Meet the Projects: Part 1

In this episode, we take a step back to refresh listeners on the conceptual private projects included in the Village of Fairport’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) application, reconnecting them to the community priorities we’ve been exploring this season.

From new housing and mixed-use development to canal frontage enhancements, historic preservation, and expanded arts, cultural, and educational spaces, this episode highlights how private investments support goals like walkability, economic vitality, and an active downtown.

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Transcript

Johnna McCooey 0:00

Hi, I'm Jonna McCooy.

SPEAKER_00 0:01

And I'm Amy Olds.

Johnna McCooey 0:02

And we're back here at Fairport Forward. Excited just to be back here with you. Thank you. My partner in this exciting project that we've been working on, our DRI application. We've been talking so much about the feedback to the projects, but we haven't spent a lot of time talking about the projects. So we're gonna dig into that. And but before we do, there are there really are some cool projects, so we're excited to talk about those. But before we do, I think that it's important that we do a refresher on the DRI and what it is so people know what it means should we be so fortunate to get that award. So, Amy, what are some things that's important for people to know about the DRI?

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Sure. So the DRI stands for Downtown Revitalization Initiative, and it is a grant that New York State provides to different regions within New York State. We're in the Finger Lakes region, so we are competing against other towns and villages within our region for $10 million of funding, which is awarded annually. We're in round nine, so we've submitted our application, and what we are waiting for is to find out if we are awarded this grant or not. Um, three important things to know about that. Uh, one is that this funding is for both private and public projects. Um, so that's an important thing to know as we talk about these projects.

Johnna McCooey 1:22

Right. There was there were some comments in our survey why are dollars going to private investment and that's because it's by design. We want these funds to be an accelerator for the work that that has to happen from the the private sector to make sure we get the benefit from the public sector. So that's one. Um also uh another thing that I think is really important is that all these projects, even though we're gonna talk about how cool they are and what's interesting about them, they really are conceptual. Yes. They are a starting point. So when we say, give us your ideas, they're really just ideas. When we get the funds, what happens then?

SPEAKER_00 2:04

When we get the funds, everything starts over. Everyone has an opportunity to refine their concepts and come back with a lot more details. Like, okay, no, this is a really a project I want to move forward with. Yes, we won the funds. Now I'm excited, here are all my details. Um, so it's important to remember that at this point we might talk about them like they're real because to us they are, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they're going to move forward in this iteration.

Johnna McCooey 2:28

We saw that recently there was some press about Waterloo.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

Yes. Yeah, so Waterloo won a couple of years ago, and it's just now that they have gone back to the drawing board, spent the last 18 months, two years or so refining those concepts, and have just now come out and said, yep, and now here are the real projects we're gonna move forward with. So that was a two-year process almost. So it's important to remember that as we talk through these things. That was another survey concern. Oh, we just finished the main streetscape, we just had that bridge reopening. I can't even believe that we're talking about more construction, and those are valid concerns and feelings, of course. And it's important to remember everything we're talking about today is not for tomorrow, it's for the long haul, and shovels won't wouldn't even hit the ground for at least a couple years, probably. So something to keep in mind.

Johnna McCooey 3:19

And then the other piece to keep in mind is that maybe we won't get the grant this round, and that's okay. This is a roadmap, these are opportunities for our village. They are not things that we some of the some of the things we might have to put off or or reconsider, but at least it has given us an opportunity to look at our village as a canvas and say, what if? What if we got $10 million? What could we turn that into? And in our first round, the this draft slate of projects, we came up with $77 million of project investments in our village that really could make a difference. So let's get into it.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Let's talk about them. So we've kind of tried to group them together in a way that I think makes logical sense as we talk through. Uh, we're gonna focus on the private projects that were a part of our application today. So let's talk about the very first grouping, which is iconic properties. Um properties that, you know, even if you aren't a resident in Fairport, you you think of them immediately when you think of Fairport. So these properties are things like Packets Landing, um, Fairport Village Landing, uh, what we call the Millstone Block, which is the strip where Mescalada is.

Johnna McCooey 4:36

Just past the lift bridge on Main Street.

SPEAKER_00 4:39

So those three properties all submitted um private projects, conceptual projects for the DRI application. They all share kind of a common thread that they really try to amp up the canal frontage piece of their properties. We always talk about how the canal is our second Main Street, and both of all three of these properties touch not only Main Street, but the canal as well. So you could say that they're very highly visible, very iconic properties. Um, for Packets Landing, they're proposing that the back of the building doesn't feel like it, it should feel more like a frontage.

