Restore New York Communities Initiative providing funding to Niagara County communities

Submitted by the Office of Gov. Kathy Hochul

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced more than $50 million has been awarded to 50 projects through the state's Restore New York Communities Initiative.

Restore New York supports municipal revitalization efforts with funds to help remove and reduce blight, reinvigorate communities and generate new residential and economic opportunities statewide. The program, administered by Empire State Development, is designed to help local governments encourage new commercial investments through community revitalization, growing local housing, and putting properties back on the tax rolls to increase the local tax base.

“Revitalizing and rehabilitating vacant and blighted areas of our communities for housing or development is vital to make downtowns thrive,” Hochul said. “Restore New York helps our municipalities plan for the future by catalyzing economic growth and supporting housing, businesses and cultural spaces. We are further unlocking the potential of these sites and communities across New York."

Locally:

•The Town of Niagara received $890,000: This project will redevelop a commercial site, at 3505 Hyde Park Blvd., by rehabbing a 62,000-square-foot building for future potential manufacturing, as well as demolishing other dilapidated buildings on the site to make way for more than 15 acres of industrial space.

•Niagara County received $1.25 million: This project will rehab property along Cayuga Creek, at 519 Cayuga Drive, in Niagara Falls, to create a mixed-use complex. They will be focused on the restoration of the retail space, the rehab of the apartments upstairs and the buildout of the dock with 15 new slips for recreational boaters to visit the neighborhood via the water.

•The City of Niagara Falls received $1.25 million: Funding will support a portion of the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center Community Initiative. The NFMMC parking garage, located at 620 10th St., is in bad condition, and several sections are no longer accessible due to structural damage. Medical offices located on the top floor of this garage will be moved to the existing hospital across the street. Once demolished, the open space will be reconstructed into a flat parking area and a new parking garage will be constructed across the street at 621 10th St.

•The City of North Tonawanda received $1 million: The Riverfront Vista project includes redevelopment of the former Metzger Removal site, a 3.1-acre brownfield site that encompasses 235 River Road and 190 Main St. The $33.3 million project consists of a mixed-use residential and commercial project comprised of a four-story multifamily building with 48 apartment units and a mixed-use building with 39 apartments along with over 7,600 square-feet of commercial space and 2,690 square feet of community space.

State Sen. Sean Ryan said, “Restore NY is one of New York's most impactful economic development programs. It encourages new business by reducing vacancy and paving the way for new commercial development. These awards will help turn underutilized properties into assets for the surrounding communities.” 

Empire State Development President, CEO and Commissioner Hope Knight said, “Under Gov. Hochul's leadership, New York state is building for the future by supporting projects that advance statewide priorities like increasing housing and revitalizing communities. Through the Restore New York Communities Initiative, we are working together with municipalities to remove blight and generate new investments to promote sustainable economic growth.”

A full list of Restore New York projects awarded funding in this round is online here.

The FY2026 budget invests $100 million for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and $100 million for NY Forward. These programs help municipalities promote quality of life, foster socioeconomic development and create walkable, livable and safer neighborhoods in every corner of the state. The budget also includes funding for the state's Regional Economic Development Council initiative; new this year, the 10 councils will compete, in part, for $150 million in funding as part of the new ACHIEVE initiative to advance catalytic economic development projects backed by enhanced implementation funding to jump-start regional growth.