Jamestown Renaissance Corporation’s Neighborhood Project Manager Mary Maxwell and others present details from the JRC’s Housing Market Analysis and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Review to members of the Jamestown City Council Housing Committee during the committee’s Aug. 21 meeting.

JAMESTOWN – Four target area neighborhoods have been identified as the focus for any new strategies needed to help shore up housing value and market stability in Jamestown.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation shared details of its recently completed Housing Market Analysis and Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Review report with members of the Jamestown City Council’s housing committee on Monday night.

Representatives from the JRC went over the report prepared by Peter Lombardi from czb LLC, which offered details on the impact recent intervention programs had on target neighborhoods over a five-year period, as well as what new neighborhoods should be focused on during the next several years.

Examples of intervention programs include the Renaissance Block Challenge, the GROW Jamestown gardening and landscape program, and the establishment of Lakeview Ave. as a state and nationally recognized historic district. Each effort was largely funded by a combination of $1.25 million in program funding from the JRC ($350,000) and private investments by the property owners ($900,000).

According to the report, the neighborhoods that benefited from intensive intervention saw the average sale price of a single-family home increase by 5 percent. However, homes in neighborhoods that saw intermediate or only a small amount of intervention saw the average sale price go down by 13 percent. The average sale for homes in neighborhoods that didn’t get any intervention saw an increase of just under 2 percent.

As a result of the study findings, the JRC said it’s next round of intervention programs will focus on four neighborhoods in the city where there is a strong market area located next to a soft or very week housing market area: The Northside/Lakeview Focus Area;  the Western Gateway Focus Area; the Hazeltine/Forest Focus Area; and the Allen Park/Hospital Focus Area.

Some individuals in attendance raised questions about the report, as well as the conclusion that further investment should be provided in areas where there is a strong housing market. Patrick Morris, executive director of CODE, questioned why the funding isn’t being applied exclusively to neighborhoods that have seen housing prices decline, rather than also using the money in areas that have stability or seen a market increase.

“Our goal is to get the best value for the money we invest in a broader sense,” explained JRC board member Leonard Faulk. “One focus that we have is how do you develop an increased tax base? Part of our goal is how to we get people to have more confidence in the future so they are willing to invest more of their own money in housing improvements. That’s why we focus on areas where property owners can also invest their own money, instead of areas where property owners have little to no money to invest.”

Another attendee questioned the return on investment, considering more than $1.25 million in total investment had been made in the past target areas, with the 5 percent increase in housing prices in only some of the targeted areas being the final result, while other areas that saw a lesser amount of investment actually saw a decrease in housing prices.

Due to time constraints, a thorough discussion on the impact of the programs couldn’t take place. However, the report will also be presented to the full city council at an upcoming work session.

The JRC will be also be posting the housing report at jamestownrenaissance.org.

The free event, which is being funded by the New York State Council for the Humanities and coordinated by the city of Jamestown’s Cultural Bridges Action Team, will take place Saturday from 5 to 6 p.m. inside the Reg.

In light of the current economic crisis in Puerto Rico and the growing population of Puerto Ricans in Jamestown, this public discussion will address issues related to migration, inclusion, and the complex relationship between the U.S. and its Territory.

the topics that will be focused on include What are the larger economic and political forces that fuel this migration, What led to previous waves of migration, and how might the Jamestown community become more welcoming to newcomers.

Panelists for the forum will include Nelson Denis – a former New York State Assemblyman.  Indo Quiñones – an Outreach & Engagement Specialist/Technical Assistant at Evergreen Health Services. And Peter Lombardi – a Jamestown native, city planner, and local author.

The event will be moderated WRFA’s Jason Sample.

This event is part of a daylong celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month including art, food tastings, and live music.

The day begins with a public “Meet the Artist” reception at 2 p.m. in the 3^rd on 3^rd Gallery with Pablo Shine, one of two artists featured in the exhibit “Hispanic Heritage.”

David Gonzalez will perform with Poetic License during a free show for the community on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 7:30 p.m. at the Reg Lenna.

