The Jamestown Planning Commission and staff during the Oct. 9 Gateway Lofts public hearing.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown Planning Commission is meeting Tuesday in city hall and will continue its review of site plans for the proposed Gateway Lofts project.

The meeting comes just one week after a public hearing was held focusing on the project and with more than 80 people in attendance.

The Planning Commission meeting is required to review site plans for the $31 million project and act on any permits needed to allow the project to move forward.

The Gateway Lofts project is an effort by Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL), Community Helping Hands and the YWCA of Jamestown to provide 80 single and multi-family housing units in the upper floors of the Gateway Center on Water St.

Of these units, 39 would offer affordable housing options for low income residents, 16 would go to single-parent families assisted by the YWCA, and 25 units would be administered by STEL and designated for non-violent individuals who are homeless and have a serious mental illness or a substance use disorder – with a history of criminal offending or are at risk of offending.

The Gateway Center is the former Chautauqua Hardware furniture manufacturing company and part of the project would also include environmental remediation. It currently houses several service agencies including the Mental Health Association, Community Helping Hands and the St. Susan Center – which developers and supporter say make it an ideal location for the development project.

During last week’s hearing several questions from the public were asked about the project, including safety and environmental concerns as well as the large price tag associated with renovating the building.

Representatives for the project offered their responses during the hearing and now it’s up to the planning commission to determine if the project should proceed or if other issues still need to be addressed.

According to the developers, support for the project has been given by several local officials, including: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Catherine Young, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, County Executive George Borrello, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and IDA director Mark Geise, Sheriff Joseph Gerace, county Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler, and the Homeless Coalition.

Tuesday’s planning commission meeting begins at 3:30 p.m. on the 4^th floor of city hall in the mayors conference room and is open to the public.

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JAMESTOWN – More than 80 people showed up Tuesday night for the Jamestown Planning Commission’s public hearing on the proposed Gateway Lofts housing development.

At the start of the two-hour hearing, representatives from Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL) went over the updated details of the project proposed for the Gateway Center on Water Street in Jamestown, which is the site of the former Chautauqua Hardware building.

Attorney Steven Ricca of Bond, Schoeneck & King and representing Southern Tier Environments for Living shows updated site plans for the proposed Gateway Lofts project during the Oct. 9 public hearing in the Jamestown City Council Chambers.

The proposal project is now an estimated $31 million with a total of 80 housing units. Of these units, 39 unites on the 2nd floor would offer affordable housing options by Community Helping Hands, 16 units on the 3rd floor would go to single-parent families assisted by the YWCA of Jamestown, and 25 units on the 4th floor administered by STEL would be designated for non-violent individuals who are homeless and have a serious mental illness or a substance use disorder with a history of criminal offending or are at risk of offending.

STEL attorney Steven Ricca with the law form Bond, Schoeneck and King also announced that after the Planning Commission expressed some concerns over the project during its September meeting, the developers are now committed to purchasing two additional adjacent properties to create more green space opportunity for residents, especially children, who would be living in the development. They also said that they would increase the number of parking spaces to bring the project closer in compliance with city code.

The group also re-emphasized why the location was selected, saying the Gateway Center project is in a centrally located area where several other social service organizations are based – including Community Helping Hands, Love Inc., BOCES, the Mental Health Association, and St. Susan’s Soup Kitchen.

“The whole point of leveraging all the community organizations and resources is to be efficient and make the best use of taxpayer dollars – which in this case would be limited to state and federal dollars – and to leverage centers of critical mass as is encouraged in the 1998 city comprehensive plan,” Ricca said.

As for the public comment, 27 different people offered comments related to support or concerns for the project, as well as asking questions focusing on issues related to the site plans and environmental review, as well as general questions about the need and cost for the project.

“My vision for this program is to have single parents and families come out of the third floor, have people on the second floor and the fourth floor become citizens of the city that raise their children to not be in the same place that they are in. My vision for this program is to make this a reality for all of us and I know that we all want that,” said YWCA Executive Director Jacqueline Chiarot Phelps.

Andrew O’Brien, who had served on the county’s Opioid Addiction Task Force, voiced his support for the Gateway Lofts project during the Oct. 9 public hearing.

Andrew O’Brien, who had worked at UPMC Chautauqua prior to retiring and also served on the county’s Opioid Addiction Task Force.

“A couple years ago the county’s task force on opioid addiction visited a model program in Canandaigua similar to this and shared details of the transitional housing program being developed at UPMC Chautauqua and the executive director of that program asked what are you going to do about permanent supportive housing, rather than just transitional housing. He was emphasizing that if you’re going to have a comprehensive approach, particular to mental health problems and substance abuse problems including the opioid epidemic, you need to have the right levels of care in place and not just bits of the system to help resolve the issues,” O’Brien said. “So I need to point out today that is still one of the more substantial needs that we have in Chautauqua County and in Jamestown.”

“Safe, quality, affordable housing and all the supports that are needed to empower those living in those housing are the most basic determinants of public health,” explained County Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler. “Gateway lofts project provides an incredible opportunity to improve the overall physical and mental health of our community. ”

City resident and at large councilman Andrew Liuzzo had some concerns for the proposed project related to both the cost as well as the health hazards that could come from housing people in a building previously used for manufacturing.

“Is this funding secured? Because if it’s not, then what are we talking about? If it is, is this the best place to put $34 million?”asked city resident and at large councilman Andrew Liuzzo. who was also concerned with the amount of toxic chemical residue that could still be in the building because it was once a manufacturing plant. “If this comes from a Brownfield grant, then why don’t you take something like the building on Harrison and Willard that’s already half fallen down? Knock that down and building something new. I’m not saying that this is not a good intended project but I think there’s other ways to do this, especially if the money’s not there.”

