Items tagged with 'economic development'
Capital Region economic development grants: residential conversions, sewers, Lincoln Park pool, Urban Grow Center
The residential conversion of the Kennedy Garage in downtown Albany is line for a $1 million grant.
The Capital Region scored $67 million in the state's annual Region Economic Development Council awards/game show/porktacular on Tuesday.
The region was not a "top performer" this year -- the awards roughly broke out into $80some million and $60some million tiers this time around. (The Capital Region had been in the higher tier the last two years.)
Here are details on the specific projects getting funding in the Capital Region are below, along with a bunch of that caught our eye. There are also region-by-region totals for the awards.
Downtown Albany is in line to get $10 million from the state -- here are some of the projects that could get a slice of that money
A rendering of a potential gateway at Broadway and Clinton that Capitalize Albany released last year.
A bunch of projects in downtown Albany are in line to get a slice of a $10 million block of money from New York State after the city was named one of the winners in the latest round of the state's Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
Specifically, Capitalize Albany -- the development arm of the city -- put together an application that focused on the Clinton Square area of downtown. It's the section more or less centered on the intersection of North Pearl Street and Clinton Ave. The pitch was that this area is a major gateway to the city, is the interface for multiple neighborhoods, and already has some momentum in the form of real estate development, affordable housing, and the arts.
Albany was in the running against a handful of other cities in this region, including Troy and Cohoes.
So what's up for the cash? Here's the list, along with a few thoughts.
Creative Economy Symposium 2018
Proctors is hosting the second annual Creative Economy Symposium June 21-22. The topic for this year's event: "The Next Steps Toward a Diverse Workforce." Blurbage:
Join Upstate [Alliance for the Creative Economy], Workforce Development Institute, and the Themed Entertainment Association, global experts, and regional individuals, entities & industries in exploring critical issues relating to cultural, social and racial inclusion in Upstate New York's Commercial Creative Industries.
This 2nd Symposium in Schenectady involves Employees & Employers in Regional Creative Industries engaged in a conversation about overcoming obstacles, educational curriculum, hiring practices, job placement services, and career opportunities, rural & urban, leading us to a more diverse workforce.
Updated: A flyer with the schedule of events and speakers is embedded below. There's an opening reception that Thursday evening and then presentations/talks/discussions during the day on Friday.
Diversity in the local creative economy was the subject of a recent event at the Opalka Gallery this month. It was a good discussion, and there's a lot to talk about -- especially on how to turn intent into action and results.
The registration deadline for the symposium at Proctors is June 15. The fee is $40. (If that's maybe more than you can cover, we get the sense the organizers don't want to turn anyone away for not being able to pay -- so reach out to them.)
Amazon Town
One of the renderings from the Capital Region's Amazon HQ2 bid.
You might recall that episode back in October when the Capital Region joined the mad rush to be colonized by Amazon -- there was pitching, there was laughing, and Albany experienced one of its regular cycles of self hatred. (Here are the 20 metros that made the cut as finalists.)
Well, now the Capital Region's full bid is out thanks to Jon Campbell and the crew at the USA Today Network. They FOILed the bids for the Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Albany metros from Empire State Development and posted them online. Here's the Capital Region bid.
On initial scan, it's pretty much what you'd expect from the summary released last year. But there were a few things that caught our eye...
A potential map for Troy's future
A conceptual plan for a reconfiguration of the riverfront in downtown Troy.
The draft of Troy's new comprehensive plan -- Realize Troy -- was released this week after more than two years in the making. It's basically a proposed road map for the city's future over the next 25 years and beyond.
The full draft is available over at the Realize Troy site.
We read through the plan this week and picked out a handful of bits that caught our eye -- from a major reconfiguration downtown to... forks.
Capital Region economic development grants: sewer systems, The Palace, Cohoes Canal Square Park, Capital Roots, and more
Albany's plan to build a connector between the Mohawk Hudson Bike Hike Trail and the Helderberg-Hudson Rail Trail got funding.
The Capital Region scored $85 million in the state's annual Region Economic Development Council awards/game show porktacular on Wednesday. The region was a "top performer" for the second year in a row, and again landed the second-highest total of grants.
Here are details on the specific projects getting funding in the Capital Region are below, along with a bunch of that caught our eye. There are also region-by-region totals for the awards.
A snapshot of the Capital Region pitch to Amazon
Today is the day that cities and metropolitan areas all around the country are offering themselves up to Lord Bezos as his empire looks to build an off-world colony beyond Amazon Prime in Seattle.
