The Furniture Mart building at the corner of W Second and Washington Streets.

Jamestown City Council has approved moving forward with a $2 million Restore New York application to redevelop the Furniture Mart Building.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said they increased the request amount to $2 million because that’s the limit. The original Restore New York Application approved in September 2022 only requested $500,000 in grant funding.

Gebbie Foundation Executive Director Greg Edwards said the redevelopment project is estimated to cost over $18 million. He said if the investment happens, it will have a dramatic impact on the city, “Right now, it’s projected to be high-end residential, plus some modest level residential, hotel property in the middle of the structure… it’s nine floors… in the first and second floors, maybe the third floor, and maybe commercial retail.”

Edwards said they’re also working with the developer to add more parking, “We’re working really hard in partnership with the city to convince the developer to also add a multi-level parking structure adjacent to and attached to the Furniture Mart building to enhance its positive impact on the city. Because, clearly we need substantial growth in our parking capacity.”

Edwards said other funding in place includes a $1.34 million Empire State Development grant.
Savarino Companies of Buffalo is in negotiations with the current owner, Art Bailey, to purchase the 172,217 square foot building.

A public hearing on the Restore New York application will be held today at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on the second floor of City Hall. It is open to the public and will be livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

The Furniture Mart building at the corner of W Second and Washington Streets.

Jamestown City Council will hold a special voting session tonight to vote on a Restore New York funding application.

The City of Jamestown is applying to Empire State Development for $2 million in Restore New York Communities Initiative funding to redevelop the Furniture Mart Building.

This application replaces a previous application requesting $500,000 that Council approved in September 2022. Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said that application was not submitted due to not being ready.

At the September 26 meeting about the previous Restore New York application request, Surdyk stated that Savarino Companies of Buffalo would be the developer of the building at 111 West Second Street. She said they have a negotiated offer to buy the 172,217 square foot building from owner Art Bailey along with at least two other nearby parcels. The property is currently assessed at $800,000.

The special session will take place at 6:45 p.m. in the City Council Chambers located on the second floor of City Hall. The meeting is open to the public and will be livestreamed on jamestownny.gov.

If the measure passes, a public hearing will then be held at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, January 24, 2023, in the City Council Chambers at City Hall.

Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk addresses City Council on Restore NY Grant application request (September 26, 2022)

A request to apply for a $500,000 Restore New York grant to redevelop the Furniture Mart Building has been approved by Jamestown City Council.

Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said Savarino Companies of Buffalo would be the developer of the building at 111 West Second Street. She said they have a negotiated offer to buy the 172,217 square foot building from owner Art Bailey along with at least two other nearby parcels. The property is currently assessed at $800,000.

Surdyk said other properties were looked at downtown for the Restore New York program, but only the Furniture Mart Building project was far enough long to meet criteria to apply to Empire State Development Corporation.

She said that criteria includes the building being vacant, or 50% not occupied, “The community must be qualified as a disadvantaged community, it must be in a Brownfield Opportunity Area, it also needs an Empire Zone qualification, feasibility and readiness need to be completed, committed financing, expected to start within 12 months, induce commercial investment, and improve local housing, and leverage other state and federal programs.”

Surdyk said the property will be mixed use with low-income and market rate apartments, “As far as the rest of the building program, they’re anticipating a mix of apartments, a boutique hotel, and then the rest will be commercial.”

Surdyk addressed a concern raised by citizen Pete Miraglia about parking in the area, “There are two other parcels that are part of the package. So, as Mr. Miraglia mentioned, in the past there had been discussions about doing a parking ramp. That is still part of this plan and would not fall on the city. That would be part of the development and the developer would be responsible for that parking ramp.”

The Furniture Mart Building project did receive $1,346,000 in Consolidated Funding Application monies in 2019 which Surdyk said is unexpended. She said Savarino will have access to use that funding addition to whatever grant funds received. She anticipates they also will be applying for Historic Tax Credits in addition to other funding for the project.

If the Restore New York grant is awarded, the City of Jamestown would be required to provide a 10%, or $50,000, match. Surdyk did not say where that funding would come from at this time.

The Furniture Mart building on the corner of Washington and W. Second Streets in Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Post-Journal is offering more details about a proposed plan to redevelop the historic Jamestown Furniture Mart Building.