Johnna McCooey 5:16

Right. So when you're on the canal path and you look at Packets Landing, you see just a bunch of siding and some tiny windows and some nice, nice landscaping uh or hardscape around the canal, but the property itself would benefit so much from a refresh and a envisioning the back of the building as the front of the building. So that project in particular is talking about balconies, um opening up or or creating bigger windows, creating better outside spaces around the property to make the experience on the canal just as great as the experience from Main Street or the experience from what is the front of the building today actually is a parking lot.

SPEAKER_00 6:01

So those are some interesting upgrades. And similarly for village landing, you know, new signage, just refreshing the signage, you know, that's a it's an older property, and there's it's iconic and utilized, and people go there in and out all the time at a ton of awesome shops over there. And the idea that that could be uh refreshed, and then inside for those who have ventured into like the library atrium, there's this really unique space that's kind of underutilized and has some reasonings behind that. But this idea that we could potentially look into an artistic use for that space and perhaps even bring in some sort of art installation or just make it feel a little more like it has a more value to the community.

Johnna McCooey 6:45

Yeah, and bringing a more contemporary feel overall. When we talk about iconic properties, sometimes they stay like in the phase that they they came into being. Village Landing has had some great reinvestment and redevelopment over the the last few years, but the this would be a way to really do some of those things that highlight that property as a centerpiece, right? It's right on Main Street, it's right on the canal, it's adjacent to one of our most favorite public parks, Canelly Park. So making sure that that is refreshed and ties into the vibe and character and continues to shine along with the rest of the village, that's important. Another one of those iconic properties we have um in the mix is the Fairport Baptist Church.

SPEAKER_00 7:32

Yeah, yeah.

Johnna McCooey 7:34

Um, it's important to the community from a memories and experience perspective, and so as it goes into its next life, there's a lot of interest. Thoughts about that project?

SPEAKER_00 7:47

Yeah, so uh the survey comments uh residents are in very very supportive of the idea to convert that church into a performing arts center, um, another way for the community to be able to come together and experience sense of connection and artistic performances and just another event space I think that could bring the community together. A people just want to see that iconic building be something that still serves the community. So I think that's the biggest thing is I don't know that it even is like it has to be this exact thing so much as please please don't let this iconic beautiful building at the four corners of our village turn you know become just a dead zone. Like people want it to be something meaningful.

Johnna McCooey 8:35

Yes, sorry. Yes, something real and something meaningful. Um to hop back over to the canal and talk a little about Millstone Block a bit, um, same goals there. Use that canal and the canal-facing side of the building um in a more welcoming way. Better outside spaces, improving the exterior of the building as it faces the canal. And what I really like about the all of the themes that we're talking about here with these iconic properties, private properties, we are highlighting the impact on the community that these projects have, right? Um they're not about I'm gonna add square footage so I can have more space to rent and make more dollars. Every single one is about the experience from outside of the building or the experience for the community. So the point about why do we invest public dollars in private projects, it's because private projects have a direct impact on our community, a direct positive impact on our community. So definitely I I think it's really nice to see that the property owners of these iconic projects care just as much about the community as being a property owner or a landlord in our village.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Definitely, and like Millstone Block. Um, if you're been driving anytime recently down Main Street Fairport, you may have noticed that the ground floor of that building has had a little cosmetic refresh, um, some door in window replacements. So so this next step would be taking it even further, and and I I just think it could be really great.

Johnna McCooey 10:09

Yeah, definitely. So other projects, one one of the biggest, not one of the biggest. The biggest projects in the mix, project in the mix is a housing project.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

Yeah.

Johnna McCooey 10:18

Um submitted by 43 North Real Estate. It is uh expected to be in the North Main Street area, in the area of the cannery. Um it's a housing project, $50 million housing project. So that is woo, exactly. Impactful and um important. We've already had an episode about housing and we've talked about how housing is important from a community perspective and from a broader perspective, uh, you know, across our state.

SPEAKER_00 10:47

Yeah, housing is actually one of the major goals of the DRI funding is that's like one of the pillars that they talk about a lot in the um application documents, is you know, this is recognized as an uh a challenge and issue throughout the state. So having an awesome $50 million project on our our slate of potential projects is is really, really cool. And so we're talking about potentially a hundred units, um, a mix of workforce, um workforce market. Mm-hmm. And the area we're talking about is behind the existing renovated cannery space. So behind Iron Smoke, further back.

