Capitalize Albany announces $21.7 M in funding awarded to 14 city projects
- Projects in Downtown total more than $4.9 million. The largest winner is the re-use of the historic Union Station (Kiernan Plaza) on Broadway as a Smart Cities Technology Investment (SCiTI) center. This $25 million project received $4 million from Empire State Development. Capitalize Albany Corporation is working with CNSE to attract “Smart Cities” technology companies to locate in the iconic building and use the City as a test bed for their innovations. This ground-breaking project will not only bring a stunning historic building back to life, it will anchor revitalization in Downtown and continue to develop new ways to help the City operate effectively and efficiently.
- The Albany Waterfront Performance Place project was awarded $950,000 through the NYS Department of State Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) and Empire State Development (ESD) to redevelop the Albany Waterfront into a premier destination for waterfront events, performances and recreation. This project will drive tourism to the Capital City and enhance Downtown through convenient access to its amenities. Capitalize Albany Corporation is working hand-in-hand with the City on this project to maximize the use of the Hudson riverfront and leverage its revitalizing effects.
- Initiatives like the $300,000 award for Hudson Valley Tourism and Marketing, the Albany County Rail Trail Development Project – awarded $500,000 and the American Music Festival: Christopher Rouse and His American Legacy will enhance Albany’s status as a State and regional destination.
- Albany’s neighborhoods will also benefit greatly from this round of funding. The Quail Street Corridor in Albany’s education district has received nearly $1.8 million in GIGP funds for a green streets initiative that will improve the local roadway and spur business development along the mixed use corridor. This project will leverage bond funds allocated by the City of Albany under its Neighborhood Stabilization Bond this spring and anchor the revitalization of the district. Also in this district, TMG NY Albany I LP was awarded Bond cap allocation totaling $11.5 million for the $17 million renovation of a 179 unit affordable senior housing development.
- Albany Medical Center received $500,000 for infrastructure improvements, street trees and pedestrian improvements in the Park South Neighborhood. This infrastructure will complement future Medical Center investment and construction in the nine-block Urban Renewal Plan area and add to the more than $518 million public, private and Capitalize Albany Corporation investment in the neighborhood since the adoption of the Park South plan. The Albany Medical College was also an awardee, receiving $500,000 from ESD for the NY CAP Research Alliance Matching Grants Program to attract and leverage federal and corporate funding.
- Senior Services of Albany will train 12 newly-hired workers in the City’s South End through their Meals on Wheels Culinary Training Initiative. This project, which trains employees in culinary skills was awarded $52,800 through the Department of Labor.
- The Sheridan Hollow Village project will receive $200,000 to construct three commercial spaces in an affordable mixed-use building. The project will include 93 units and roughly 11,600 square feet of commercial space - a critical development in the revival of one of Albany’s key downtown neighborhoods.
- Capitalize Albany Corporation received $200,000 in funding from Housing and Community Renewal for its Blight to Betterment program that will rehabilitate and re-occupy nine abandoned properties in the city of Albany. This project leverages Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds and Neighborhood Stabilization Bond to stabilize blocks throughout the City.
- CNSE received a $1 million award from NYSERDA for its Zero Energy Nanotech Building (ZEN) – a zero net energy building at its $14 billion Albany campus on Washington Avenue Extension.
- In total, this $21.7 million in funding for City of Albany projects will target the State’s 5:1 private-to-public investment leverage and create quality local jobs. The City of Albany, Capitalize Albany Corporation and their partners look forward to the transformational results that will be produced by these projects.
