(PLATTSBURGH- October 10th, 2024) - The City of Plattsburgh is seeking Letters of Interest (LOIs) from local property and land owners for Round 9 of Empire State Development’s RestoreNY program. Through the RestoreNY program, which was announced in September 2024, $50 million dollars are available to support local efforts, and help to reduce insurmountable costs for transforming blighted, underutilized structures into vibrant residential, commercial and mixed-use developments.
What is the RestoreNY Program?
The 2024-25 State Budget provided new funding for the RestoreNY Communities Initiative and gave Empire State Development (ESD) the responsibility of implementing this program for the sole purpose of revitalizing urban and rural areas, disadvantaged communities, and stabilizing neighborhoods. Municipalities, defined as counties, cities, towns, and villages are invited to submit a Request for Funding. Municipal applications which include project proposals are due in December.
An important goal of RestoreNY is to revitalize urban centers, rural areas, and disadvantaged communities. It is anticipated that upon completion, the projects funded by RestoreNY grants will attract individuals, families, industry and commercial enterprises to the municipality. It is further anticipated that the improved community and business climate will result in an increased tax base thereby improving municipal finances and the wherewithal to further grow the municipality’s tax and resource base, lessening its dependence on state aid.
City Seeking Letters of Interest Due October 21st
Property owners within the City that have “shovel ready” project ideas to demolish, deconstruct, rehabilitate and/or reconstruct vacant, abandoned, condemned, and/or surplus properties are encouraged to submit a Letter of Interest to the City. The letter should describe their “shovel ready” project, budget and ability to implement the project if awarded funding. ESD will only accept two LOIs from each municipality to review, therefore if more than two applications are submitted to the City, they will be reviewed and scored by City Staff. The top two scoring projects will be advanced to the final application. Applications submitted after 4:00 PM on Monday October 21st 2024 will not be considered.
More information about how to submit a LOI can be found on the City’s public engagement platform, my.cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov. Community members are encouraged to also visit my.cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov and leave a comment or idea about the types of projects that are desirable to our city residents.
Cost to the City
The City of Plattsburgh is required to pay a $500 application fee for each project application submitted to the RestoreNY grant. The RestoreNY program also requires the demonstration of a 10% match for funds being requested. The match portion of the RestoreNY grants shall be funded through the private contribution of the developer or property owner(s) and not paid for by the City. These funds would be “firmly committed” via a signed written agreement between the City and the Developer to provide the match amount upon successful award of the grant. If awarded grant funding, the Community Development Office would oversee the administration of the grant for successful project applications.
“This program is designed to be a public/private partnership and requires the municipality to be the program applicant in coordination with private partners. These partners are obligated, via programmatic agreements, to fund the project at the time of award,” says Mayor Rosenquest.
The City invites landowners, businesses owners and developers to contact the City’s Community Development office to learn more about programs and opportunities. More information about how to submit a LOI can be found on the City’s public engagement platform, my.cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov. Please email cityinfo@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov or call 518 536 7642 for more information. A public hearing will be announced for late November or early December to review final applications being submitted to the RestoreNY program.
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