Five downtown projects selected to receive NY Main Street grants through BDC
Four Main Street projects and another on Ellicott Street will be receiving New York Main Street grants, it was announced at today’s Batavia Development Corporation’s monthly meeting.
BDC Executive Director Andrew Maguire said that grants totaling $276,977 will be distributed to the following applicants who are planning to rehabilitate buildings within the Downtown Revitalization Initiative/Business Improvement District:
-- 206 E. Main St., (Main Street Pizza Company, The Spa at Artemis Spa building), $75,000, for a two-phased project consisting of façade renovation and, eventually, development of five residential units upstairs.
-- 201 E. Main St. (GO ART!), $75,000, for renovation of the sprinkler system and conversion to a mixed-use building with a single “artist residency.”
-- 219 E. Main St. (Fieldstone Private Wealth), $50,000, for façade and brick work, and exterior lighting.
-- 97 Main St. (old Genesee Bank building), $50,000, for rehabilitation of the first two floors to make it a viable commercial unit.
-- 33-39 Ellicott St. (Batavia Tailors building), $26,977, for heating/air conditioning work and façade renovation to achieve a uniform look with the rest of the building.
Maguire said the BDC received 11 applications for the grants.
New York Main Street grants are administered through the state’s Homes and Community Renewal agency to units of local government, and not-for-profit organizations for the revitalization of historic downtowns, mixed-use neighborhood commercial districts, and village centers.
Targeted commercial/residential improvements include façade renovations, interior commercial and residential building upgrades, and streetscape enhancements.
Entrepreneurs who accept the grants pay for expenses up front and are reimbursed according to parameters set by NYMS administrators. Projects under the program are given a two-year window for completion.
In other action, the board approved the audit for the fiscal year of April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020 conducted by Laura Landers of Freed Maxick.
The audit noted a “material weakness” in that legal services in the amount of $28,591 were not recorded as accounts payable and a $20,000 grant from the City of Batavia was recorded as revenue instead of unearned revenue, since the requirements of the grant agreement had not been met as of March 31. Thus, the agency’s net position was overstated by $48,591.
The accounting firm recommended that the BDC obtain listings of outstanding legal fees from attorneys involved and review funding sources to ensure all revenue has met the requirements to be considered earned as of year-end.
Maguire said that management is taking the steps stipulated by Freed Maxick to correct these deficiencies.
The agency’s net position increased by about $20,000 from 2019 to 2020 – from $152,741 to $172,569.
The board also voted to amend the bylaws to increase the number of voting members from nine to 11 and then approved adding Pier Cipollone, a former BDC president, as a full-fledged director.