The Capital Region is one of those metros, and the Center for Economic Growth has posted an overview of its pitch. It centers on a a potentially massive new complex spanning the Hudson River at Albany and Rensselaer. A clip:
With Amazon specifying an interest in a downtown or urban location with a layout similar to its Seattle campus, CEG's centerpiece proposal is the Amazon Promenade. This downtown headquarters would straddle the iconic Hudson River, with a capacity for 2 million square feet of office space in the City of Albany's 25-acre site between the Times Union Center and Broadway and an additional capacity for 6 million square feet on 75 acres directly across the Hudson in the City of Rensselaer. The Albany and Rensselaer sites could be connected with a pedestrian bridge across the Hudson, water taxies and/or a gondola.
There are a handful of renderings -- and we've pulled them out for easy gawking. The online pitch also argues the region's case in terms of aspects such as education, housing affordability, natural disaster susceptibility, and crime.
The assimilation of the Capital Region by the Bezos is a low probability event -- this place is competing against pretty much every other relatively large metropolitan area in the US and Canada. That said, here are a few very quick thoughts...
Scanning the Capital Region Economic Development Council's 2017 priority projects
The proposed Palace expansion is back up for state money.
The Capital Region Regional Economic Development Council released its 2017 progress report this week. And one of the things that's immediately notable about these reports is the list of proposed priority projects up for state money in the next round of the Cuomo administration's Regional Economic Development Council initiative.
You know, these are the grants that are announced at an awards-show-like event, usually in December.
The list usually includes some interesting bits, and it also sometimes surfaces notable projects that are in the works.
So, let's have a look at a handful of items that caught our eye. They include mixed-use residential projects, the Schuyler Building renovation, the Capital Roots Grow Center, and -- for a second year -- the proposed Palace Theatre expansion...
Examining the forces and maps that redlined the city of Albany
From a 1938 Home Owners’ Loan Corporation map of Albany.
The Digital Scholarship Lab at the University of Richmond recently published a website displaying redlining maps from the 1930s for American cities with populations over 50,000. These so-called Residential Security Maps, along with detailed descriptions of urban neighborhoods, give us insight into how the flow of bank funds into some areas -- and their denial in others -- shaped the postwar American city.
We researched the history of these maps, as well as related records pertaining to Albany, at the National Archives. Here's what we found.
Capital Region economic development grants: Tivoli Preserve, Albany Skyway, Nipper, Troy movie theater, craft beverages, and more
Originally published Thursday at 2:20 pm. Updated Thursday at 4:05 pm.
The Capital Region got $83.1 million in the state's annual Regional Economic Development Council awards/game show on Thursday. That total made it a "top performer" -- and it was the second-highest total of any region.
The details on the specific projects getting funding in the Capital Region are below. There are also region-by-region totals for the awards.
The announcement included many of the same elements as previous years, including specious claims about the economic vitality of upstate and that weird "no, you're the best" dynamic between Maria Bartiromo and Andrew Cuomo. (Sadly, the state has still not installed a giant wheel on stage for representatives of each regional economic development council to spin and reveal their total.)
One bit of other news that came out of the presentation: Andrew Cuomo reiterated his support for allowing services such as Uber and Lyft to operate upstate.
His statement -- "I guess I support Uber upstate." -- followed a deadpan joke by Empire State Development head Howard Zemsky about requesting an Uber to take him to The Egg from the ESP office in Albany -- the car showed up 2 hours and 45 minutes later and took him to Price Chopper.
Scanning the Capital Region Econ. Development Council's new batch of priority projects
A rendering for the planned mixed-use conversion of the Nipper Building in Albany's Warehouse District.
The Capital Region Economic Development Council recently released it latest batch of proposed priority projects. These are the projects the council will be suggesting get state funding in the next round of the Cuomo administration's Regional Economic Development Council initiative. Those awards are usually announced in December.
Last time out in the economic development competition/game show the Capital Region scored $98 million in grants. (It missed out on one of the three $500 million grants.)
These reports usually include some interesting bits and sometimes surface notable projects that are in the works.
So, let's have a look at a handful of proposed projects that caught our eye. They include craft beverage projects, a movie theater project for Troy, and the proposed Palace Theatre expansion...
A large chunk of the Harriman State Office Campus is for sale
From the listing site. / image: CBRE / NYS OGS
The Cuomo admin announced Wednesday that it's seeking proposals for the purchase and development of 27 acres on the eastern end of the Harriman State Office Campus in the city of Albany. Press release blurbage (emphasis added):
The RFP calls for plan that builds on the current redevelopment of the existing campus, reflects the area's character, and increases the City of Albany's tax base through a wide range of potential options including companies in the healthcare, technology, research, education, retail, and hospitality sectors. Uses could include offices, medical and laboratory facilities, retail shops, lodging, and ancillary parking. A minimum purchase price of $5.1 million is required and any proposal that includes residential use will not be accepted.