Johnna McCooey 11:26

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 11:27

Um, at the old American can company. Um, so just kind of some decrepit-looking industrial spaces back there that just could have new life.

Johnna McCooey 11:36

It's essentially warehouse space right now.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

Okay. Warehouse space, cool. So having that transform into potential 100 units could be pretty, pretty ch transformational for the village.

Johnna McCooey 11:47

Um and I'll just throw it out there before like the first question people will ask, and we talked about this already parking. Oh geez. The project contemplates parking as part of it. So um that's another great thing is that the when we get these projects, we can make sure that uh we get ahead of any concerns about impacts they might have on the community or the infrastructure. And it's great to work with experienced developers who know those things and are bringing those solutions along with their project.

SPEAKER_00 12:20

Yeah, for sure. I think that's something to keep in mind as we talk about all of these, all of these projects.

Johnna McCooey 12:25

Definitely.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

And so there are some other housing uh uh projects too, and they aren't all big $50 million projects. Right. Um, there's another proposed project for um the building on Mean Street that is like right next to Salvators, like that little block of Salvators in the is it Chateau Hair. Yes. Um so the idea there would be to add vertically expand and to add two or three uh residential units and you know, a village our size in our housing episode we mentioned, but every unit counts, and it we can really have an impact even with just oh yeah, adding a unit here or there is gonna still have a good impact on our village.

Johnna McCooey 13:05

Definitely, and I think that also highlights how open the DRI is for all types of projects, whether you're a smaller property owner developer who can add a few units, that's impactful, or s or a larger developer to have a huge transformational impact. This grant can serve both of those.

SPEAKER_00 13:27

Yes, for sure. So let's go back to the cannery area. So we have um obviously we love the cannery area. Yes, and the idea of having even more develop in that area is cool. Across the street, we got a couple of projects um that were submitted, you know, where that block is of like a fair to talk a lot and just over the tracks. Yes, and then separately also um at the corner of Maine and Railroad Street, there is a commercial building that is actually looking for a new tenant, but um used to be a string instrument place, and then behind that is the same property but a separate building that's a self-storage facility. So the that's a project that was submitted. Both of those projects um include things that are aesthetic updates to make sure that those buildings better blend with the aesthetic of the village. That's something that was of concern for a lot of our property owners from a private perspective that uh I think is really cool that they're thinking about that. They're saying, oh, I could do a lot that to make this um more appealing and fit in with the the vibe and the aesthetic of of of the village. So knowing that we had the cannery happen on the west side of Main Street, it's really interesting to see how we could have the east side of that block kind of play a little catch up and and have their nice refresh moment too.

Johnna McCooey 14:45

Yeah, that's um a really good point in that when we talk about the cannery and the impact it's had on our village, we don't want to again say, well, it's just for the new stuff, it's just for entertainment. There are existing properties there and other businesses that can use the same infusion of support. So um it's great to see the other property owners in that area stepping up to say, let me take advantage of this opportunity for some funding and for the attention and the focus on this part of our village.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

For sure.

Johnna McCooey 15:20

Yeah. Another group of projects are from some smaller groups from our community. We have the Masonic Lodge, and that's on Main Street. Yep. They are proposing some infrastructure upgrades, upgrade to their event space.

SPEAKER_00 15:34

Yep, their event space, some um exterior and interior work, or the exterior work, it's a brick building, so some brick point work, um, let's see, some awning work. Yeah, and inside they they have some H HVAC things that need to be addressed. I they're also thinking about whether or not there's an opportunity for an exterior mural that could again like add an artistic element. Uh, actually, quite a few of these projects really took into consideration some more beautification and art elements. So we'll have to have a talk more about that at a future time. Uh and then the other one that's another small organization that serves the community is the Parrington Historical Museum. Uh they submitted a project that's another community serving space that needs the help. So they actually have a really awesome space that's for events in their basement, but it's not currently ADA accessible. So they were looking at solutions that how how could they make their space uh serve everyone? And they're proposing like a two-story expansion that would um create a new event space, do renovations. Um, so that would be really nice, I think, for just both of those projects would just enhance their ability to serve our community.

Johnna McCooey 16:50

Absolutely. And um, I keep going back to this point, but another way that this funding can help something happen that might not have happened before. Smaller organizations like the um Historical Society or the Masonic Lodge may not have the funds or the the regular access to capital to consider these things that they really have needs for. They're just focusing on um the the basics to keep things working. And so the concept of a grand expansion sometimes, or or improvements, even if they're not grand in nature but just necessary in nature, sometimes seem like how are we ever gonna get this done? And this is a way for them to really see it happening.

