NOTICE: NO LONGER ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS
PLATTSBURGH, NY, Oct. 7th, 2019 – Two of the ten Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) projects awarded funding in 2017 went to the North Country Co-Op for a shared commercial kitchen space and a food incubator. However, in the fall of 2018, the North Country Co-Op decided not to proceed with those projects. After discussions with the NYS agency funding those projects, Homes and Community Renewal (HCR), it was determined that the DRI funding previously awarded to the Co-Op would be re-allocated to the City of Plattsburgh’s Downtown Grant Program (DGP), another DRI project funded by HCR. The DGP was originally developed to provide property and business owners with a funding mechanism to repair and renovate retail, commercial, and upper-story residential properties in downtown Plattsburgh.
With this reallocation of funding, adjustments were made to the Downtown Grant Program’s guidelines to help facilitate new projects that have goals similar to those projects previously being pursued by the Co-Op. These projects will have the following attributes:
- Those which improve food access for City of Plattsburgh residents.
- Those which create a new downtown destination and attract a significant number of visitors to Downtown Plattsburgh.
Therefore the City of Plattsburgh is now accepting DGP applications for projects that “improve food access for City of Plattsburgh residents AND create a new downtown destination and attract a significant number of visitors to downtown Plattsburgh.” Project applications that do not meet both of these requirements will not be considered for funding.
Applications can be found at and hard copies are available in the City’s Community Development Office. Applications were due by October 25th, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. Interested parties may contact Ethan Vinson at vinsone@cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov.
Overview:
The Downtown Grant Program has been developed to provide resources to stimulate investment and economic development through projects that align with the greater Downtown Revitalization Initiative vision.
This flexible funding mechanism enables property and business owners to make major renovations and restorations to existing retail, commercial, and residential properties Downtown. It strives to increase quality, year-round occupied housing stock by creating or converting vacant or underutilized upper story space into new residential units. Ultimately, a population of people living Downtown will help foster the revitalization of Downtown through increased spending that will come from increased foot-traffic and proximity to Downtown businesses.
All assistance provided by the DGP will be in the form of reimbursable grants.
Update (January 11th, 2018):
Thank you for all who attended our Nov 8th kick-off meetings!
The City is pleased to announce that we have received thirty-one (31) complete and eligible applications to the Downtown Grant Program requesting a total of ~$2.3 million in funding. Since this DRI project allocates $1 million in funding, the City's Grant Review Committee will now begin conducting their local review using the DGP scoring rubric to determine which projects will proceed to the City of Plattsburgh Common Council for approval.
Proposed projects include converting vacant units online for residential/commercial purposes, rehabilitating existing residential/commercial units, small business support, and facade projects.
Update (April 17, 2018):
The City of Plattsburgh is pleased to announce that nine recipients were approved for funding through the Downtown Grant Program (DGP) by the City Council on Thursday, April 5th, 2018. Official approval notification has been sent to all grantees. The projects approved align with the Downtown Revitalization Initiative’s vision to stimulate investment and economic development within Plattsburgh’s downtown.
Administrative Guidelines
- Local Design Guidelines
- Dept. of Interior - Rehabilitation Standards
- Dept. of Interior - Sustainability Guidelines
- 2019_08_06 DGP Grant Contract Schedule B (Amended)
Advertising Materials
Application Documents
- 2019_10_07 DGP Application (Updated)
- DGP Scoring Rubric
Frequently Asked Questions
Eligible applicants include owners of commercial buildings and/or businesses within the target area. Examples of such eligible applicants may include:
- Retail businesses;
- Commercial businesses;
- Service businesses;
- Industrial businesses;
- Rental property owners;
- Owner occupied housing—multi-unit residential.
*All applicants must be non-delinquent in City tax or utility payments to qualify for funding. The property to benefit from funding must be in compliance with building code or demonstrate in their application that they will be in compliance with code by the end of the project.
The DGP acts as a fully reimbursable grant program. There is no available loan component.
The DGP will reimburse approved applicants up to 90% of their total project cost, not to exceed
a maximum of $100,000.
No costs assumed by the applicant prior to being formally approved
for funding will be considered eligible for reimbursement.
Unlike other funding programs, the DGP does not require abiding by rent caps or job retention/creation. The property/building/business to benefit from DGP funds must be
maintained and not sold or demolished within five (5) years of award funding.The City of Plattsburgh reserves the right to inspect any work in progress at any point for properties benefiting from DGP funds to ensure adherence to program rules, environmental hazard compliance, and general project progress.
Following the approval/award of grant funds, each applicant must provide a commitment fee—not to exceed $750—with his or her signed commitment letter. The commitment fee will be determined by the Community Development Office and will be used by the City to pay for required work such as environmental site contamination testing. The amount of each commitment fee will vary depending upon the scope and size of the project, including the price of environmental site contamination testing. The paid commitment fee will be nonrefundable and will not be counted toward the match requirement.
The applicant will also be responsible for the remaining 10% of their total project cost as the DGP will only reimburse up to 90% of total project cost.
Applications will be available digitally, online on the City website at:
or will be available hard-copy in the Community Development Office.
Please feel free to visit the DRI: Downtown Grant Program webpage on the City website at:
or visit the Community Development Office in person, located on the second floor of City Hall.
