BEACON – Each year the state has selected one city in each of its 10 areas for a $10 million Downtown Revitalization grant. The program was put on hold last year because of the pandemic so this year, each region of the state will have $20 million available – for either one community or $10 million each for two municipalities.
The City of Beacon will be applying for $10 million to make over its downtown with specific components, said city consultant John Clark.
“Integrate the mile-long Main Street corridor with bus stops and visitor kiosks over blocks and priority to redevelopment sites, transforming paved areas near civic uses into parks, mixed use buildings, job creation centers and affordable housing,” he told the city council.
The city has 600 surface parking spaces in the downtown area, which could be transformed into pocket parks and shuttle bus areas with one or two parking structures providing the needed parking space.
To date, the cities of Middletown, Kingston, Peekskill and New Rochelle have each been selected for $10 million DRI grants.
The cities of Newburgh, Port Jervis and Poughkeepsie also plan on submitting applications for the current round of grants with selections expected by the end of the year.
