SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WHCU) – When three Cayuga County villages missed out on development grants last year, they got creative.

Governor Kathy Hochul was in Syracuse on Monday to announce the Central New York region’s winners of this year’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant program. Aurora, Cayuga, and Union Springs applied for the grant together after unsuccessfully applying individually for the $4.5 million New York Forward program last year. Governor Hochul lauded their willingness to work together to secure the funding.

 

They’ll use the funds to help boost their economies by transforming their downtowns into what they’re calling “Cayuga County’s Quaint Lakeside Village Corridor,” a term they used in their application.

 

The first phase of the process is called the Strategic Investment Plan, where $300,000  of the funding is earmarked to help a local committee work with state planners and private sector experts to identify what development projects to pursue.

Projects will be chosen with significant public input, and will boost tourism and economic goals by enhancing lake access, building more walkable neighborhoods, creating diverse retail and job opportunities, expanding cultural and recreational opportunities, maintaining historic buildings and structures, and building more lodging and housing,

The Village of Homer in Cortland County won a DRI grant last year.