“We have to decide where are we going to go and what direction are we going to lead the people of Jamestown? Are we going to lead people back to work or is this going to be the beginning of more big government, more social services in the city of Jamestown that has been cultivated by the present administration for the past 17 years?” asked city resident Anthony Toda, adding, “Once the cost of this rehab goes through, what’s going to sustain the ongoing costs of this operation?”

In all a total of 14 different questions were asked and the developers did their best to address each one, explaining that if the project hadn’t been proposed for the current location, it’s unlikely the brownfield site would see any environmental remediation. Developers said the project would be covered primarily through state and federal funding and tax credits that it wouldn’t be able to receive if it were proposed elsewhere.

According to the developers, support for the project has been given by several local officials, including: Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Catherine Young, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, County Executive George Borrello, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and IDA director Mark Geise, Sheriff Joseph Gerace, county Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler, and the Homeless Coalition.

The city planning commission and staff

Planning Commission Chair Greg Rabb told WRFA after the hearing was over that he was impressed with the turnout.

“I’m always heartened when I see this many people. Even if I don’t agree with people, I’m always happy to see this many people turn out, especially if they are residents from the city. I welcome our friends from outside of the city, but as soon as somebody tells me they live in this city I pay particular attention,” Rabb said “And it was a beautiful day. I think there were record-breaking temperatures today, so for folks to give up their evening to come and talk to us makes me feel good because that means a lot of people in Jamestown care about what our next steps are.”

Rabb said that the planning commission will likely consider the revised site plans for the loft project when it holds its monthly meeting next Tuesday at 4 p.m. in City Hall.

Artist’s rendering of the Gateway Lofts project upon completion.

JAMESTOWN – Mayor Sam Teresi said he’s holding off on weighing in on a proposed $34 million housing development project until more details come forward.

In August the Southern Tier Environments for Living (STEL) used the city’s Strategic Planning and Partnership Commission meeting to publicly unveiled its proposed $34 million Gateway Lofts project at the Gateway Center on Water Street in the city. Joining STEL in the effort is Community Helping Hands and the YWCA of Jamestown.

Developers describe the project as a multifamily, affordable housing project that would include 70 housing units over three stories of the Gateway Center building, which was formerly the long-time home of the now closed Chautauqua Hardware manufacturing business and currently houses several local organizations, including St. Susan Center, Community Helping Hands, Love Inc., and the Mental Health Association of Chautauqua County.

With 75,000 square feet of unused space at The Gateway Center, the plan for the new lofts project is to convert the fourth floor into 25 housing units as part of a non-violent offender program for men and women with a
mental health diagnosis and/or a substance abuse problem; the third floor would provide 16 permanent, supportive
housing units for homeless families; and the second floor would provide 39 units of affordable housing for families who are income-eligible. The first floor will continue to host a network of nonprofits and serve as a hub for the sorts of services that tenants of the project will need.

According to the developers, support for the project has been given by several local officials, including Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Catherine Young, Assemblyman Andrew Goodell, County Executive George Borrello, Deputy County Executive for Economic Development and IDA director Mark Geise, Sheriff Joseph Gerace, county Health and Human Services Director Christine Schuyler, and the Homeless Coalition.

But city officials have been reluctant to endorse the project, including Mayor Teresi.

Sam Teresi

“I think it’s important to allow the developers and the other participants to give their presentation as to what they envision the project to be, an update report as to where they stand – and I’ve heard figures anywhere from $28 to $36 million on the project and that’s a big lift for any type of project, let alone in a small market like this – to see where they’re at in the fundraising stage, and to see the final plans that will be brought forward to the city planning commission, because they’re still not final,” Teresi told WRFA following Monday’s Jamestown City Council meeting.

The mayor also reminds residents that while the project has a significant price tag, no funding for the project would come from local city tax payers.

“Nobody has come to the city and asked us for any type of financial role to play with the project. I don’t anticipate they will. They haven’t indicated that they will be knocking on our doors for any financial assistance and even if they did, given the tight budget that we’re dealing with I’m not sure how we would be able to do that,” Teresi said. “Also with constitutional restrictions, we are not able to gift or loan local tax dollars for any type of initiative – public, private, not for profit, or otherwise – it’s a violation of the gifts provision in the state constitution. Any role that we would play in any project is with money that we were able to obtain from other federal and state resources.”

Also holding off on endorsing the project is any member of the Jamestown City Council.  Council President Marie Carrubba is an employee of STEL and will likely not provide an endorsement one way or the other due to that conflict of interest.

Funding would come from state and federal grants as well as through historic and brownfield tax credits, which allow investors to provide capital for the renovation effort and then receive tax credits that reduce the amount of federal or state taxes they have to pay.

Senator Catherine Young (R-Olean)

“This is a vital, collaborative effort that will transform a former industrial building into vitally-needed housing for individuals and families in transition,” Senator Young said in a media release sent out in August. “Safe, affordable housing is essential for those seeking to build better, stronger lives for themselves and their children. I was glad to be able to secure state funding for such a worthwhile project and look forward to the positive impact it will have for years to come.”

“I was very impressed with the vision of the plan,” Sheriff Gerace said in the same release. “This could be a remarkable advantage for people that are moving, through diversion, into such housing. So I am very encouraged. It’s something that I’ve been looking at for a very long time.”

The Jamestown Planning Commission will host a public hearing on the project on Tuesday, Oct. 9 at 6 p.m. in the city council chambers.

WRFA will also have more details about the project from the developers during our Community Matters program, which is broadcast Thursday afternoon, Oct. 4 at 5 p.m.