KINGSTON – Mayor Steven Noble said the Office of Grants Management is gathering proposals for possible submission to the Empire State Development (ESD) Restore NY grant program.
The Office of Grants Management will accept proposals and as required by ESD, will submit the two strongest concepts in an initial Intent to Apply pre-screening phase.
The Restore NY grant program provides municipalities with financial assistance for the revitalization of commercial and residential properties for projects involving the demolition, deconstruction, rehabilitation and/or reconstruction of vacant, abandoned, condemned and surplus properties.
“The City of Kingston has had great success with the Restore NY grant. With this funding, we have been able to move some incredible projects forward—like Energy Square with the demolition of the former Mid-City lanes; the St. Joseph’s Lofts Project, which will provide housing, offices, and performance space in Uptown; and the Center for Photography’s adaptive reuse of the former Van Slyke & Horton Cigar factory in Midtown.,” said the mayor.
“The Restore NY grant is a great opportunity to reimagine what some of our abandoned and vacant structures could be – these transformations revitalize the neighborhood, encourage economic and community development, and create new business and housing opportunities,” he said.
Once submitted by the city, applications are scored against specific ESD guidelines and how strongly they meet the program goals to encourage commercial investment and improve the local housing stock. Priority will be given to projects in Empire Zones and Brownfield Opportunity Areas and those that leverage other state or federal redevelopment, remediation, or planning programs. Priority will be given to projects from economically distressed communities.
A minimum 10 percent match from the organization is required. Before submitting a potential project to the City, interested candidates should familiarize themselves with the program guidelines posted on the ESD website: https://esd.ny.gov/sites/default/files/media/document/Restore-NY-Guidelines-Round-8.pdf.
Interested organizations should complete the city’s short project form with the following information by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, March 6.
Name of Development Company/Organization
Name of Project
Property Address(es)
Estimated Project Cost
Brief Project Description (approximately 300 words)
Questions regarding proposal concepts can be directed to Grants Director Ruth Ann Devitt-Frank at rfrank@kingston-ny.gov or 845-334-3962.
