The villages of Coxsackie, Kinderhook and Cambridge have won grants in the first round of the New York Forward program, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office announced last week. They are the three Capital Region communities to win the grants. Schuylerville had applied, but did not win.
“We are excited to see our neighbors in Cambridge have the opportunity to utilize that grant,” Schuylerville Mayor Dan Carpenter said in an interview Thursday March 9.
This is the first year and the first round of funding for the NY Forward grant program. It is aimed at villages and small communities around the state and is the sister to the larger Downtown Revitalization Initiative that is available to large cities and municipalities. Ticonderoga won a DRI grant this year. Glens Falls won in 2017.
NY Forward looks to fund multiple projects in one locality, rather than focusing on one larger project.
Schuylerville’s application lists the renovation of Fort Hardy Park, estimated at nearly $20 million to fully complete; restoration of the Olde Canalway; the Schuylerville Marina Project to expand lodging; a fund for building renovations and more.
Carpenter said that the application process “laid a foundation for us.”
With six or seven smaller projects in the application, the village has already completed the groundwork necessary to apply for other grants, Carpenter said. Architects and planners said in our earlier coverage of the Fort Hardy Park redevelopment that it could be completed in multiple phases as well.
[Read more about Fort Hardy Park here. Read more about Schuylerville’s NY Forward grant application here.]
Coxsackie will receive $4.5 million, the maximum one community can receive under the grant. The Villages of Kinderhook and Cambridge will each receive $2.25 million.
"New York's small towns are huge drivers of our state's economy — that's why we're investing in local communities to give residents the jobs, the tools, and the infrastructure they need to thrive," Hochul said in a statement. "These investments will help the Villages of Coxsackie, Kinderhook, and Cambridge re-imagine their downtowns, enhance quality of life for residents and visitors, and create new job and business opportunities across the Capital Region."
Cambridge’s application listed 11 projects in the heart of the village’s downtown, called the Owlkill Commons, with a total cost of $7.25 million.
Their application says they plan to update historic structures to retain jobs and attract entrepreneurs, artists and food producers; create trails and connections among natural resources; expand the public library; and address important infrastructure concerns and housing options, among the projects.
"On behalf of the Village of Cambridge, we are honored to be the recipient of the NY Forward grant. We look forward to working with the State to bring our downtown revitalization plan to life," Cambridge Mayor Carman Bogle said in a statement.
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office announced in late February that Cambridge has also received a $10.9 million grant and a $16.1 million loan through the federal government to build a wastewater treatment plant.