Three years after New York Gov. Kathy Hochul visited Dunkirk to announce a $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award, there is little physical evidence of it in the city.

A mixed-use development in a former bank is complete, and a project to build apartments is approaching construction. There doesn’t seem to be much beyond that.

City Planning and Development Director Vince DeJoy attempted to clarify the situation at a recent meeting of the Common Council’s Economic Development Committee. He said that several projects are still bubbling behind the scenes, and offered optimism that work will start on them this year.

One of the projects is supposed to renovate the docks at the Dunkirk Marina. DeJoy said the city has sent Requests for Proposals to design firms, and the RFPs are due Feb. 6.

However, the marina is in legal limbo. The city does not want Peter Smith to manage the marina, and Triple S Marina, LLC was supposed to take over the lease. Smith is suing over the move, alleging collusion between the city and Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency that forced him to sell at below market value.

“There’s still some litigation” involving the marina, DeJoy acknowledged. Councilwoman Natalie Luczkowiak commented that Smith told her he is not leaving the marina.

About a block from the marina, a mixed-use development is planned at the Macaroni Building on the corner of Washington Avenue and Lake Shore Drive. DeJoy said work should start there “in the spring, maybe summer.”

Jamestown Community College backed out of a project to renovate the Graf Building at Central Avenue and Third Street into a workforce development center. DeJoy said the funding that was intended for that project has been diverted into a plan for a mixed-use project in the old Ehlers building at Central and Fourth Street.

That project is evidently still on the drawing board, but the one DRI item that is complete is across Central Avenue in a former bank building. The building was successfully renovated into first-floor retail space and second-floor apartments.

However, even there, the success is limited. There aren’t any retail tenants confirmed for the first floor. A couple of the apartments, which are rather pricey by local standards, are reportedly rented but others are still open.

One more highly visible DRI project is expected to break ground this year. Apartments are planned at sites on Washington Avenue and the Save-a-Lot Plaza on nearby Fourth Street.

DeJoy also pointed out that a Small Business Fund backed by DRI money has accepted local small businesses for renovation projects such as facade improvements and new restaurant ovens.

DeJoy had no update on a renovation project planned for the Clarion Hotel, across the street from the Macaroni Building. He also had nothing to say about a DRI-funded plan to redevelop the Adams Art Gallery into a children’s center/community space.

The development director cautioned that people should not give up on any of the projects just yet: Funding winners have five years to spend the money. Hochul announced the DRI award in January 2023.