OBSERVER file photo St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church will be closing after its Christmas Eve Mass.

More than $3 million, including a major project for the village of Fredonia, has been awarded to Chautauqua County through the State’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative that are designed to help catalyze economic growth, jump-start housing growth, and advance regionally designed strategic plans, while addressing state priorities.

“I remain grateful for everyone involved in advancing the work of the Regional Economic Development Councils. Their dedication to this ongoing public-private effort has had a transformational impact in every corner of the state,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

One of the largest projects was awarded to the Arthur Page Co. LLC and totals $1 million. The company will repurpose the closed St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church Parish in the village of Fredonia on Main Street, while supporting the existing childcare tenant and renovating and expanding their presence on the campus. This property is an anchor in the village and is both architecturally and historically significant. However there has been deferred maintenance and the condition has worsened over the years. This project will renovate and repurpose a former church, supporting the expansion of childcare and the redevelopment of Fredonia’s downtown.

Other major awards included:

— $675,000 to Chautauqua Western New York Land Conservancy, Inc. to purchase Bear Lake Preserve in the town of Stockton and maintain the land as a publicly accessible nature preserve. The land is home to a diversity of plants and animals, includes many rare habitat types, and forms a complex of 700 acres of protected lands.

— $550,000 for the National Comedy Center’s Destination Laughter initiative that is a strategic marketing campaign to drive visitation to Western New York by attracting leisure travelers and group tours, while engaging the travel trade through expanded outreach. The campaign leverages the Center’s national visibility to inspire meaningful travel across New York State through the power and universal appeal of comedy.

— $497,751 to the town of Hanover, which seeks funding to work with building owners to improve their facades and residential and commercial units. In 2024, Imagine Forestville, a community organization focused on improving Forestville, received funding from the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth to create Design Guidelines for the commercial district. An NYMS Technical Assistance grant in 2025 used these guidelines to produce concept renderings, scopes of work and cost estimates for the facade improvements of six buildings in the Target Area. The Town of Hanover is now requesting funding to implement the recommendations made by the consulting architects for the six properties whose owners have committed to participating in this Main Street project. These building improvements will stimulate economic activity in Downtown Forestville and bring affordable housing options to the commercial district.

— $172,500 to Chautauqua Growers Cooperative Grape Juice Corporation Inc. to expand their juice processing operation in Chautauqua County by installing a state-of-the-art juice filtration system. The new filter modules will improve processing efficiency and juice quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create less waste, and allow Growers Co-Op to expand their market. This will also allow state farmers the ability to grow and deliver more grapes and other fruits to Growers and allow these in-state farmed and processed juices to be sold to institutional markets including schools, food banks and correctional facilities. $172,500

— $60,000 to Jamestown to the City of Jamestown will conduct a feasibility study to determine the best use for three vacant and deteriorating properties on the city’s waterfront. $60,000