Also just before the forum at 4:45 p.m., the Reg Lenna will present a short video – Jamestown: The Welcoming City – examining the lives of local Hispanic citizens and their experiences in Jamestown.

The 5 p.m. forum will immediately be followed by a Latino Food Fiesta hosted by CHQ Foods, starting at about 6 p.m. A cash bar will be open to offset costs for the evening.

Also starting at 6 p.m. – four Videoworks students from Jamestown High School will be available to record any local residents who would like to tell share their story.

The evening will end with a free concert at 7:30 p.m. by David Gonzalez with the band, Poetic License.

All events are free and family-friendly.

Hispanic Heritage events are made possible by support from New York State Council on the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities and New York Council for the Humanities.

For more information, call 716.484.7070 or visit reglenna.com.

Mark Geise (left) is recognized by Chautauqua County Executive Vince Horrigan (right) during Wednesday’s legislature meeting. Geise is leaving his post as county deputy planning director to take serve as the Senior Project Director with the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation.

MAYVILLE – The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation will soon have a new staff member.

During Wednesday night’s Chautauqua County Legislature meeting it was announced that county deputy planning director Mark Geise would be leaving county government to work with JRC starting in January as it’s new Senior Planning Director. County executive Vince Horrigan made the announcement while recognizing Geise for his numerous accomplishments while working for the county.

JRC has been seeking a new number two since deputy director Peter Lombardi left the organization for a position in the private sector. However, Lombardi will still be assisting JRC as a contracted consultant.

The executive director of JRC is Greg Lindquist, who tells WRFA more details about Geise’s new role with JRC will be announced in the near future.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation is a public-private partnership founded in 2006 to support the development and implementation of revitalization strategies and projects in downtown Jamestown.

The meeting is part of “Unite North Main,” a project launched last month by the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation (JRC) to improve one of the city’s busiest gateway corridors. A master plan for the street is the project’s first phase and will be completed during the winter by Clark Patterson Lee, a design firm with an office on North Main Street.

“The goal of Unite North Main is to identify and ultimately implement strategies to improve residential quality of life along the corridor, to make the roadway more functional, safe, and attractive, and to boost the overall impression that local residents and visitors have when they travel the street,” said Greg Lindquist, JRC’s executive director. “Improving North Main Street, and using it as a template for improving the city’s other gateway corridors, is crucial to the overall success of our downtown and neighborhood revitalization efforts.”

The public meeting on November 24 – the first of several public engagement efforts that are being planned as part of the project – will give residents an opportunity to describe what they see as challenges and opportunities along North Main Street.

“We see this as a multi-year effort involving numerous community partners on a wide range of big projects and small projects,” said Peter Lombardi, JRC’s Senior Planning Consultant. “Participation by residents, property owners, businesses, and other institutions along North Main Street, as well as the broader community, will determine the success of the project.”

The plan for North Main Street is being funded by grants from the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, the Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation, Northwest Savings Bank, and the Chautauqua County Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Trust Fund.

For more information about the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation, please visit www.jamestownrenaissance.org or call 716-664-2477 ext 226.

The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation is a nonprofit organization that supports downtown and neighborhood revitalization in Jamestown, NY, by promoting reinvestment, stakeholder engagement, and innovation.

Greg Lindquist and Peter Lombardi of the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation provide details of the ‘Unite North Main’ project as Joe Rollman from Clark Paterson Lee, Jim Domagola of Northwest Savings Bank, and Brian Kulpa of Clark Patterson Lee look on.

JAMESTOWN – A study will soon be underway to determine what improvements can be made to one of the busiest corridors leading into downtown Jamestown.

On Thursday the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation held a press conference at the Clark Patterson Lee planning and architecture firm on N. Main St. to announce the agency has been selected to lead the ‘Unite North Main‘ project – a study on what can be done to improve the North Main Street corridor from the city line to Sixth St. in downtown Jamestown.

