CAZENOVIA — Recently, the Cazenovia Area Community Development Association (CACDA) was successful in obtaining three New York State-funded grants on behalf of the Village of Cazenovia for the following initiatives: the redevelopment of the vacant properties at 99/103 Albany St., improvements to the Lakeland Park pier and beach, and the next steps in planning for the partial removal of the Mill Street dam and Chittenango Creek restoration.

CACDA Executive Director Lauren Lines announced the awards to the Village of Cazenovia Trustees during the board’s Jan. 3 meeting.

On Dec. 20, the village was awarded $2 million for the 99/103 Albany St. redevelopment project through the Restore New York Communities Initiative (Restore NY), which provides municipalities with financial assistance for the revitalization of commercial and residential properties. The program encourages community development and neighborhood growth through the elimination and redevelopment of blighted structures. Administered by Empire State Development, Restore NY funding is available for projects involving the demolition, deconstruction, rehabilitation, and/or reconstruction of vacant, abandoned, condemned, and surplus properties.

The 99/103 Albany St. redevelopment was one of only eight projects in the Central New York region to receive funding through this round of the program.

The Village of Cazenovia plans to subgrant the funds to Berkley Properties, LLC, a privately owned real estate holding company that has taken on the job of redeveloping the properties, which have both been unused and neglected for approximately 20 years.

Cazenovia residents Michael and Jacqueline Silberberg, of Berkley Properties, LLC, recently purchased the former Napa auto parts store at 99 Albany St. and the former gas station at 103 Albany St. with the intention of demolishing the existing structures and constructing a new mixed-use retail/residential building.

“I think the Silberbergs are willing to do the project regardless of the grant, but this allows them to really build something nice, so that was really, really good news,” said Lines during the Jan. 3 village board meeting. “Michael Silberberg and I are meeting next week with National Grid because they are inviting us to apply for an additional $100,000 through their community grants [program]. I think it sort of starts to snowball; once you get a larger grant, others want to participate.”

Mayor Kurt Wheeler explained that plenty of people have expressed interest in redeveloping the vacant properties throughout the years, but their plans have been thwarted by the fact that the rents that can be charged in a small rural community like Cazenovia do not match up with the costs of constructing a high-quality building that is compatible with the rest of the historic village.

“The grant was really critical to balancing those two things out,” said Wheeler.

Lines said she believes the village’s Restore NY application was successful because the project closely fit the grant criteria and a lot of the groundwork had already been laid.

“This year, there was also an emphasis on rural communities,” she added. “We have an experienced developer and a lot of community support for the project.”

For the Lakeland Park improvements, the village has been awarded $500,000 from the Environmental Protection Fund (EPF) Grant Program for Parks, Preservation and Heritage. Administered by the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the program supports matching grants for the acquisition, planning, development, and improvement of parks, historic properties, and heritage areas located within New York State.

On Dec. 16, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that $24.3 million has been awarded through the program to support 56 municipalities and not-for-profit organizations.

According to a press release from the governor’s office announcing the awards, the village’s parks program grant will support the rehabilitation of Lakeland Park’s iconic historic stone masonry pier, including several areas where the stone wall is failing; the improvement of parking and vehicular patterns, including traffic calming measures to reduce vehicular-pedestrian conflicts; the creation of a waterfront plaza between the beach area and parking lot to create a buffer and a safer environment for beachgoers; and the expansion of the beach area to increase capacity.

Lines said she believes the village’s application stood out because the municipality has credibility based on its prior projects completed with funding from the Office of Parks Recreation and Historic Preservation. Additionally, she noted, the village has invested significant funds toward the stabilization and repair of the park’s lake and canal walls.

The village has also been awarded $65,000 from the New York State Department of State’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP). The grant will support preliminary engineering design and permitting for the partial removal of the Mill Street dam and restoration of a section of Chittenango Creek between the two dams downstream of the lake outlet.

The lake dam (upper dam), which controls the level of the lake, is located near Carpenter’s Pond. Mill Street dam (lower dam or creek dam), which was originally built to serve the Erie Canal system, is a little further downstream.

The goal of the restoration project is to return the creek to its natural, pre-Erie Canal state and eliminate harmful backflow of nutrients and pollutants into Cazenovia Lake. The project is also intended to advance the village’s LWRP goals of improving water quality and restoring fish habitat to support tourism and recreation.

The LWRP provides matching grants to communities to develop a plan with a vision for the future of their waterfront, guided by several environmental policies to ensure projects work in harmony with waterfront natural resources and ecosystems. Projects funded through the program are intended to help local communities expand public access and protect the environment, while also boosting tourism and economic development opportunities.

This year, a total of $16.4 million was awarded to 23 communities. The awards, which were announced on Dec. 29, are funded through the EPF.

“The Mill Street dam project is the result of years of working toward project funding under the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program,” said Lines. “Back in 2018, the state legislature designated Cazenovia Lake and Chittenango Creek as inland waterways. This was required before we could apply for funds to create a Local Waterfront Revitalization Plan, which is a requirement to apply for project funds. The plan is in the final stages of development, but we were able to apply for project funding because we have a plan underway. I’m hopeful that this program will also be a source of funding for future phases of this project.”

Funding for both the EPF Grant Program for Parks, Heritage and Preservation and the LWRP was included in Round XII of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. Applicants utilized the Consolidated Funding Application, the state’s single application for state resources, which includes programs from numerous agencies.

“All three of these [grant awards] were team efforts,” said Lines. “[There was] a lot of planning and thought and meetings. It was not all CACDA. It was a lot of effort just to be prepared to apply for these things.”

According to Lines, the funds from all three grant programs are provided only through reimbursement after the money has been spent and the projects are complete or at least underway.

“Planning for Lakeland is likely to be in 2023 with construction in 2024,” said Lines. “Mill Street dam preliminary engineering design will start as soon as we have a contract with the state — likely this spring.”

Lines also pointed out that the grant for Lakeland Park requires a 50 percent match, the grant for Mill Street dam has a 25 percent match, and the Restore NY grant for 99/103 Albany St. has a 10 percent match, which the developer is expected to far exceed.

“The great news from this year’s round of grants is just the latest chapter in the growing body of evidence as to what an exceptional asset CACDA, and especially Lauren, is to our community,” said Wheeler. “Her knowledge, commitment, and creativity were instrumental to receiving these awards that will have a tremendous positive impact on Cazenovia.”

CACDA is an independent, not-for-profit community-based organization representing a broad cross-section of stakeholders in the greater Cazenovia area. CACDA was formed to assist local organizations, governments, and residents by helping them accomplish goals and objectives through consensus building, planning, cooperative efforts, networking, locating funding sources, grant writing, project implementation, and programs that educate the public on important issues affecting the quality of life and the environment. For more information, visit cacda.net/index.html.