Canton, NY – The Village of Canton is preparing an application to the 2022 rounds of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and NY-Forward competition. The State has designated $200 million in the 2022 state budget for these programs – $100 million to the DRI and $100 million to NY-Forward – to help communities develop plans and implement projects that will “accelerate and expand New York’s burgeoning downtown revitalization.”
The programs divide the state into 10 regions, with each region receiving one $10 million DRI award and another $10 million for up to three smaller NY-Forward awards. The Village of Canton is considering applications to both programs. Previous recipients of the grant in the North Country region include Plattsburgh, Watertown, Saranac Lake, Potsdam, Massena and Tupper Lake.
To prepare for the program applications, the Village of Canton is soliciting the community’s thoughts. “We are interested in hearing ideas for revitalizing our downtown area. How can we improve the public realm to make downtown more navigable, more attractive, more walkable and bikeable, for example,” says Economic Development Director Leigh Rodriguez. “We also need to present a pipeline of potential projects to demonstrate that if we are awarded funding, we have committed partners and are ready to proceed.”
Public engagement opportunities will be at the Canton Farmers Market on Friday, September 9th, in front of the Municipal Building at 60 Main Street during Music on Main Wednesday, September 14th from 5-6pm. A more in-depth public session will be held on Thursday, September 15th at 6:30pm at TAUNY, 53 Main Street where we will share feedback and potential projects.
Applications will be reviewed by the North Country Regional Economic Development Council, which based on the potential for transformation, nominates applications to be forwarded to the state selection team. If awarded funding, Ms. Rodriguez said, there is “an intense planning process,” to develop a Strategic Investment Plan, followed by formal solicitation and selection of projects by a local planning committee.
More information is available on the Canton DRI/NY-Forward website: www.cantondri.weebly.com or from Leigh Rodriguez, Director of Economic Development, at (315) 386-2871 #5 or [email protected].
###
Last modified: September 8, 2022
