MAYOR PALMIERI ANNOUNCES CITY OF UTICA’S APPLICATION FOR DOWNTOWN

REVITALIZATION INITIATIVE

Mayor Robert Palmieri announced that the City has formally submitted its application to the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council (MVREDC) for the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI)

The DRI will invest $10 million into ten downtown neighborhoods across the State.

Each Regional Council will identify one municipality ripe for redevelopment and ready to transform its downtown into a vibrant community where tomorrow’s workforce will want to live, work, and raise a family.

It has been generations since the Mohawk Valley witnessed such public and private financial investments. As a result, Downtown Utica has been sparked by unprecedented developments taking shape at the Marcy Nanocenter, Bagg’s Square, Genesee Street and West Utica/Varick Street neighborhoods.

The City’s proposal outlines a focused investment strategy within a compact target area to capitalize on the 2,000 jobs created by ams and GE.

Through the DRI, the City of Utica will focus $10 million towards the following:

• Advance the Mohawk Valley Health Systems Downtown medical campus project as the anchor to an incipient innovation district while addressing concentrated poverty and crushing blight.
• Construct physical, pedestrian-oriented connections between emergent mixed-use districts, dense urban neighborhoods, anchor institutions, and regional destinations.
• Modernize infrastructure to maximize the growth and impact of private sector investment in the urban core.

Mayor Palmieri stated, “The change in culture, perception and attitude in downtown Utica over the past four years is remarkable. With the recent sale of Hotel Utica and Doyle Hardware Building to reputable developers, DRI funding is essential in enhancing our momentum and taking our downtown to the next level.”

MVHS President/CEO Scott Perra stated, “The opportunity to create a new health care campus for our community and contribute to the development of Utica, especially downtown, will change not only who we are as a community but what we can do as a city and as a region.”

Utica’s DRI proposal can be found at: Downtown Utica DRI Submission Final