Jamestown YMCA VP of Operations John Barber presents to Jamestown Local Development Corporation (May 17, 2023)

The Jamestown YMCA is requesting $1 million in American Rescue Plan funds to construct a new facility on Harrison Street.

YMCA Vice President of Operations John Barber and Tom Benson presented to the Jamestown Local Development Corporation on their request of funding from the Non-Profit Business Grant Program.

Benson said the total project cost for the nearly 68,000 square foot facility is $30 million. He said there is currently $4 million committed from local foundations, “But we have three or four other sources of funding lined up, but we have to be able to go back to them and say, ‘Now we’ve got the city commitment, not just with a letter but with skin in the game.’ Go back to the state and try to get the state to commit. Then we have New Market Tax Credits, then we have tax rebond reissuance, then we have the (Ralph C.) Wilson Foundation who told us to come back when we had more commitment.”

Benson said there will come a time when the current East Fourth Street location will not be sustainable.

The new facility will include a childcare center, two pools, group exercise areas, a track for running and walking; gymnasium, and other exercise areas.

The Jamestown YWCA also presented a request of $145,714 for a three-year “Young Women Choosing Action” Program.

The program was developed by the national YWCA and is an “intersectional, culturally responsive, trauma-informed leadership program designed with the unique challenges and opportunities of low-income young women and young women of color, ages 13 to 19.”

Collaborative Children’s Solutions also presented on a request for $96,850 toward a peer-run mental health and substance use group that would be mainly operated at the Northwest Arena.

Wednesday’s presentations were the first three of eight that will come before the JLDC board before they are expected to vote in June on which non-profits will receive funding. The grant program was funded with $1.5 million.

Jamestown City Council voting session (January 30, 2023)

Jamestown City Council has approved a final installment of funds to the Senior Citizen Home Improvement Incentive Program.

The additional $377,528 in American Rescue Plan funds will cover any remaining approved applications that could not be funded due to lack of funds in previous rounds.

The Finance Committee had recommended the previous week using $282,856 in ARP funds to make the program whole based on numbers provided by Assessor Lisa Volpe, but Finance Chair and Council Member at Large Kim Ecklund said those figures were incorrect, “So, last week when we went through this she (Volpe) had estimated a $94,000 savings that she approached to us. When I got the final numbers, in talking to her, in talking to the Acting Comptroller, it was provided in error. So, therefore, it had to go back in to make that the $377,000 to bring this whole so that everybody who applied and was accepted and approved will get the project done.”

Total funding for the Senior Citizen Home Improvement Incentive Program now stands at $1.87 million.

Council also approved using $900,000 in ARP funds for water main replacements and street restoration on Roland Road and Juliet Street. The Department of Public Works and Jamestown Board of Public Utilities recommended the work be done after multiple water main breaks on both streets over the decades.

Ecklund said at this point, $26,230,703 has been spent in ARP funds out the over $28 million received.

A resolution for the City to adopt the New York State Climate Smart Communities Pledge was tabled for more discussion. Ecklund said while the pledge allows the city to apply for certain grants, there were some misunderstandings from the public and council that needed to be cleared up, “And I asked specifically if the legal team had looked at it before we signed anything and they had not. So, just to cover our bases and make sure we’re not locked into something that we can’t get out of, if you will, I would prefer the legal team to look at it.”

Council approved several appointments to boards and commissions from Mayor Eddie Sundquist including appointing Thomas Benson of 141 East Virginia Boulevard to serve on the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities Board. He replaces Tamu Graham-Reinhardt who has resigned. They also approved appointing Reverend Luke Fodor to the Jamestown Community College Board of Trustees. He will fill out the unexpired term of Dr. Lillian Ney who also had resigned.

MHA Executive Director Steven Cobb, Small Business Development Center at JCC staff, and Tom Benson

The Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce will recognize local leaders and organizations at its Annual Awards Banquet on Thursday, October 6.

Steven Cobb will be honored as Person of the Year. Cobb is the Executive Director of the Mental Health Association in Chautauqua County. He is lauded in the nomination letter for his work with the agency.

Under his direction, the MHA has expanded services by opening an office in Dunkirk and grown the agency’s annual budget by $1 million, with 22 staff members.

The Chamber’s annual Economic Development Award will be presented to the Small Business Development Center at Jamestown Community College. With a staff of five full time certified business advisors and two part time advisors, the staff at the SBDC has seen a bulge in its request for services in the past four years. While it once served 350 small businesses a year, that number is now close to 800 annually.