The Cuomo admin has laid out a two-phase process for selecting the winning bidder. The first phase -- in which "potential developers will provide a description of the proposed uses for the site and demonstrate the need for or likely success of those uses" -- closes September 15. The three bidders with the highest scores will then move onto the second and final phase in which they'll have to provide more specific details about things like funding.
Here are a few more details, and a few thoughts...
A few visions of a possible future Troy
Catching up a bit: Plans, renderings, and slides from the recent public meetings for Realize Troy -- effort to develop a new comprehensive plan for Troy -- and are online. And they're worth having a look if you haven't seen them. If you'd like to just flick through one deck of slides, here's the overview presentation.
A lot of the ideas and themes are similar to what's been discussed in Albany in recent years for that city's comprehensive plan and the current Rezone Albany project: developing downtown, making better connections to and use of the waterfront, providing job opportunities, fostering neighborhoods, adjusting codes so buildings better fit their contexts. The "big moves and plan directions":
1. A sustained program of reinvestment
2. Grow people, jobs, and the City's tax base
3. Position the downtown as the cultural and creative hub of the region
4. Grow and expand the success of downtown to the north and south
5. Revitalize neighborhoods and improve access to local amenities
6. Grow the city's skills and knowledge base
7. Reconnect the city to the waterfront and improve its recreational, development and cultural potential
8. Protect and enhance Troy's historical assets
9. Promote an inclusive, healthy, sustainable and green city
10. Continue to engage the broader community in making the Plan a success
The part we suspect that will first catch most people's eyes are some of the ideas floated for downtown Troy, including a re-imagining of the area just south of the Green Island Bridge with a permanent home for the farmers' market and a replacement for the Atrium. We've clipped those slides out -- they're after the jump if you'd like to have a quick look.
The project is currently in the "plan development" phase. It's gathering feedback on the draft plan via an online comment form.
Checking in on the redevelopment in Albany's Sheridan Hollow neighborhood
Sheridan Avenue in Sheridan Hollow, looking east toward downtown Albany.
The most interesting real estate project in Albany -- and maybe the whole Capital Region -- has completed its first phase and is now moving onto phase two.
Habitat for Humanity Capital District and a group of partners recently finished building 14 new homes in the Sheridan Hollow neighborhood, and work has already started on another 10 new homes nearby on Orange and Lark streets. At the same time, an org called Housing Visions is building 57 new residential rental units, along with mixed-use space that will include offices and a cafe.
So, what's next? And how does this fit in with downtown Albany's ongoing residential transformation? We stopped by the project this week for a walk and talk with Habitat for Humanity Capital District executive director Christine Schudde.
Destination supermarket as development catalyst
Over at Politico New York, Jimmy Vielkind pitches the idea of using a Wegmans to anchor development at the former convention center site in downtown Albany. A clip:
The Rochester-based grocery chain has a nearly religious following in the areas of upstate New York where it operates, but there are no outposts in the Capital Region. In locating a store at the vacant site downtown, it could simultaneously provide a needed amenity for the struggling neighborhoods nearby and create a regional attraction that would draw people from the surrounding office towers and suburban communities.
Imagine a supermarket with a street-level cafe opening onto Hudson Avenue, beckoning to pedestrians along Broadway and Pearl Street or people in town for a show at the arena or a convention up the hill. Several floors of rental housing or condos above the store -- perhaps with requirements that some units be affordable -- that will give a further boost to the burgeoning residential options in the old business district and prevent the area between the Pastures and Sheridan Hollow, two predominately residential areas, from seeming lifeless after dark.
Call it the Wegmans effect, a development strategy for lagging urban areas rooted in designer cheese. Wegmans, or something like it, could do for Albany what Fairway did for Red Hook.
To be clear: There's no indication that Wegmans is actually considering this -- a spokesperson for Wegmans says as much to Vielkind, noting the company has looked at the Capital Region in the past but seen more opportunity in places such as Maryland and Virginia. And he figures it would take a push from Andrew Cuomo to make it happen.
The former convention site has been the subject of some intrigue recently because the Capital Region's Upstate Revitalization Initiative proposal included mention of an almost unbelievably big "catalyst" project there -- 1,200 housing units, more than 400,000 square feet of office space, and 295,000 square feet of retail. As you know, the Capital Region didn't get one of the $500 million grants. Before that, there had been a pitch to build an aquarium, which also fizzled. Now it's unclear what -- if anything -- is going to happen at the site.
