OBSERVER Photo by Damian Sebouhian Christopher Bauer, Brownfield Opportunity Areas Coordinator for the NY State Department of State, discussed Round 3 of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative during a WNYREDC public meeting held Tuesday at SUNY Fredonia.

The State University of New York at Fredonia hosted a Western New York Regional Economic Development Council (WNYREDC) public meeting Tuesday featuring presentations on economic development initiatives for 2018.

Michael Ball, WNYREDC executive director, presented an overview of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Round 8 launch of the 2018 REDC initiative, a competition worth more than $750 million in state economic development resources.

“The Regional Council (RC) has really transformed the state’s economic development process from the top down,” Ball said. “What this competition represents is a bottom up approach.

Ball said that since 2011, “Over $5.4 billion has been awarded or committed to support over 6,300 projects state-wide, (including) commitments to 220,000 jobs and thousands of businesses have received money for start-up expansion with private investment leverage.”

The Consolidated Funding Application (CFA) opened to applicants on May 1 and interested applicants will have until Friday, July 27 at 4 p.m. to register. The CFA is available at https://apps.cio.ny.gov/apps/cfa/.

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, chair of the REDC has said, “The Regional Economic Development Councils have brought together local leaders and stakeholders to identify projects and build their communities. New York has seen tremendous growth in all 10 regions of the State as part of the REDCs, and we’re continuing to invest and support that upward momentum with another round of the economic development competition.”

A few past REDC competition rounds have included the following advances:

¯ Western New York REDC has delivered $487.2 million for 663 projects.

¯ Finger Lakes REDC has delivered $570.1 million for 715 projects.

¯ Southern Tier REDC has delivered $547.9 million for 554 projects.

The $750 million in state funding and tax incentives will include up to $150 million in capital grants and up to $75 million in Excelsior Tax Credits (ETC) for projects and activities identified by the councils as regional priorities in their communities.

Over $525 million from state agency programs will be awarded through the CFA process.

Priorities for the CFA include:

¯ Supporting Downtown Revitalization Plans and identifying downtown projects for Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Round 3;

¯ Identifying workforce development strategies to meet business’ needs and improving the regional talent pipeline;

¯ Identifying projects for the state life sciences cluster;

¯ Implementing strategies through the project pipeline; and

¯ Measuring the performance and progress of the strategic plan.

Ball said that all 10 regions will be competing this year for designation as a “top performer”.

Five “top performers” will receive awards of up to $20 million in ESD Capital Grants.

The remaining five regions identified as Regional Awardees will receive up to $10 million in ESD Capital Grants.

Each region will receive $10 million to implement projects identified through the DRI, and projects from all 10 regions submitted through the CFA will be eligible for over $525 million in other state agency funds.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a recent press release that the REDC initiative has “Redefined how economic development is done in New York State, creating new jobs, stronger local economies, and more unified regions. We are once again empowering regions to chart their future, while providing the necessary tools to implement their vision for community and economic growth, creating a positive impact across the Empire State.”

Christopher Bauer, Brownfield Opportunity Areas Coordinator for the NY State Department of State, delivered an overview presentation of Round 3 of the DRI.

“Vibrant downtowns are central to (the DRI) mission,” Bauer said. “We want all downtowns to represent a strong economy, (with) vibrancy long-term.”

Bauer said that the DRI will “invest $10 million in each of the 10 communities ripe for development…” and “support a community planning process where each community develops the key ingredients needed for successful downtown revitalization.”

Bauer said that each RC will “Solicit interest in the program from communities in the region, accepting revised applications from communities that requested consideration in 2017, and new applications from communities that didn’t participate last year.”

The Governor’s Office will be creating the Office of Workforce Development “which will make funding available for workforce development projects outside of the traditional REDC schedule.”

Bauer discussed identifying projects for the state’s Life Science Cluster, which presents the opportunity for RCs to “expand efforts in this sector as public awareness is generated through expanded publicity and incentives for the State’s life science industry.”

Bauer encouraged each RC “to build on their efforts from last year, continuing to work with colleges and universities in each region to identify academic programs that develop life science personnel, and helping to establish a pipeline from training to employment in the life sciences field.”

For more information on the Regional Councils, visit www.regionalcouncils.ny.gov.