{"id":2022033,"date":"2023-09-05T10:46:05","date_gmt":"2023-09-05T14:46:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/port-jervis-downtown-revival-grant-committee-hears-project-presentations\/"},"modified":"2023-09-05T10:48:41","modified_gmt":"2023-09-05T14:48:41","slug":"port-jervis-downtown-revival-grant-committee-hears-project-presentations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/port-jervis-downtown-revival-grant-committee-hears-project-presentations\/","title":{"rendered":"Port Jervis Grant Committee Reviews Project Presentations for Downtown Revival."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fport-jervis-downtown-revival-grant-committee-hears-project-presentations%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2022033&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div data-post-content=\"true\" class=\"post_content\" id=\"post_content\">\n<p>A Port Jervis committee tasked with recommending projects to the state for consideration of the\u2063 $10 million\u200b downtown revival grant heard selling pitches\u200c from 10\u200b applicants on Aug. 31.<\/p>\n<p>Launched in\u2062 2016 \u2063under then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the Downtown Revitalization\u2064 Initiative (DRI) provides a $10 million grant to a municipal recipient from each of the 10 \u200dstate regions each year; it can also be awarded to a joint \u2064application of two or three \u200bsmall communities that share a single vision.<\/p>\n<h2>Transforming Port Jervis<\/h2>\n<p>Brett Gartner, the developer behind the project with the largest price tag, \u200bpresented\u2064 his plan for a new five-story apartment building next \u2062to a retail hub on \u2062103 Jersey Avenue.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><strong>Related Stories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/100-million-earmarked-for-new-double-tracks-on-port-jervis-line-5480138\">$100 Million Earmarked for New Double Tracks on Port Jervis\u200d Line<\/a><br \/>\n        <br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/24\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<li>\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/port-jervis-teacher-redevelops-downtown-to-give-back-to-the-community-5479096\">Port Jervis Teacher Redevelops \u2062Downtown to Give Back to the Community<\/a><br \/>\n        <br \/>\n        <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">8\/23\/2023<\/span>\n      <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWe have called this project \u2018The Tunnel,\u2019 a nod to the geography where the train meets the mountains,\u201d Mr. Gartner said, adding that he sought $2 million grant funding for the \u200d$9.2 million development.<\/p>\n<p>The 26-unit building also has vertical and \u2062rooftop gardens, greenery landscaping, bike racks, a parking lot, and commercial space.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Gartner and \u200bhis wife \u200chave invested in Port Jervis for \u200cnearly a decade.<\/p>\n<p>Committee member and local developer\u2064 Jim Blanton commented that the project would beautify and transform Jersey Avenue,\u2062 a relatively underdeveloped area in the city.<\/p>\n<p>The other \u200cnew development project is a\u200d proposed mixed-use residential building\u2064 on \u200c29 Front Street.<\/p>\n<p>Cory Puopolo, a teacher in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/five-cities-where-teachers-unions-are-keeping-schools-shutdown\/\" title=\"Five Cities Where Teachers Unions Are Keeping Schools Shutdown\">local school district<\/a> and developer behind the project, said he and his\u2062 business partner planned to tear down the existing structure and build a new seven-story, 32-unit apartment building with storefronts. The\u2062 construction costs about $5 \u200cmillion, and he seeks $2 million in grant funding.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is currently a vacant building, and it is an eyesore for \u200cdowntown,\u201d Mr. Puopolo said. \u201cWe already talked \u200cto architects and\u200b engineers \u2064who can \u2064easily replicate it \u2026\u200b and make it look\u200d like an old building.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>29 Front \u200dStreet is sandwiched between two \u200btaller buildings on Front Street in Downtown Port Jervis, N.Y., on Aug. 17, 2023. (Cara Ding\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe \u200care willing to make\u2063 10 to 12 units as affordable housing\u2014affordable housing \u2062is very important for \u200ca\u200c diverse downtown,\u201d he \u2063said, adding that some of the units might be\u200d co-ops.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. \u200dPuopolo is also currently developing a seven-story downtown hotel.