It’s official:
The Village of Schoharie is $10 million richer, the Mohawk Valley’s winner in the state’s eighth round of Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding.
The atmosphere was giddy Thursday as dozens from the village of 947 turned out to celebrate and applaud as Mayor Colleen Henry took the stage to accept the check.
Also in the audience at Schoharie Central School were contingents from the Villages of Canajoharie and Waterville, each $4.5 million New York Forward winners.
“We did it, Schoharie, we did it,” a jubilant Mayor Henry said.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you…I am truly huimbled.”
This was Schoharie’s third try for the DRI grant; Mayor Henry thanked SEEC and those who worked to make it possible.
“Most of you in this room are volunteers,” she said, and everyone there had a voice in the winning application. This is going to be such an opportunity to enhance our quality of life.”
Fourteen years ago in August, Hurricane Irene left Schoharie feet deep in mud.
All that fall, thousands of volunteers poured in from the Capital District and beyond to help with cleanup; even through COVID, businesses came in and opened, and plans to reopen the Parrott House as a boutique hotel, along with the proposed Mainbridge Commons, housing at the old Great American space, are credited with putting the application over the top.
On hand to make the announcements was Secretary of State Walter Mosley, who said the funding for all three will help them “embrace what makes them unique while realizing their full potential.”
“The goal is to make downtowns vibrant places where people want to be. Infrastructure, housing, culture, open space, access—it actually starts right here.”
Schoharie’s application included plans for Fountain Head Plaza, community space behind Main Street businesses; the Mainbridge Commons, a Building Improvement Fund, Firehouse Park, EV charging stations, and Crosswalks of Color.
They will likely evolve and change, with a couple more added as the Local Planning Committee process moves forward, said SEEC’s CEO Julie Pacatte.
All projects will need to be resubmitted, she said, and there’s usually a five-year timeline for projects to be completed.
In 2023, the first year for New York Forward, the Village of Sharon Springs was awarded $2.5 million.
Projects eventually picked for funding by the state included the village’s Chalybeate Spring Park, the Klinkhart Hall Arts Center’s Klinkhart Hall, the Lehman Block, the two that SEEC will be administering: a $600,000 small projects fund and downtown Wi-Fi.
Related stories and photos in out paper edition.