BALLSTON SPA – Ballston Spa is looking for community input for a grant application, which could earn the village as much as $4.5 million for revitalization projects.

The Village of Ballston Spa is in the process of applying for a NY Forward Grant. The state’s new grant program is designed to help rejuvenate smaller and rural communities.

“It has been a very, very well applied to, or intended-to-apply grant opportunity in this region,” Ballston Spa Mayor Frank Rossi said. “We have heard at least 28 communities in this region plan to apply. But for the village of Ballston Spa, the application materials and everything in the brochures, really seem to fit our community very well.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the NY Forward Program earlier this year. It is designed to work similarly to the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) program, which launched in 2016 to help cities.

Villages and other smaller municipalities were not necessarily eligible for the DRI grants Rossi said. The state saw those smaller areas would benefit from funding invested in their downtown areas, and created the NY Forward program.

The NY Forward grant program is funded through $100 million divided among the different regions of the state. Each region will be awarded wither two $4.5 million awards or one $4.5 million grant and two $2.25 million grants.

“There’s four things we have ideas on, removing superstore vacancies in downtown and in the village offices building,

The village has ideas about four potential initiatives for their application, which may change overtime as the village gets feedback Rossi said. One potential idea is renovating and improving upper story vacancies, like that of the village office building.

“Our own village office building is something that’s in need of a lot of work,” Rossi said. “It is vacant on the second and third floors on the street side of it. And it could definitely be something that we could use some money to help spur more jobs, more growth in that building alone. It’s a gateway really for our downtown.”

The village is also looking at potentially using funding for a new master plan for Wiswall Park. Rossi explained this could to help ensure the parks longevity as the villages central green space.

“We’re also looking at possibilities for downtown data and internet opportunities,” Rossi said. “It would take some cost for us to do it but we are discussing things right now for potential opportunities for let’s say downtown wi-fi, for instance or better broadband for our downtown area.”

Improvement to business facades is another potential area the village is looking at utilizing possible grant money.

“$2.4 million seems like a lot of money, but it could go pretty fast, Rossi said. “Those are some ideas. Clearly we have other things going on, we want to hear from our community and see what their ideas are too.”

The Village of Ballston Spa has a survey about their grant application on the village website. Residents are able to share their ideas about potential projects for the village’s downtown and about their thoughts on downtown’s assists and challenges. The online survey closes September 20, and the village’s application is due to the Capital Region Economic Development Committee September 23.

Grant winners are expected to be selected later this year according to Hochul’s announcement in July about the program.

“They said it in one of our meetings, and we believe it to be true, even if you don’t win in this grant competition, we’re learning a lot about ourselves as a community,” Rossi said. “About where our deficiencies exist in our downtown area, and where to centralize some of our investment and focus in the future.”

The village’s application is being spearheaded by trustee Bernadette VanDeinse-Perez Rossi said. The Local Planning Committee has been working on the application. The committee is composed of 10 local residents, small business owners, property owners and members of volunteer organizations.

Categories: Email Newsletter, Saratoga County