Proposed reuse of Graf Buiding on Central Avenue in Dunkirk as a Jamestown Community College campus is no longer in the works.

Jamestown Community College is pulling out of the Dunkirk Downtown Revitalization Initiative.

JCC President Daniel DeMarte made the announcement in a Wednesday letter to college employees.

As part of Dunkirk’s DRI, JCC made a successful application “to renovate the Graf Building on Central Avenue to house a Workforce Training Center (both academic and workforce) that would potentially include childcare, offices for program partners, a career counseling center, a science lab, new classrooms, and computer labs,” DeMarte wrote.

JCC currently offers workforce development programs at its North County Center on Route 60 in the town of Dunkirk.

DeMarte stated the Graf Building project had “specific success criteria.” That included no new costs for the move, local business support, adequate available transportation and childcare, an enrollment target, and additional external funding.

DeMarte continued, “Prior to, during, and after the announcement, we have gathered data and analyzed every angle of the move, resulting in the submittal of our recommendation to not proceed.” He wrote that the JCC Board of Trustees backed the recommendation at its Nov. 19 meeting.

JCC may now look to sell part of the Graf Building property, which includes several parcels adjacent to the structure itself. The property was used for various Chautauqua County offices and services until 2023.

This marks a serious blow to Dunkirk’s DRI, an approximately $10 million state-backed project that came complete with a February 2023 visit by Gov. Kathy Hochul to announce it.

Other projects in the DRI include work on Dunkirk’s waterfront, and a renovation of an old bank building at Fourth Street and Central Avenue into business and living space.