One of the interesting angles to this topic is the question of whether downtown Albany should by vying for some sort of high-profile development piece like a Wegmans or (insert some other large, big-name retailer/project) -- or if it's better off cultivating the steady bit-by-bit development it's experienced in recent years.
Earlier on AOA:
+ The plan for the former Jillian's building, and cultivating retail in downtown Albany
+ Scanning the Capital Region's bid for half a billion dollars from the state
+ Wegmans? Really? Please explain.
The plan for the former Jillian's building, and cultivating retail in downtown Albany
The former Jillian's building on Pearl Street is one of downtown Albany's biggest and most prominent venues. So as the neighborhood has evolved through a series of residential conversion projects and picked up momentum over the past few years, the site has been conspicuous for its lack of activity.
That's now changing. The building has new owners, and they're working to turn it into a spot for a range of different uses. Here's the plan.
Thinking about the future of Lark Street
The state of "The Village in the City."
If there is one constant about cities, it is that they are always changing. Businesses open and close. People move in and out.
In Albany a lot of the recent discussion about neighborhood ebb and flow has been focused on Lark Street and the Washington Park neighborhood. The last few years have seen a lot of change on the stretch of Lark between Madison and Washington, and the recent closing of Justin's leaves another empty storefront on the street.
So is this part of the natural ebb and flow of a neighborhood? Or is it something more?
We asked a handful of people who live, work, and own businesses on Lark Street and in the surrounding neighborhood to share some of their thoughts about the direction of Lark Street -- and to tell us what they'd like to see happen in the neighborhood.
Capital Region gets parting gift in state's economic development award competition
We're really hoping that next Andrew Cuomo will have the regional representatives come up on stage and spin a wheel or something.
update: Here's the list of projects that were awarded REDC money, both in the Capital Region and other regions.. The Capital Region's money will go to a variety of projects including infrastructure, Capital Rep's renovation, the Good Market public market in the Warehouse District, expansion plans at Nine Pin Cider Works, the Tower on the Hudson project, and a music television show to be produced at Proctors.
The list of Capital Region projects from the REDC booklet is embedded after the jump.
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The Capital Region left this year's state economic development grant game show with $98.1 million.
Sure, that's a large chunk of money. But the big money this year was in snagging one of the $500 million Upstate Revitalization Initiative awards, a Cuomo admin program inspired in part by the "Bufallo Billion."* The three winning regions for the URI prizes were the Finger Lakes, Southern Tier, and Central New York.
That the Capital Region didn't win one of the URI awards isn't really surprising, It's doing relatively well compared to the rest of the upstate, and it's already benefited from state money for projects like SUNY Poly and GlobalFoundaries. But the Capital Region's economic development council paid the famous consulting firm McKinsey $2 million to help it formulate its plan for the competition, a sign that it thought it had a real shot. (So... refund?) [Biz Review]
Here's a scan of the plan the Capital Region submitted. Officials have said that even if the region didn't win, the plan would still be useful as a map for future economic development.
And here's a scan of the "priority projects" as part of the Capital Region's regular REDC app. Which projects got money -- and how much -- will be out later today.
Here's the list of what each region was awarded...
A quick look at the 733 Broadway residential conversion
Some quick follow-up on 733 Broadway, the latest residential project in downtown Albany.
The loft-style conversion, the roots of which stretch back to 2005, is aiming for occupancy on December 1, according to Norstar Development.
Here are a few more bits, along with some pics...
Checking back with The Albany Barn
What's happening in there?
The Albany Barn is a weird landlord.
"We kind of like it when people leave," says Barn president Jeff Mirel, "as long as they stay in the neighborhood."
The Barn, of course, is not an actual barn. It's the former Saint Joseph's Academy in Albany's Arbor Hill neighborhood.
More than two years ago it was converted into a mix of HUD-subsidized live/work apartments for artists and studio/theater/office space for art, performance, and community-building activities. The goal: creative placemaking that the Barn's leadership hopes will help the neighborhood with a constant influx of new art and ideas.
"This is a stepping stone for artists," says Mirel of the Barn's assistance to artists, which also includes help with marketing and business. "Success is not required -- trying to achieve is. We say 'Yes, go out into the world, let us serve someone else.'"
Ideally, Mirel says, Barn artists will plant roots in the neighborhood, hiring locally, training young people, and being a part of creating a vibrant area. Meanwhile other artists will move into their affordable spaces at the Barn, so there is always an influx of new artists.
So, that's the plan. After nearly two years, how's it going? And what's next?
Scanning the Capital Region's bid for half a billion dollars from the state
The project floated for this site in downtown Albany is almost unbelievably big.
How do you make the case that you should get $500 million?
