Help Prioritize Projects in the City of Rensselaer
(September 30, 2024 – Rensselaer, New York) For the past year the City of Rensselaer has been hosting meetings regarding “Rensselaer Rising,” a year-long planning effort to attract investment and funding opportunities to the city. “We’ve heard numerous ideas about what the City of Rensselaer needs and with the help of our consultants from LaBella and LandArt Studio we have established a draft Vision, Goals and a Proposed Area Plan for the designated Brownfield Opportunity Area,” said Mike Stammel, Mayor of Rensselaer. “Now it is time to bring these materials back to the public to make sure we got it right,” added Stammel.
“Rensselaer Rising” is a Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) study funded by the New York State Department of State that helps communities look at opportunities for investment and revitalization of underutilized, abandoned, or vacant sites. The BOA study has been focused on an area of the city that includes the Crailo Historic Neighborhood, the Columbia Street Commercial District, and the area from the waterfront to East Street up to Partition Street. The intent of “Rensselaer Rising” is to develop a long-range plan for investment and revitalization of this area.
An immediate result of the on-going “Rensselaer Rising” effort is a $10 Million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Application the City of Rensselaer will be submitting to New York State. The city has put out a call for transformative projects to support in an area that includes most of the BOA study area and extends along the waterfront to the Hilton Park and Boat launch. “New York State is presently experiencing a housing shortage,” said Thomas Hulihan, Director of Planning and Development for the City of Rensselaer. “Due to the significant housing development in the city, and the potential for more development especially along the waterfront, the city was recently designated a “Pro-Housing Community” by New York State and this will greatly enhance our DRI application,” concluded Hulihan.
The City of Rensselaer will be hosting meetings to review the “Rensselaer Rising” long range plan, and to receive input on what investments are needed for the expanded Downtown Revitalization, for inclusion in the $10 Million Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Application. The public is invited to help us prioritize our projects on October 1, 2024 from 3:00PM to 6:00PM at Rensselaer City Hall (62 Washington Avenue) and on October 2, 2024 from 3:00PM to 4:00PM at the Rensselaer Public Library (676 East Street).
HELP US PRIORITIZE OUR PROJECTS
October 1, 2024 from 3:00PM to 6:00PM at Rensselaer City Hall (62 Washington Avenue)
October 2, 2024 from 3:00PM to 4:00PM at Rensselaer Public Library (676 East Street