• VIEW UNITE NORTH MAIN TALKING POINTS

The portion of N. Main St. that will be covered in the Unite North Main project.

JRC deputy director Peter Lombardi said that North Main Street sees thousands of vehicles on a daily basis – many of which include visitors to the city.

“The [Jamestown] Urban Design Plan and the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan both identify the need to focus on gateway improvements,” Lombardi said. “I would say that one of the strengths that JRC can bring to the table in terms of focusing on this particular gateway is that with our downtown work and our neighborhood work, we’ve been able to show that it’s not the million dollar project that makes confidence happen and can turn things around. This will involve far-ranging funding partners eventually, including possibly the state or federal governments.”

Lombardi added that the corridor study will not only identify big ticket projects, but also smaller efforts that when combined, can go a long way to improving the appearance of the corridor.

“What we’ll be able to identify through this planning process is not just potentially million dollar projects over the next several years, but also $500 projects – a small landscaping project or some small signage projects, fixing up a porch that is projecting the wrong message to those who travel along North Main Street.”

Clark Patterson Lee associate Joe Rollman said that while the study process hasn’t yet gotten underway, his agency is already aware of the unique challenges found along the stretch of roadway.

“There’s a number of very awkward intersections, which would be an extremely expensive item to redesign or rework,” Rollman said, adding, “That’s not to say that we won’t look at it, but some of these things like the awkward intersection is going to be a challenge to work with. The presence of substantial overhead utility lines is something that we’re going to have to look at and, more than likely, work with.”

Rollman said that part of the study will involve community input, which will allow not only city leaders, but also residents who live in the nearby neighborhoods, an opportunity to offer their thoughts on how the corridor can be improved.

Jamestown City Council woman Marie Carrubba, who is the chair of the city’s housing committee and who also works on North Main Street, said she’s excited to see the project moving forward.

I’m really looking forward to it. [North Main Street] has been a challenge. I’ve worked with people in the senior housing across the street and it’s a challenge for them to try and get to the Rite Aid store. I value the input of how we can get people safely back and forth. As people are aging it’s going to be more of an issue as more people are using mobility devices,” Carrubba said, adding that safety for students is also an issue. “I watch students cross everyday, unsafely in some places, so anything we can do to make it safer for everyone, and improve the looks of it, I’m really excited about it.”

It will take several months for data to be collected for the study before it can be finalized.

Funding for the study, which won’t exceed $45,000, is provided by the Chautauqua County Housing Trust, Chautauqua Region Community Foundation, Northwest Savings Bank and Ralph C. Sheldon Foundation.

Can downtown Jamestown support a microbrewery/restaurant? The Jamestown Renaissance Corporation thinks it can.

JAMESTOWN, NY – The Jamestown City Council has given its approval for the application of three different grants from New York State to help with downtown economic development.

In addition to approving a grant application to help pay for feasibility study for an excursion train service between Jamestown and the Buffalo-Niagara Region, the city council approved two other grant applications that will be filed on behalf of the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation (JRC). One grant will be used to help with Phase II improvements to Wintergarden Plaza on N. Main St., while the other will be used to make improvements to the Lillian V. Ney Renaissance Center on the corner of W. Third and Washington Streets, so that it would be able to accommodate a downtown microbrewery and restaurant.

JRC deputy director Peter Lombardi says the microbrewery would be a brand new business to the area.

“This would be a new business in downtown Jamestown that I think will work in sync with the opening of the National Comedy Center next year and help to provide a lot more activity in that area between the Jamestown Savings Bank Arena and the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, that needs to become more active,” Lombardi said. “We need to have a bridge of activity between the west end of downtown and the east end to make it as positive an experience as possible for visitors.”

Lombardi said that the project could receive between $100,000 to $500,000 in funding from the state’s Main Street grant program. He added that because the planning is still in the preliminary stages, he could not provide the name of who currently is developing the micro brewery, only to say that they are not an already established business in the area.

