BLDC Awarded $250,000 New York Main Street Grant

From the Office of the Mayor:

The Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) announced today that it will be administering a matching grant program in the amount of $250,000 through the 2012 NYS Main Street Grant Program. The BLDC received the grant through New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation’s Office of Community Renewal (NYSOCR), as part of the State’s Consolidated Funding Application engineered under Governor Cuomo to allow more efficient reallocation of state resources for local community development through input from regional councils.

“This grant program will enhance the efforts initiated through the City’s roundabout and streetscape improvements that have taken shape on Court Street, one of the City’s major commercial corridors that has already seen sizeable new investments.” Said Mayor Matt Ryan. “Over the course of my administration, The BLDC has been a driving force in this community, creating opportunities for new business development in the City. They have done an exceptional job in bringing alternative resources into the City as a way to carryout economic development during these challenging economic times.”

The BLDC’s grant program will assist property owners in their efforts to improve and preserve the visual image of the City’s downtown historic mixed-use districts through commercial façade improvements as well as new and modified interior residential and commercial development.

$15,000 of these grant funds will be allocated for a Streetscape Project to improve the area known as “Commercial Alley” running from Court Street to the State Street parking ramp.

BLDC’s Executive Director Merry Harris believes this grant will help to stimulate sustainable investments in the community “With the help of the NYS Main Street Grant, the BLDC and the City of Binghamton will be able to leverage private investment and activity in the commercial sector to create opportunities for affordable housing, and to increase the walk ability of the city.”

This will be the second round of competitive funding that the BLDC has been able to capture under the NYS Main Street Grant Program. In 2008, the BLDC received $200,000 in Main Street Grant funding from the New York State Housing Trust Fund Corporation’s Office of Community Renewal (NYSOCR), and successfully administered thirty revitalization projects, including façade improvements, interior renovations, and streetscape improvements along “Gorgeous Washington Street” between Hawley and Court Streets, and at the intersection of Main and Front Streets. The endeavor spurred an additional $459,972.07 in private investments and produced over a dozen jobs for local contractors, engineers, and design companies.

Grant Details

The target areas for the 2012 NYS Main Street Grant will include Chenango Street between Court Street and Henry Street, Henry Street between Chenango and State Street, and State Street between Henry and Lewis Street.

The BLDC will be hosting a free workshop on the 2012 NYS Main Street Grant Program as an outreach effort to generate awareness about the specific criteria for the grant as well as additional benefits such Historic Tax Credits, NYSERDA Energy Audits and Energy Efficiency Incentives, and the Downtown Revitalization Programs administered by Southern Tier Regional Economic Development. The workshop will take place at the Broome County Public Library, 185 Court Street at 5pm on March 21, 2013. All property owners within this target area are encouraged to apply.

As a way to support local business, the BLDC is now accepting Request for Qualifications (RFQ’s) from local contractors to bid on projects proposed through the 2012 NYS Main Street Grant Program.

For more information on how to register for the 2012 NYS Main Street Grant Workshop or the RFQ process, please contact the Binghamton Local Development Corporation Financial Analyst, Omar Sanders at (607) 772 –7161 or ojsanders@cityofbinghamton.com.