<\/p>\n<p>Mr. Blanton \u2062said that he liked\u200c the idea of having co-ops on Front Street \u200bbecause having homeowners living in\u2064 the downtown area would help transform the entire city.<\/p>\n<p>Most other private projects are about \u2063redeveloping the upper levels of\u2063 existing buildings into residential\u200d units, including 43 Front Street, 11 Sussex\u200b Street, and\u200b 13 Flower Street.<\/p>\n<p>Sean Donnelly, owner of \u2064Fox N Hare at 46 Front Street, also proposed to renovate the upper levels into commercial space and residential units.<\/p>\n<p>Fox N \u2064Hare is one of the first businesses that moved\u2062 into the largely boarded-up\u200d downtown less than 10 years ago \u200band helped to foster\u2062 the downtown revival \u2064momentum in Port\u200d Jervis.<\/p>\n<p>Local developer Anne Rogers is working\u2063 on turning the\u2064 building at 22 Jersey Avenue into a multiuse space for retail \u2064shops,\u200b artist studios, art \u200bclasses, coworking, \u200cand events. She hopes to \u200creceive about \u2063$400,000 in grant funding.<\/p>\n<p>Johny Little, another local \u2062developer, and his wife, Roselle Little, presented their plan to renovate \u2063the building at 32 Ball Street and relocate\u2064 a primary care clinic\u200c there.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>Johnny and Roselle Little present at the\u200d Downtown Revitalization\u2064 Initiative local planning <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fed-found-economy-is-recovering-much-faster-than-officials-expected\/\" title=\"Fed Found Economy Is Recovering Much Faster Than Officials Expected\">committee meeting<\/a> at Port Jervis High \u200bSchool in Orange County, N.Y., on\u200b Aug. 31, 2023. (Cara Ding\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>A spokesperson for Switzerland-based IWG Partnership, \u2063the only developer outside \u2063Port Jervis, proposed building a coworking space on the third level at 123 Pike Street. \u2064The company seeks a $300,000 grant funding for the $400,000 development.<\/p>\n<p>Bill Carlisle, president of the Tri-State Railway Preservation Society, presented \u2063a\u2063 million-dollar plan\u200b to\u200c improve\u200d the visitor\u200c experience at the Erie Yard Heritage Center.<\/p>\n<h2>City Projects<\/h2>\n<p>At the committee meeting,\u200c Port Jervis Mayor Kelly Decker presented four city-sponsored projects totaling nearly $8 million in grant funding requests.<\/p>\n<p>The largest project is to improve Riverside Park by adding a new 100-car parking lot, a new pavilion, and new recreational facilities, such as a playground, basketball court,\u200c skate park, mini-golf course,\u200b adult fitness area, and new walking trails.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis isn\u2019t\u2062 just any \u2062pavilion. This is a pavilion\u200b where people\u2063 can have weddings,\u201d Mr. Decker said. \u201cIt \u200cwould have a full-fledged commercial kitchen as well as bathrooms that provide for events both at the pavilion and the nearby amphitheater.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"aligncenter\"><figcaption>Port Jervis Mayor Kelly Decker presents the Riverside Park improvement \u2063project\u2062 at the Downtown Revitalization Initiative local planning committee meeting at Port\u200b Jervis High School in Orange County, N.Y., on \u200dAug. 31, 2023. (Cara Ding\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>The park improvements are estimated to cost $5 \u2062million; the city plans to chip \u200cin $250,000 with the rest from the downtown revival grant funding.<\/p>\n<p>Another big-ticket \u200ccity project is to enhance the streetscape\u200b along \u200bJersey Avenue by replacing sidewalks between Fowler and East Main Street, which costs about $3 million.<\/p>\n<p>The other two projec<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Port Jervis committee reviewed pitches from 10 applicants for the $10 million downtown revival grant. The grant, part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) launched in 2016 by former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, aims to support municipal recipients in revitalizing their downtown areas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":417,"featured_media":2022034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2022033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/417"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2022033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2022033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2022034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2022033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2022033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2022033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}