Peekskill’s Downtown Revitalization Fund (DRF) announced a new set of applicants who will receive grant money totaling $99,758. The funds are meant to help local businesses in the Downtown Revitalization Initiative achieve capital goals.
The beneficiaries are New Era Creative Space Inc.,; Peekskill Performing Arts Center; Broad Howard LLC; 1 North Division DAK LLC; 1012 Park Street LLC; 1006 Park Street LLC; and Persephone’s Pearl.
Abi Oridedi, the DRF program administrator and consultant, provided an update at the Common Council’s work session on Monday, May 19.
She explained that, from the $10 million available through the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI), $630,000 was set aside for the DRF. After a request for proposals, the city selected nine businesses in the DRI district to receive funding. When one grant recipient dropped out, leaving about $111,000, a second round of applications was opened.
Of the 10 applications, seven were selected for a total of $99,758 in grant money. Each successful applicant will provide the 10 percent match in funding that is required. One exception is New Era Creative Space Inc., which will provide 52 percent of its $101,500 project. The seven projects have a total of $158,000 in project costs.
Funding across the projects will be used for fabrication, design, exterior painting, repairs and maintenance such as roof and gutters, storefront signage, and capital improvements to exterior façade and interior commercial space.
Oridedi said they were searching for projects that would add and retain jobs, allow for business creation and expansion, and activate vacant and underutilized spaces.
Of the seven projects, Councilman Brian Fassett said it appeared three had the same owner. David Kaminsky, a property owner representative at the Peekskill Business Improvement District (BID), is a managing member of 1006 Park Street LLC, 1012 Park Street LLC, and 1 North Division DAK LLC, according to an application he made to join the BID earlier this year.
Director of Planning Carol Samol said of the three applicants who were not selected, one stopped communicating with the city, one’s scope of work was too large, and one proposed installing in-house equipment that the city felt would not meet the DRF goals.
Each applicant was required to attach two quotes to the application, which informed the estimated project cost. Once selected, applicants cannot make changes to the project scope nor request additional funding. There is $12,000 left in the Downtown Revitalization Fund, but it is unlikely to be used to fund additional projects.
“The state does give the city the discretion to give a little bit more money for projects that have a little bit of overrun, but we would have to make that available to all the projects,” Oridedi said. “So if you do it for one project, you have to do it for every other project, so we shy away from doing that.”
She said they are going to work with the state to make a decision on how they can use the rest of the money.
After formal notifications are sent to all DRF applicants, Oridedi said they would start to work with each selected project to prepare the scope of work and begin the environmental review process. Upon all required approvals, they will present a package to the state to get the go-ahead for the bidding process to hire vendors.
Oridedi also provided updates on the eight projects from the first round of DRF funding. Of those eight, two are completed, with disbursement of funds in progress, one is 95 percent complete, one is 80 percent complete, one is 50 percent complete, two have construction bids in progress, and one has a funding agreement in progress, according to Oridedi.
