By DENISE A. RAYMO
MALONE — The Village of Malone was awarded $2.1 million for renovations at the Hotel Flanagan, considered the lynch pin for redevelopment in downtown Malone.
Imperial Industrial Park in the City of Plattsburgh and the Ausable Horse Nail Co. complex in the Village of Keeseville also received money in the third round of the Restore NY Program, announced Wednesday by Gov. David A. Paterson.
In all, 79 projects across the state received $153.6 million to revitalize communities, stabilize neighborhoods and invite investment.
FLANAGAN
The Flanagan project has been on hold more than a year when the sagging economy discouraged bankers from loaning UICC Holding Corp. LLC the money it needed to complete the proposed Best Western Flanagan and Hotel Suites.
Last month, the property was sold at a foreclosure auction and secured for $500,000 by Stone Mountain Prime LLC, which holds the mortgage.
UICC and its president, Frank Cositore Jr., had 30 days — until Sept. 6 — to pay off the mortgage to retain the property.
Cositore announced more than a year ago that an unnamed investor in London was going to loan UICC $13.6 million to finish the $20 million project.
But he has not seen any of it.
About $4 million has already been spent cleaning out the accumulated debris, removing the windows, fixing the roof and testing for asbestos. Floors have been removed, electrical work has been done, and the outside brick has been painted.
The grant application states that the $2,164,751 awarded will be used toward converting the Flanagan into a 101-room hotel with street-level commercial space.
The complex is expected to include a restaurant and nightclub, serve high-end clientele and host conferences and national events.
"The community has identified downtown revitalization as a priority economic-development strategy, and the hotel's high visibility and connection to local history make it a key component to the success of downtown," the state's news release reads.
"I can tell you how I feel — fantastic," Malone Village Board member Susan Hafter said Wednesday. "We've worked long and hard, but it shows you the meaning of tenacity when there were so many times you could've given up."
She said the village and town jointly investing in a comprehensive economic-development strategy through Camoin Associates "was the key piece that brought it all together. And I think the bank will put more money into it now that it sees the state has given some."
Village Mayor Brent Stewart said having Malone snag such a big grant "is exceptional."
He said the decisions about which projects got funding seemed to be based on restoration of existing, older buildings, rather than financing new ones.
Stewart also credited Camoin Associates for its work on this grant and others that the village recently saw approved for Main Street revitalization and water-delivery improvements.
Greater Malone Chamber of Commerce Director Hugh Hill said he was ecstatic when he heard about the Flanagan funding.
"I think this was the right time and the right project. And do you realize in the past few weeks, Malone has received $3.2 million in grant money? Something's working in our favor. This is going to help restore and revitalize a part of downtown Malone, and I think it's really going to leverage more private investment."
IMPERIAL PARK
David Bray, property manager at Imperial Industrial Park, welcomed the announcement. He said the money will be used for several rehabilitation projects, including replacing and insulating about 200,000 square feet of roof, restoration of one or two rail spurs to the property and continued installation of energy-efficient lighting.
Bray said the latter had already begun as part of $1.7 million the owners have spent renovating the mill.
"This grant will allow us to speed our other projects up and make space available sooner."
Discussions are under way with a number of possible tenants. Others that are already there, such as Nova Bus supplier Cintube, have options on additional space.
Bray thanked City of Plattsburgh Mayor Donald Kasprzak for his support throughout the process. Kasprzak said the announcement is tremendous news for Imperial, the City of Plattsburgh and the North Country.
"This Restore NY grant will be a tremendous benefit in attracting tenants and creating hundreds of future jobs at Imperial Industrial Park. I am thankful for the governor's support and will continue to work with him in the future." Bray also thanked Ken Primard of the city's Community Development Office.
"He was the guy who called me up and said I should take a look at this," Bray said.
Primard also accompanied Bray to Albany for an orientation on Restore NY funding.
Bray said Rosemary Redmond and Roseanne Murphy of Empire State Development were instrumental in securing the funding and that Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas also played a key role.
Douglas said the funding has been one of the chamber's top priorities.
"With this support, the Imperial complex can be made ready to accommodate a great many more tenants, offering the flexible and expandable space that many of our Canadian prospects are especially anxious to find and with access to the city's cheap electricity, as well."
AUSABLE HORSE NAIL
The Village of Keeseville was awarded $630,000 to co-sponsor Adirondack Architectural Heritage as it revitalizes the vacant but historic Ausable Horse Nail Co. site along the Ausable River.
An architectural heritage center, rental space and apartments will be built, as well as four studio/living spaces for working artists.
"We're on a roll," Mayor Meegan Rock said with a laugh because a few days ago the village received word that it had secured a $300,000 housing-rehabilitation grant.
"This is huge for the village," she said. "AARCH has acquired gorgeous stone buildings that have been empty for a number of years.
"They are right along the river and near the arch bridge. This is going to be a really good thing for the village, and I'm excited."
E-mail Denise A. Raymo at: draymo@pressrepublican.com