The regions competing for one of the three Upstate Revitalization Initiative awards from the state released their plans this week.
We read through the Capital Region's plan -- which includes a proposal for a huge downtown Albany development -- and here are a few things that caught our eye...
Scanning the Capital Region Economic Development Council's proposed priority projects for 2015
One of the proposed priority projects.
The Capital Region Economic Development Council recently released its list of proposed priority projects for 2015. These are the projects the council will be suggesting get state funding in the next round of the Cuomo administration's Regional Economic Development Council initiative.
Last time out in the state's economic development game show -- er, we mean, regional economic development competition -- the Capital Region scored $60 million.
These reports usually include some interesting bits, and they're can be especially interesting because they often surface notable projects that are in the works.
So, let's have a look at a handful of proposed projects that caught our eye. They include a residential conversion project in Troy, a food court for Albany's Warehouse District, and goats...
Quirky filing for bankruptcy
Quirky's office on State Street in Schenectady.
Updated
Quirky -- the consumer products invention company with a large office in downtown Schenectady -- announced Tuesday morning that it's filing for bankruptcy, and says it's working to "facilitate a sale of substantially all of its assets." [Quirky]
The company's office in the City Center building on State Street in downtown Schenectady has served as a customer service operation for Wink, a service for connecting "smart home" appliances (Quirky spun off Wink as it own company). So here's the key local part of the bankruptcy announcement:
With respect to assets related to the business of Wink, Inc., the Company has entered into an agreement with Flextronics International USA Inc. for the sale of certain assets at a purchase price of $15 million. The sale will be subject to higher or otherwise better offers. The Company will look to conduct an auction, if other bids are received, and will be seeking court approval to have the sale close within approximately 60 days. The bankruptcy filing does not impact the Wink experience for users nor how Wink operates day-to-day. Wink's engineers and designers will continue to enhance the Wink platform to provide new, meaningful ways for customers to interact with their smart home. The Wink HUB and Wink Relay will continue to be available at The Home Depot and Amazon. Wink's customer support team will continue to provide the same quality assistance.
Patrick Mahoney, a PR manager for Wink, said today via email that "the Schenectady team is not impacted by this process." And though the company doesn't share office-by-office numbers, he said that Wink overall has 80 employees.
David Buicko of the Galesi Group, which owns the City Center building, told the Daily Gazette today he's confident Wink will stay in Schenectady. [Daily Gazette]
When Quirky's arrival in Schenectady was announced in March 2014, it was touted as A Big Deal that would bring attention and jobs to the city. But there have been rumblings since this past spring that the company was in serious trouble. And this summer founder Ben Kaufman publicly admitted the company was essentially out of money -- he left the company shortly after that. And the word out of the Schenectady office was that things were very shaky (though the company still bought an $8,000 ice cream machine). [Business Insider] [Fortune] [NY Mag] [Daily Gazette]
Earlier on AOA: What is this Quirky in Schenectady?
Do you have an idea for $500 million
CAPITAL 20.20 -- the working group that's developing the Capital Region's pitch for one of the three $500 million awards in the state's Upstate Revitalization Initiative -- has a series of "town hall" events lined up this week for gathering public input.
Project blurbage:
The purpose of each region's Revitalization Plan will be to 1) provide a well-researched and credible argument that the region is ready for revitalization; and 2) to describe the transformation that will happen in the region if granted those funds.
The project is also gathering input via a survey.
The schedule of public events this week is after the jump. The first one is in Colonie late this afternoon (Monday). There are also events in Troy, Schenectady, and Malta this week.
Reading through the Impact Downtown Albany playbook
The plan identifies four zones downtown.
The "playbook" for the Impact Downtown Albany project is out. It's aimed to be a set of specific ideas and steps the city can take to continue the redevelopment of downtown Albany -- touching on topics such as residential and retail development, taxes, parking, pop-up events, and branding.
"Impact Downtown Albany was designed as a game changer," said Sarah Reginelli, the president of Capitalize Albany, the city's economic development arm. "It was designed as a tactical approach to downtown revitalization."
The report was produced for Capitalize Albany by a team of consultants over the last two years. Capitalize Albany released it this week so that it might help the Capital Region's bid for one of those $500 million Upstate Revitalization grants from the state.
"Downtown has wonderful assets already, downtown has a strong momentum," Reginelli told us Thursday. "Part of it is changing perceptions of downtown and understanding that this momentum has been occurring and that there is potential here for people to reach out and grab."
We read through the report. And there's approximately three tons of stuff in it. So, if this topic interests you -- go skim through it (pdf). But here are a few chunks of it that caught our eye...
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?