Former Factory to Become Condominium Complex with Public Access to Scenic Overlook
Traveling the state in the days following his State of the State address, Governor Eliot Spitzer today visited Ithaca to highlight his vision for making New York a center for economic growth and opportunity. In Ithaca, the Governor visited the former Ithaca Gun Factory to highlight $100 million in Restore NY grants that will go to municipalities throughout the state to encourage economic development and neighborhood revitalization.
Governor Eliot Spitzer announced that the site of the former Ithaca Gun Factory will receive $2.3 million to develop a condominium complex that will also provide public access to an Ithaca Falls overlook. The funds will come through the Restore NY program, which funds municipally-sponsored projects for the demolition, deconstruction, rehabilitation or reconstruction of vacant or obsolete structures like the Ithaca Gun Factory.
“The factory redevelopment project illustrates what we must do throughout Upstate New York to turn underutilized properties into economic success stories for the purpose of revitalizing our communities,” said Governor Spitzer. “The redevelopment of this site will serve as a great example of what we can accomplish with targeted investments to turn a community eyesore into a source of community pride. Projects like these will help make New York the best place to live, work, raise a family and run a business.”
The proposed project consists of the redevelopment of the former 100,000 square foot factory into 33 market rate condominiums, including a public access walkway through the property leading to a publicly-owned Ithaca Falls Overlook Park. In 2004, the federal Environmental Protection Agency completed a $4.8 million cleanup of a portion of the site, but the main Ithaca Gun site remained abandoned and contaminated. In order to address the larger environmental concerns, the developer applied to ESDC for a Restore NY grant to mitigate the costs of demolition and mitigation in addition to a voluntary cleanup program which involves remediating the subsurface contamination on the site.
First Lady Silda Wall Spitzer said: “The revitalization of the former Ithaca gun site incorporates elements of environmental and economic sustainability and demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to building lasting, thriving communities for our next generation. This is a symbolic and exciting project for the people in the Ithaca Community.”
Senator George H. Winner, Jr. said: “The remediation and rehabilitation of the former Ithaca Gun Factory is exactly the type of community redevelopment project we envisioned when we created the Restore-NY program. This project is yet another building block that keeps Tompkins County and our entire region moving successfully into the future. I’m extremely pleased that city of Ithaca will benefit from this timely state investment.”
Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton said: “I’m very pleased the City of Ithaca has been awarded this very significant funding through the Restore NY Program to remediate and redevelop the Ithaca Gun site. This will result in the reclamation of one of Ithaca’s premier properties for housing and an ADA-accessible public park overlooking the Ithaca Falls, greatly benefiting our area.”
Mayor of Ithaca Carolyn Peterson said: “For many years, the city of Ithaca, the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency, the Gun Company owner and his team, environmental agencies, and the neighborhood have worked hard to clean up this site, and to plan its future. The grant request to the State and Restore NY was the best package we have ever proposed–a clean up site, new housing, a city park, a project worthy of its location above the region’s most treasured landmark–Ithaca Falls. The city of Ithaca is extremely grateful that the State has agreed.”
Restore NY was designed to revitalize urban areas and stabilize neighborhoods as a means to attract residents and businesses, thereby improving municipal finances and the ability to grow a community’s tax and resource base. The program helps to connect traditional economic development initiatives, such as incentives to attract and retain industries, with much-needed community development.
This is the second round of funds that were initially appropriated in the 2006-07 State budget. Restore NY was designed as a competitive process with specific criteria. Strong emphasis is placed on projects from economically distressed communities across the state with priority given to projects that leverage other state or federal redevelopment, remediation or planning programs such as Brownfields or Empire Zones. Round III of the program will begin in 2008. More information regarding Restore NY can be found at http://www.empire.state.ny.us/restoreNY/default.asp.