Lombardi also said the state grant application for the Wintergarden Plaza improvements would be to cover 75 percent of the cost for the $130,000 project and would include improved seating and a canopy to provide more shade for the plaza.

A passenger excursion train, like the Delaware & Ulster Railroad service in Delaware County, NY (pictured), could be in Jamestown’s future, linking the city with Buffalo, 70 miles to the north. (Image courtesy of ScenicRailroadExcursions.com)

As for the excursion train service, it’s something that Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi first discussed publicly earlier this month, when he said the city department of development has created a task force, consisting of various community and regional stakeholders, to determine what would be needed to bring an excursion train service to Jamestown. As part of that process, it has identified a couple of consulting firms – including Stone Consulting of Warren, PA – that would be able to help create a detailed study and plan.

The mayor said the feasibility study will focus on four main areas, including the economic impact the excursion service would have o the region, as well as outline any opportunities and challenges associated with the project. It would also focus on what would be needed to renovate the abandoned engine house just to the west of the Train Station, and provide details of the business and operational plan needed for the excursion service.

All grants would be submitted through the New York State Consolidated Funding Application program, which has a deadline of July 31 in order for any proposed project to be eligible for the next round of founding from the state’s Economic Development Council.

Looking east on Fourth Street in downtown Jamestown, near its intersection with N. Main St. Since the 1970s, Fourth St. has been a three-lane, one-way thoroughfare through downtown. The JRC’s Peter Lombardi says the city may want to make the street two-way, which he believes would make it more inviting for economic development and related activity.

JAMESTOWN – Mayor Sam Teresi says he would probably support making Fourth Street a two-way street… but also cautions that it would be an expensive and lengthy process.

During his June interview with WRFA on our Community Matters program, Teresi talked briefly about the suggestion to make Fourth St. a two-way street in order to promote a more pedestrian-friendly environment and one that some claim would be more inviting for commerce.

For more than 40 years, Fourth Street has been a one-way street for 14 blocks of downtown – from Prendergast Ave. west to Monroe St. Teresi says that the suggestion to make the street two-way has been nothing new, and he even focused on making it a part of his masters theses during the early 1980s.

“My knowledge of this subject is that from the day that they made Fourth St. into a one-way street heading westbound in the alternate one-way street pattern of the downtown area, there have been calls for and discussions and research about returning it to two-way traffic, and I believe that analysis should continue,” Teresi told WRFA during his recent appearance on our Community Matters public affairs program.

Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi

But Teresi also said that converting Fourth Street into a two-way street is not something that he can simply recommend or that the city council can simply act on. He said an entire study would first need to take place to access downtown traffic patterns and what impact converting Fourth Street would have on those patterns. That would obviously cost money and it may take time for the city to receive the necessary funding that would be needed.

Still, the mayor said it’s probably a good idea to at least consider converting the street. “My general experience with one-way streets – except in the most congested, vehicle-heavy traffic situations – is that they have a dampening effect on pedestrian activity and also commerce and business activity,” Teresi said. “I think that it would be a good thing if eventually we could figure out a funding approach and take a look at returning Fourth St. to two-way traffic in most areas.”

Teresi added that even if a study were completed and funding was available to convert the street, the city would still need to receive permission from New York State because of Fourth Street’s relationship to Route 60, which intersects Fourth St. at Washington St.

The idea of converting Fourth St. into a two-way street was recently brought back into the spotlight by Jamestown Renaissance Corporation deputy director Peter Lombardi in an op-ed piece that appeared in the Jamestown Post-Journal in May. WRFA also spoke with Lombardi about the possibility.

Looking east on Fourth Street in downtown Jamestown, near its intersection with N. Main St. Since the 1970s, Fourth St. has been a three-lane, one-way thoroughfare through downtown. The JRC’s Peter Lombardi says the city should consider making the street two-way, which he believes would make it more inviting for economic development and related activity.

Jamestown Renaissance Corporation deputy director Peter Lombardi is advocating for changing Fourth Street from one-way to two-way, and believes Jamestown could learn from nearby Olean, which recently underwent an $8.8 million reconstruction project for its North Union Street.

