LOCKPORT —
For years, the Harrison Place building on Walnut was a sign of Lockport’s economic success, as radiators were pumped out every day for General Motors vehicles.
Now, the building’s usage could be another sign of economic improvement for the city.
The Western New York Regional Council was one of the four winning councils in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s revamped program for allocating state dollars for economic development projects. The Regional Economic Development Council program gave the Western New York grouping $100.3 million, $8.7 million of which is heading to Niagara County projects.
The City of Lockport had two of the local winning projects, which involved Harrison Place and the homeownership program.
“We’re very excited,” said Lockport Mayor Michael W. Tucker. “It’s going to allow us to do some great things.”
Locally, the development of Harrison Place is a $260,000 project that will lead to the creation of 23 jobs, most of which will go to low- to moderate-income individuals.
Plans for Harrison Place include designing an entrance for Building 1 on Washburn Street. There’s also the creation of a permanent home for the Challenger Learning Center.
“That was a big piece of the application,” said R. Charles Bell, city planning and development director and president of the Greater Lockport Development Corp.
The city will also receive $400,000 to assist 20 low and moderate income households with the purchase of a home in Lockport.
Lockport Main Street, Inc. received $251,300 for building renovations. Downtown businesses who want to make improvements to their buildings can receive the money to pay for it from Lockport Main Street. The businesses would have to match a small portion of the grant.
“It gives them the opportunity to do things they wouldn’t normally be able to do,” Tucker said.
Cuomo announced in July he was changing the way the state gave out money and tax credits for economic development projects. The move led to the creation of 10 regional economic development councils statewide. Those councils, which consisted of local leaders in business, education and labor, developed regional economic development strategies that were reviewed by a committee in consideration for a total of $785 million in available state assistance.
The Western New York council was chosen as one of the four winners by the review committee. The region, which includes Niagara, Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Alleghany counties, receives the $100.3 million in funding and tax credits for a total of 96 projects.
The Niagara County Industrial Development Agency received $250,000 for Lockport-based Rubberform Recycled Products. The money will be used to purchase equipment to expand production of products made from recycled tire rubber. Rubberform will be able to double its production of products, resulting in the creation of 3 to 5 new jobs and increase the recycling of waste tires, the council said.
Aside from the city, the Somerset Railroad Corp. will receive $164,900 to repair the main track on the Gulf Bridge. The work will improve train speeds and preserve rail service for coal delivery to AES Somerset.
Also receiving grant money is the Town of Newfane. The town will use $63,800 to make improvements to the Olcott marina. Those improvements include building docks to accommodate larger boats and repairing the reinstalling the boardwalk along the shoreline.
The Niagara Wine Trail received $30,000 for marketing and the installation of signs on the trail route.
The other regional councils that won grants was Central New York, the North Country and Long Island.
Contact reporter Joe Olenick at 439-9222, ext. 6241.
Local News
WNY gets $100M in economic development funding
Several Eastern Niagara projects funded
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Palace, Hartland get Greenway funding
The Historic Palace Theatre and the Town of Hartland both were cleared Tuesday to receive Niagara River Greenway funding for improvement projects.
The eight-member Host Communities Standing Committee voted unanimously to approve funding requests of $151,000 for the Palace and $244,000 for Hartland, which is planning a multi-phase town park enhancement project.
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Erie Canal photo contest underway
The seventh annual Erie Canalway photo contest is under way.
Entries are being accepted now through Sept. 7. Winning photos will be published in the 2013 Erie Canalway calendar.
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Jobless totals drop slightly
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The New York State Department of Labor reported Tuesday about 1,000 city residents were without a job in April, the fifth straight month with over 1,000 unemployed. That was down from the 1,100 it reported in March, however, the number of employed stayed the same at about 9,700 people.
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Cutting the travel time
For the most part, there is a lot of planning that goes into traveling. Some like to handle the details on their own, making arrangements on the phone or using travel websites to book hotels, planes, vehicles and so on.
But lately, working with a travel agent is becoming more popular.
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Stan Moreland, who has served as marshal for the Memorial Day Parade since 1994, will be honored as grand marshal for the 2012 holiday on Sunday. The parade will start at the Veterans Memorial at 1 p.m. and by the time it reaches the court house, the Marine Veteran will be in a convertible.
Moreland, a 62-year-old Lockport native enlisted in the Marines at 17 after dropping out of school. He was served three years and while in the service, he was a welder and stationed in Japan.
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