MIDDLETOWN – Businesses are putting the finishing touches on the three new facilities, but Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul joined Middletown city officials on Monday to cut the ribbon on the new Rail Trail Commons, the transformed old Woolworth building on North Street.
Funding by the city’s $10 million state Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant, the brainchild of Mayor Joseph DeStefano, features Oak & Reed, a farm-to-table restaurant serving locally-sources and sustainable ingredients with an emphasis on supporting local farms and businesses; and the soon-to-open Farmer & Baker, a food market and bakery specializing in artisan breads and seasonal foods sources from the owners’ farm as well as other farms and producers; and Painted Horse, an artisan chocolate shop that will offer chocolate-making classes.
Mayor DeStefano noted the redevelopment of the downtown area has resulted in over 40 properties being purchased with for than $20 million in private investment and 60 units of housing being developed.
Lt. Governor Hochul called the business people who are in Rail Trail Commons “pioneers” in the rebirth of the city. Joseph Moore, a chef and one of the owners of Oak & Reed, said Middletown “is ready for a renaissance.”