In a recent state grant application seeking up to $1.5 million for the effort, both the Gebbie Foundation and the Krog Corporation have been listed as the potential redevelopers in the project. The Jamestown City Council gave its endorsement to the grant application during its June 2019 voting session.

According to Gebbie Foundation executive director Greg Edwards, officials have been working with The Harrison Group, based out of Lockport, to create a package detailing the potential costs and economic development incentive packages available through state, county and local agencies to renovate the building.

The Gebbie Foundation owns the exclusive option to purchase the building from its current owner, Arthur Bailey. The Krog Corporation is working on the redevelopment designs. If funding can be secured, the overhual project would then move forward.

The Krog Corp. is also the developer behind the Chautauqua Harbor Hotel, BWB Building and the Riverwalk Center.

The plan is to redevelop the ten-story building into a mixed use facility for both commercial and residential use. The total estimated cost is between $15-$16 million.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council has given its endorsement to the submission of three applications for the latest round of development funding from New York State Empire Development’s Consolidated Funding Application program. The endorsements include a last-minute resolution involving a $1.5 million grant submission for the redevelopment of the historic Furniture Mart building in downtown Jamestown.

• LISTEN TO INTERVIEW WITH MAYOR TERESI VIA SOUNDCLOUD

The Jamestown City Council during its June 24 voting session.

According to the resolution added under new business Monday night, the grant application is being submitted by the Gebbie Foundation for the redevelopment of the Furniture Mart Building at 111 West Second Street and the construction of an adjacent multi-level parking facility.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi said Gebbie is working with a yet-to-be-named, out of town developer on helping to secure funding for the project, which would have a total estimated price tag of $20 million. The proposed project will include a mix of commercial and residential units in the 172,000 square-foot, nine story structure, along with an estimated 300+ parking spaces.

If the project were to move forward, it would require the developer to purchase the property from the current owner Art Bailey under the name US Comm Habitat Co. According to the county tax map, the full property value is $800,000.

Before the Gebbie Foundation could submit the grant application, it had to have the city council’s support for the submission. The council voted 9-0 in favor of the resolution.

The Furniture Mart building at the corner of W Second and Washington Streets.

The Gebbie also tried to secure state funding for a redevelopment of the property in 2017 when it was included in the local list of prospective projects for the $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant. That application was made on behalf of Ellicott Development Company, whose chairman is Buffalo area developer and former Gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino. It ultimately was left off of the final list of projects that would be sharing the $10 million in funding.

In addition to the Furniture Mart CFA grant submission, the city council gave its unanimous approval to two other CFA submissions.

One would be for $200,000 in funding for the Enchanted Mountain Spirits distillery to help pay for its $500,000 relocation effort from its previous location on Water St. to its new location at the former HSBC Bank building in downtown Jamestown.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation (JRC) is sponsoring the Enchanted Mountain Spirits relocation effort and the businesses is operated by Mick O’Neill.  O’Neill told WRFA earlier this month that if all funding for the relocation is secure, his operation will begin producing spirits out of the new location by March of next year, with a goal of employing 40+ within three years.

The other CFA application was for $100,000 for the proposed Jamestown Skatepark Project.

An artistic rendering of what the Jamestown Skatepark could look like once built (image courtesy of Jamestown Department of Development)

Earlier this year it was announced that the project was awarded a Built to Play Skatepark grant of up to $250,000 in matching funds. Built to Play Skatepark Grants are made possible through a partnership between the Tony Hawk Foundation and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr., Foundation.

The up to $250,000 award requires the Jamestown community to raise at least $50,000 in local matching funds in order to qualify for the Built to Play grant money, but includes ongoing support and guidance from Tony Hawk Foundation staff. The skatepark would be a poured concrete structure. The proposed location would be the site of the former Jamestown Trolley building between the Chadakoin River and the West Third Street to Fairmount Avenue section of the Greater Jamestown Riverwalk, fronting Fairmount Avenue.

Because the proposed site is in the designated downtown development area, it is eligible to apply for the CFA funding. In addition to the CFA grant, the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation has also established a local fund for residents and businesses to donate.

Once the applications are submitted, the Empire State Development council will review and announce whether or not it will receive any or all the grant funding by the end of this year.

The council also approved submitting the 2019 Community Development Block Grant action plan to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. This year the city will get just under $1.17 million in CDBG funds and just over $315,000.