In early July Gov. Cuomo announced that the City of Oswego won a $10 million state grant to revitalize downtown Oswego.
Oswego Mayor Billy Barlow invited the public to a meeting at the McCrobie Civic Center in December to discuss ideas on how the money should be spent.
“It is very important to me to include City of Oswego residents in the process and to hear their ideas for use of the funding,” Barlow said.
Many residents attended the meeting to discuss downtown Oswego and how the grant money should be used. Safety issues, better access to Lake Ontario and the waterfront, an increase in downtown parking, renovations to sidewalks and better promotion of the historic districts were of the many ideas proposed by the nearly 100 people in attendance.
Cuomo said the Downtown Revitalization Initiative plan marks a comprehensive plan to transform local neighborhoods into vibrant communities where the next generation of New Yorkers would want to live and work.
The residents who attended the meeting also discussed how the money will be leveraging other funding and services.
Steve Kearney, associate senior planner for Stantec Urban Places Group, will be assisting Oswego officials with designing the plan. According to Kearney, the $10 million will leverage other state and federal funds.
Barlow said there would be a follow up meeting in January, identifying the projects and funding opportunities. According to Barlow, the goal is to “make Oswego an exciting four season destination to shop, live, work and play.”
The Central New York Regional Economic Development Council created the competitive process and selected downtown Oswego as this year’s recipient of the grant. This grant is part of a $100 million effort to improve the urban vitality of city centers across the state.
According to the New York State governor’s website, there were several criteria to apply for the grant that the regional council weighed when selecting the winner.
The targeted neighborhood should be compact and well-defined, downtown should be of a size sufficient enough to support an active, year-round active area, and the area should capitalize on prior and future investment. There should also be recent or impeding job growth within, it should contain properties that contribute to attractiveness and livability of downtown, downtown should contain policies that enhance the quality of life and it should have local and community support for the revitalization plan.
Diane Gonzales, a student at Oswego State, has other ideas as to what the $10 million should be used for.
“They should use the money to revamp the neighborhood, especially the houses,” Gonzalez said. “The sidewalks could be improved since the snow plows pretty much crack the sidewalks.”
Local businesses are excited to see what changes will be made to downtown, to benefit the city.
“I’m very excited about the revitalization of downtown,” said Bill Reilly, one of the owners of the River’s End Bookstore. “It seems like a lot of money, but it’s not. But it seems like a great start.”
The $10 million award also includes up to $300,000 in planning funds for private experts to work with a local planning committee.
Together, they will draft a Strategic Investment Plan that will identify specific economic development, transportation, housing and committee projects.
“Any positive that happens downtown is good for our business,” Reilly said.