Lombardi recently talked with WRFA’s Dennis Drew and said the effort in Olean not only renovated major sections of Union St., but also reconfigured what is basically the city’s primary downtown thoroughfare. Currently, Olean and the state are installing a brand new streetscape that, when completed, will feature roundabouts, bike lanes, landscaped medians, and a reduction in traffic lanes from four to two.

Lombardi said that all those changes to one of Olean’s most well-traveled streets will help to make the areas around it more inviting for economic development.

“It’s a great example of how the public sector can contribute to economic development,” Lombardi explained. “Other than the jobs created by the construction project itself, this new streetscape doesn’t produce jobs and it doesn’t produce businesses. But what it does is that it lays the groundwork for new businesses to relocate to downtown Olean, because it creates and environment where employees want to be and where businesses want to be.”

An artists drawing of what North Union Street will look like once the multimillion dollar street transformation project is completed.

Lombardi believes Jamestown may want to take a page from Olean’s playbook, and consider a similar project for Fourth Street – which is currently a one-way street four 14 blocks of downtown – from Prendergast Ave. west to Monroe St. He said that at the time it was turned into a one-way street, it made sense due to the amount of traffic in the downtown. But, Lombardi also added, that things are a lot different today.

“When it was converted to a one-way street 30 or 40 years ago, it carried a lot more traffic because during peak commute periods we had a lot of people moving back and forth across the city between factories and neighborhoods,” Lombardi said. “Today, less than 5,000 people use Fourth St. on a daily basis, and that’s a roadway that was really built for 15,000 to 20,000 vehicles each day.”

Lombardi said that Union Street in Olean currently carries twice as much traffic as Fourth Street in downtown Jamestown, yet has been able to successfully change from a four-lane to a two lane roadway, making the street slimmer, greener and more functional. He said that Fourth St. could see a similar change, but it’s not going to happen overnight.

“There were some ideas that came out of the Urban Design Plan the middle of the last decade for converting Fourth Street to two ways,” Lombardi said. “But what we need to do is raise the money to do some detailed engineering work so that you can go the extra step that Olean has taken, from going from a pretty-looking plan to an actual construction project. There are several planning and engineering steps that have to take place and with Fourth Street, we’ve been stuck with this early conceptual process for too long.”

Lombardi said that currently, JRC is trying to work with the city in identifying funding sources to not only take the idea of making Fourth Street a two-way street to the next level, but also making it an eventual reality.

Receiving awards this year are:

• Manufacturer of the Year, TitanX;
• Retailer of the Year, Jamestown Cycle Shop;
• Community Service Award, Tim Shults;
• Pride of Jamestown Award, Gary Peters Sr. and Gary Peters Jr.;
• Business of the Year, Digitell;
• Service to Humanity Award, Lynn Development Group;
• New Business of the Year, Line-X of Jamestown;
• Restaurant of the Year, Pressroom Restaurant at Shawbucks.

In recognition of the Jamestown Community Chamber’s partnership projects with the Jamestown Young Professionals two additional awards will be presented:  Young Community Leader of the Year, Peter Lombardi; and Young Business Leader of the Year, Pete Scheira.

The awards dinner will begin with registration and a cocktail hour at 5pm, followed by a served dinner and the program at 6pm.  The cost is $28 per person or $218 for a table for 8.  Dinner choices are prime rib, Parmesan encrusted salmon, or eggplant Parmesan. The cost includes hors d’oeuvres, salad, bread, dessert, and coffee or tea.  There will be a cash bar. Advanced registration is required.

Please register by February 20 on the Chamber’s web site or by calling 484-1101.

The book examines the architectural history of Jamestown as well as the influences on the city’s development patterns. More than 100 buildings and sites, with maps for walking and driving tours, are outlined in detail.

The event, open to the public, will be held in the cyber café in the Hamilton Collegiate Center.

In June 2014, Lombardi joined WRFA to talk about his book. You can find the interview here.