SPEAKER_00 17:35

Yeah, that's true. And they're so then another thing that's included in our application is what's called a small projects fund. And in that vein, it's a fund that you would set aside some of the grant funding for smaller projects that maybe aren't grandiose enough to to, you know, I think the limit was like $75,000 or something.

Johnna McCooey 17:55

Minimum project size to be considered for the application.

SPEAKER_00 17:59

So if you have something that needs to be done that you would love to get done that is less than $75,000, this small projects fund would allow those projects to still potentially receive some grant funding and to your point get some get some movement on things that might never happen otherwise. So I think that's really cool that there's um an ability for even the smaller mom and pop type places to say, you know, I would really love to do this, and I it's only like $20,000, but I don't have $20,000. So so the ability to infuse those funds uh to smaller projects as well, I think is a really cool aspect of the DRI.

Johnna McCooey 18:38

That small project funds, those projects haven't decided been decided yet, just is highlighting another way that again, everything's really conceptual. So if you're out there and you're listening and then we get this award and you're sitting in Fort Fairport saying, I wanted to do this improvement for my business, you're you still have an opportunity to do that. Another project that I want to talk about is a project in an idea that's that's been kicked around in the village for quite some time, a boutique hotel. And today, now that is getting more attention since Fairport itself is getting more attention as a destination. The what I like about this project is because the idea has been around for a while, it's not uh foreign to the community. Um there it's already been thought through about what would be the re the right fit. You know, there's not a hotel, but the right fit isn't a Hilton Garden Inn on Main Street.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Yeah, everyone I think um has refined the concept to say, yeah, it would be really great to have a place for folks to stay overnight here and take advantage of all of the awesome amenities that Fairport has to offer from a visitation and tourism thing. Like, oh, I want to take my family kayaking and then I want to eat dinner, and maybe I'm from Buffalo and I don't want to drive home, or I and and right now they might have to go to a neighboring town to spend the night, but why can't we keep them here? And then they go out to breakfast at the cafe in in our village and they spend funds here and not in in in one of on their way home back to Buffalo. So I think everyone likes the concept, and to your point, a boutique hotel is the term we're using to just indicate that it's not this huge, like million rooms. We're not talking about that. We're talking about something that matches the village aesthetic and you know is well run but is is right-sized for Fairport and fits aesthetically. Yeah, yeah.

Johnna McCooey 20:30

Um, and we have that's a theme that has continued through a lot of the things we're we've talked about. Um the right type of fit from a visitation perspective and how we should be focusing on tourism, the right type doing the right type of things from um a transportation perspective and what fits for our village. And this is just another indicator that when we think about these big concepts and these these big um impactful things, we are always thinking about it from the perspective of what's right for Fairport and what fits.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

I mean, go back to our very first um very first episode of uh this podcast, what makes Fairport Fairport? And all of these projects we call them transformational, and they are transformational, but no one wants to transform out of what Fairport is. So it's it's hey, how do these projects move Fairport forward without losing what makes Fairport Fairport? And I've been actually really impressed with not only the public perspective, but the private projects that have come in really took that into account, and it just is such a testament to the wonderful community of business owners, property owners, developers. Everyone here, I think, keeps that in mind, and it really sh it show shines through when you see the slate of projects as a whole. That is one of those themes that pops right out. Like they're all about the the charm, what's right-sized, what fits in. And I I love looking at them as a whole and and seeing that.

Johnna McCooey 21:59

Yeah, and and what's right for the community. But you made a good distinction. We've talked a lot about the private projects and what those private um projects uh are keeping in mind as they they think about what's the the right use for the funds. We haven't talked about the public projects, but we're going to do that in another episode. Yeah. So um I think this is a good stopping point to wrap up our discussion on the projects. We're gonna come back another time, talk about all the rest of the projects in that public realm, and um and that's where we're at. Anything else that you wanted to throw in there for today?

SPEAKER_00 22:36

I would just say that, you know, we welcome feedback. I think you can go to fairportdi.com and there's a contact form there. So if you have community feedback still based on some of these uh projects that you're hearing about, it's not too late. Please share. Like I said, these are conceptual and we'll be s back to the drawing board when we knock on wood, hopefully win this money. So it's really never too late to to voice your opinion. Great. Thank you. Thanks.