the state compete for economic and community development funding each year. For the seventh application round, state agencies awarded more than $750 million for capital projects throughout the state.
The Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council, which represents Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, Orange, Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties, was designated a “Top Performer” in this round of funding. That means the region, along with four other regions, is eligible for around $80 million in state funds. The remaining five regions received about $60 million. Central New York, Mohawk Valley, the Capital Region and Long Island were the other regions to receive the top designation.
Last year, the mid-Hudson region received about $83 million in state money for 105 development projects.
In Westchester, 23 projects will receive more than $10 million total this year. Major private and public capital projects to receive funding in the county this year include the following:
”¢ The Bowery of Port Chester, a 30,000-square-foot proposed brewery in the village’s downtown was awarded $2 million. The space would include a midsize production brewery, taproom and a covered parking lot with 200 spaces.
”¢ BioInc@NYMC, New York Medical College”™s biotech focused incubator, will receive $1.25 million through the state”™s Innovation Hot Spot Support Program, which provides operating grants for designated “Innovation Hot Spots” that promote entrepreneurial activities.
”¢ The village of Port Chester will receive $1.17 million from the Department of State’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program to build a new bulkhead along the Byram River in its downtown.
Ӣ Manhattan developer The Lela Goren Group will receive $1 million toward its redevelopment of the century-old Glenwood Power Plant near YonkersӪ Glenwood Metro-North Railroad station. The project would turn the plant into a cultural destination and performance space. The project received $1 million in state economic development funding in 2012 for its phase one restoration project. The second phase will focus on infrastructure improvements and rehabilitating buildings on site, including the buildingӪs large Turbine Hall.
”¢ The city of New Rochelle will receive a $1 million grant from Empire State Development to build a “green parking garage” at 25 Maple Ave. in the city. It will accommodate 400 cars, with spaces for car-sharing, electric vehicle charging and on-street bike storage.
Ӣ New Rochelle will also receive $804,000 to reduce travel lanes on Quaker Ridge Road from four to two. The funds, from the state Department of Environmental ConservationӪs Climate Smart Communities Program, will be used to create bicycle lanes on each side of the street and create new crosswalks. The funding would also be utilized for parking and signal upgrades on North Avenue in the city.
Ӣ The Westchester ChildrenӪs museum will receive a $824,000 grant to expand exhibit and operational space in Rye PlaylandӪs historic bathhouse.
Ӣ The Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains will receive $500,000 for a number of facility improvements. The school will add a piano technology lab, recording studio and new studios for jazz, ensembles and music therapy.
There are major projects across the Hudson River and farther north in the Hudson Valley.
”¢ In Kingston, JM Development Group LLC, in partnership with Herzog Supply Co., was awarded $2 million from Empire State Development for the Kingstonian Uptown Revitalization Project. The $48 million mixed-use development project would serve as a “cornerstone” to the city’s historic Stockade District, as described by the EDC. The project would add 129 market-rate apartments, 9,000 square feet of retail space and a 38-room boutique hotel, built around a 450-space parking garage.
”¢ The redevelopment of the historic Hutton Brickyards in Kingston by Los Angeles-based developer MWest Holdings LLC will receive a $1 million grant. Already home to the northern expansion of Brooklyn’s Smorgasburg food market, the project would turn the former industrial site on the Hudson River into an entertainment and community venue.
ӢMediprint LLC, a medical 3-D printing company in Goshen, has been awarded $1.2 million toward a design and production laboratory at an unspecified location in Orange County. The facility would serve as the administrative headquarters for the company and provide medical 3-D printing services for medical centers nationwide.
$2 million for a brewery in Port Chester? Somehow I think these funds would be much better used to reduce NYs crippling tax burden.