Grand Island seeks additional input to move (NY) Forward with town center plans

By Benjamin Joe

Senior Contributing Writer

Project ideas for a town center are needed in Grand Island to take advantage of a potential $4.5 million grant through the NY Forward program.

Elaine O’Neill, senior clerk and grant coordinator for the Town of Grand Island, said she has resided in Grand Island for many years after being born in Tonawanda, and often hears people ask why Grand Island can’t be a “pretty town” like Lewiston or North Tonawanda. This grant could change all of that, she said.

“Grand Island was originally a farming community. It got built from the outside-in, which is why we don’t have a downtown or a main street,” she explained. “Other places like North Tonawanda had a downtown that neighborhoods built-out from. Buffalo built-out. We built-in, so we just don’t have that feel.

“We have it really good here. There are some beautiful parks. Beautiful bike paths. Hiking trails. Surrounded by the Niagara River. We really are a gem, and not to sound silly, we should probably be polishing that gem.”

Plans for a town center have been defined by O’Neill and committee. It would be by the Town Hall and the triangle of open land alongside it off Whitehaven Road and Grand Island Boulevard, tentatively named the Town Commons.

An outreach event on Grand Island. (Contributed photo)

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O’Neill said the message was put out to businesses in the town, and there was a lot of excitement – but, unfortunately, not a lot of solid plans.

“Even to submit the applications there are dollar amounts that the state would like to see,” she said. “It’s not like we have a couple of things we want to do. They want to see a full slate, because they want the option of being able to pick and choose the ones they think will have the most impact. So, if we only have five people, they’re saying, ‘There’s no buy-in.’ They really want to see a full buy-in by the community. The buy-in and the local support is huge.”

Currently, besides the Town Commons – the project spearheaded by the Town of Grand Island government – the VFW also has an expansion plan. Other projects are beautification for business properties, as well as new businesses, including a health spa. The grant money will come in as reimbursement for the funds the owner puts into the project, and the state will work directly with those owners.

“They have to put the money in first. It’s the state saying, ‘You need to have skin in the game, if we’re going to help you. We will, but you have to have skin in the game,’ ” O’Neill said.

When calculations for the projects is finished, those will be taken by C&S, a grant-writing company, along with various survey results from the community, and an application will be created. From there, the application will be given to the NY Forward program. Grand Island won’t know its application status until next spring. If it’s accepted, project review with the state starts after that time.

The window for the application may be as early as October.

O’Neill stressed the need for community support, even in this long process, to help ensure a positive decision for Grand Island.

“A lot of survey feedback is, ‘Stop talking about it. Stop telling us what you’re going to do. Show us what you’re doing.’ A concern is with the business community, it’s gotten kind of quiet,” she said. “We need to try to keep the excitement there so it doesn’t just fall off the map. Because so many good ideas just fall to the wayside because people just stop talking about them.

“We need some strong community and business involvement. … The Town Board fully supports it. …

“We just want to ensure that the state of New York sees that we are actively developing our plan.”

Questions can be directed to grants@grand-island.ny.us or call 716-773-9600, ext. 614.