Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone today announced that applications for Round 17 of the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Grants Program are now available. A pool of $500,000 is available for partial funding of capital projects located in, or adjacent to, downtown areas on municipally-owned property. Award recipients will be selected by the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization Citizens Advisory Panel following a competitive application process.
Suffolk County will host an Applicant Training Session at the H. Lee Dennison Building Media Room on February 14, from 2:00pm - 4:00pm, and applications are due by 4:30pm on May 24, 2019.
“This economic program allows us to invest in robust, vibrant downtowns that are needed to keep our region competitive and grow our local economy,” said Suffolk County Executive Bellone. “We will continue to make the quality investments needed to ensure a prosperous future for all those who call Suffolk home.”
Grant applicants must be organizations that represent a downtown area and who partner with their local municipality. Organizations that represent downtown areas including business improvement districts, chambers of commerce, civic associations, historical societies, beautification societies, and local development corporations are eligible applicants. Towns or villages who partner with a community organization are required to pass resolutions supporting the project on which the two entities partner. Projects must be capital in nature and have a significant and sustainable impact that enhances economic activity.
Among the various projects that are eligible for grants are public parking facilities, curb and sidewalk construction, pedestrian walkways, street lighting, public restrooms, disabled accessibility, renovations to existing structures, and cultural facilities. The criteria for eligible projects include that the project must be a capital improvement project, funding request must be at least $10,000, the organization must partner with a municipality and be located on municipally-owned property in or adjacent to a downtown and the project life-span must be at least 15 years.
In 2018, Suffolk County received 18 applications for the Round 16 grants and 11 projects were funded. A pool of $500,000 was made available to partially fund qualified capital projects. Since 1997, Suffolk County has awarded over $12 million in funds for Downtown Revitalization initiatives.
The Downtown Revitalization Citizens Advisory Panel utilizes a point system to evaluate each application to ensure projects that receive funding will make the greatest contribution to the long-term improvement of local downtowns and have a positive economic impact on Suffolk County as a whole. The application and guidelines can be found here. For more information on the Suffolk County Downtown Revitalization initiative, visit www.suffolkcountyny.gov.
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