The public and private sectors are celebrating streetscape improvements in downtown Cohoes as they turn their attention to redeveloping areas impacted by a devastating 2017 fire.
Cohoes city officials and representatives from National Grid recently marked the completion of streetscape improvements on Remsen Street during a gathering at City Hall. City officials say Phase III cost about $700,000 and involved improvements to sidewalks, better marked intersections and underground utilities.
At Monday’s press conference, Cohoes City Planner Joseph Seman-Graves detailed what was accomplished.
“That included a new range of features such as sidewalks, curb transitions, better marked intersections, as well as paved roads and underground utilities,” Seman-Graves said. “And this was part of a multi-phase project that encompassed several years and took over $3 million in funding to complete the Remsen Street corridor. This specific phase had a budget of about $700,000. The project was partially funded by a $300,000 award from Homes and Community Renewal through a community development block grant, through $100,000 through a National Grid Urban Center Commercial Corridor revitalization grant.”
The Albany County city is now turning its attention to redeveloping sites damaged by a massive downtown fire in November 2017 by hosting a series of public meetings to gather input. More than two dozen buildings were destroyed or damaged in that fire and several residents were left homeless. The fire started when a city man tried to forge a sword in a barrel in his backyard.
Seman-Graves says the initial focus will be stormwater and sewer upgrades, as well as environmental assessments to make the sites shovel-ready for future development.
Calling it a phoenix rising from the ashes, Democratic Capital Region state Assemblyman John McDonald, the city’s former mayor, touted the collaboration between local government, the state, and utility companies. He says Remsen Street is the center of a plan to bring new business and housing to Cohoes.
“Like anything else, this city is gritty, it’s resilient. We’ve said this before, I’ll say it again, the city is gonna come back.” Tomorrow night kicks off those public meetings to gather public input, which is always critical as we continue the great comeback,”
McDonald said, speaking yesterday/Monday at Cohoes City Hall. McDonald has close personal experience with fires like this one: one in 1988 burned his business, Marra’s Pharmacy.
Speaking alongside current city mayor Bill Keeler and representatives from the involved organizations in Cohoes Monday, McDonald expressed his feelings that the project was the most exciting thing he’d seen in Cohoes during his lifetime.
National Grid Regional Executive Brian Sano, whose company has provided significant grants to the project, emphasized the investments’ desired outcomes.
“This program is designed to revitalize the economy, increase tax revenues, and promote smart growth and sustainable investment in these business districts and commercial corridors.”
He also noted that the best plans keep the future in mind:
“Our hope is that this infrastructure improvement project will foster continued growth and redevelopment, bringing welcome jobs and enhancing the quality of life in the city of Cohoes and the greater Capital Region.”
Cohoes also recently received a $10 million state grant to revitalize its downtown.
