Hinchey Announces Federal Grant to Help Binghamton Revitalize Main Street
Washington, DC – November 22, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) today announced that the City of Binghamton has been awarded a $485,058 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs Sustainable Housing and Communities grant to create a Main Street revitalization plan that can be integrated with the city’s existing Comprehensive Plan – a document created in 2003 to guide the city’s economic development efforts.
“This federal funding will help set forward plans to improve the quality of life in Binghamton,” said Hinchey. “Community based planning has already done a great deal to improve the aesthetic of the downtown corridor and other parts of the city. By integrating a Main Street revitalization plan we can take another step in the right direction, making the area more attractive to businesses so that we can create jobs and ensure that Binghamton remains a great place to live and raise a family.”
“This is a major accomplishment for Binghamton, and securing this very competitive award affirms the success we’ve had in building strong partnerships to achieve a livable, sustainable community,” said Mayor Matt Ryan. “Working with our many partners and engaged residents over the last few years, our planning team has advanced a forward-thinking vision, and this grant takes this work to a new level. This award will help fund an update of our Comprehensive Plan, a complete zoning overhaul of our Main Street corridor from city limit to city limit, and innovative resident-led initiatives that improve neighborhood safety. This will be a major two-year project, and at the end of this effort, we will have integrated our many progressive initiatives into a clear, comprehensive strategic plan to restore the area’s economic competitiveness, improve the quality of life for all residents, and foster bottom-up and top-down consensus and action around livability and smart growth practices and goals.”
The plan will focus on beautifying the Main Street Corridor through renovations and rehabilitations of existing buildings. It will also allow for planned use of existing lots where buildings have been torn down.
The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s $28 million Community Challenge Planning Grant Program fosters reform and reduces barriers to achieving affordable, economically vital, and sustainable communities. Efforts include amending or replacing local master plans, zoning codes, and building codes to promote mixed-use development, affordable housing, the reuse of older buildings and structures for new purposes. The program also supports the development of affordable housing through the development and adoption of inclusionary zoning ordinances and other activities to support planning implementation.
