Regional municipalities receive Restore-NY grants: O’Mara and Palmesano say funding key to revitalizing, strengthening quality communities

Albany, N.Y., March 27—State Senator Tom O’Mara (R,C,I-Big Flats) and Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) said today that several area municipalities have been awarded state grant funding through the Restore-NY Communities Initiatives (Restore-NY) program.

The Legislature created Restore-NY in 2006 to aid municipalities in rehabilitating or removing obsolete or rundown commercial and residential properties in order to make the sites attractive to residents and businesses searching for new investment opportunities.

In a joint statement,  O’Mara and Palmesano said, “Restore-NY continues to be a critical building block to assist the restoration and revitalization of quality communities throughout the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes regions and statewide. These significant state investments have proven to be a valuable tool and have encouraged local economic development, local job creation and enhanced community pride.”

In an announcement in Albany today, O’Mara and Palmesano said that the following regional projects are receiving Restore-NY grants:

> City of Corning - $901,700 - The rehabilitation of the former College Center of the Finger Lakes on West Third Street to create apartments and commercial office space. The project will further enhance the high-density section of the Southside Historic District by adding quality housing close to the downtown area.

> City of Elmira - $508,400 - The rehabilitation of the former Schreibman's and Delaney buildings at 110 and 114 Baldwin Street. The project will convert the vacant buildings into mixed-use properties.

> City of Hornell - $1,000,000 - Redevelopment and demolition of the vacant former Marion Rohr building into a state of the art multi-family loft style apartment building, supporting the demand for housing in the area.

> City of Ithaca - $1,000,000 - The rehabilitation of four underutilized buildings on West State Street, including the reconstruction of one historic property, eliminating blight and replacing it with housing and commercial space.

> Village of Elmira Heights - $875,000 - The revitalization and renovation of a historic building at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and 14th Street in Elmira Heights' central business district. The project will create a destination location equipped with commercial space and residential units.

> Village of Horseheads - $550,000 - The reconstruction and rehabilitation of two mixed-use buildings located in the heart of the business district at Hannover Square.

> Village of Penn Yan - $500,000 - Penn Yan Downtown Revitalization Project.  Rehabilitation of two buildings. Building one – renovate the vacant top two floors of a multi-use building into market rate housing.  Building two – renovated into a mixed-use facility.