The SBDC was instrumental in assisting small businesses through COVID relief programs at the federal and state level. Since March of 2020, over $33.5 million was received by area businesses to help with the economic regrowth of the region, and the team at SBDC helped those small businesses create and retain over 2,400 jobs.

Each of the six community Chambers of Commerce will present a Community Service Award during the Chamber Banquet.

The Jamestown Community Chamber of Commerce will present its Community Service Award to Tom Benson. He will be recognized for his part in the revitalization of downtown Jamestown, including his work in recent years with the National Comedy Center.

The Chamber’s Annual Awards Banquet will be held in person at the Williams Center on the campus of the SUNY Fredonia. Advance registration is required and can be done online at www.chamberrsvp.org.

Tom Benson presents to City Council on new Jamestown YMCA facility plan (May 16, 2022)

The Jamestown YMCA shared their initial proposal with Jamestown City Council to build a $31 million new facility on Harrison Street, requesting $2 million in funding from the City.

Tom Benson presented on behalf of the Jamestown YMCA to council at its work session Monday night. He said the site on Harrison Street is a brownfield site and will receive tax credits to help offset construction costs. Benson said the Jamestown Y purchased the site for $1 from the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency and it’s shovel ready. He said a benefit of the location is that it’s close to the high school and to the city’s eastside.

Benson said the existing YMCA facility on East Fourth Street is one hundred years old and is not sustainable, “If we’re not successful raising the money to build this facility, the existing Y will be gone within two to three years. It’s just not sustainable. So this is kind of an all or nothing project.”

Benson said the organization is hoping to get $5 million of the funding from local foundations as well as support from the city, which he says is critical, “We have to be able to say to New York State, other foundations like the (Ralph C.) Wilson Foundation, other funding sources that this is an important project locally and here’s who’s in and have shown support. We haven’t had a chance to officially ask the city for anything yet, but we’re hopefully going to get to the point where we’re asking the city for $2 million out of the Federal recovery funds.”

Benson said the nearly 68,000 square foot facility will include 10,000 square feet of childcare space on the first floor, “So that’s enough for 90 kids. The Y is also going to keep its existing childcare space over on Prather, so that 90 spaces is incremental space.”

The facility also will include two pools, group exercise areas, a track for running and walking; gymnasium, and other exercise areas.

Benson added that Jamestown YMCA has entered into a management agreement with the Greater Buffalo YMCA.

If the project moves forward, he says there has been discussion to have the Gebbie Foundation “mothball” the East Fourth Street facility with the Lakewood location being turned into a rental-only facility for those wanting to use the tennis courts or other spaces. The Eastside Y location would have its programs moved and kitchen facility expanded.

One of the two Block Parties that took place at the National Comedy Center during the 2019 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. (Photo courtesy of National Comedy Center)

JAMESTOWN -When it was first being pitched to both public and private investors, officials behind the National Comedy Center had said that the facility would serve as a catalyst for local economic prosperity, bringing more than 110,000 visitors through its doors each year and also providing an annual $23 million boost to the local economy.

On Aug. 1, 2018 the $50 million, 37,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art facility opened to the public and since then the community has been interested in learning more about how many people have passed through the doors, along with the impact it’s had on the local economy.

This weekend the NCC put out a media release providing some details. The release stated that the NCC has welcomed 66,044 visitors since opening more than 15 months ago, “placing it on track with pre-launch attendance projections and delivering significant economic impact to Western New York.”

NCC POINTS TO RECENT DATA AS EVIDENCE OF ECONOMIC IMPACT

L to R: Chautauqua County Executive George Borrello, Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, National Comedy Center executive director Journey Gunderson, and Sen. Schumer. — at National Comedy Center.

The NCC said it used reports from Chautauqua County and the City of Jamestown to illustrate the economic impact the facility has had on the region, with recent data showing that county lodging revenue and city sales tax revenue have reached all-time record highs in 2019.

While specific numbers or sources were not provided for lodging, the NCC said short-term lodging revenue for quarters 1, 2 and 3 in 2019 were the highest respective quarters in Chautauqua County’s history, with the third quarter becoming the biggest quarter ever.

WRFA has reached out to county officials for occupancy tax data to better illustrate the claims by the NCC and once that information is provided we will provide more details on that issue.

Meanwhile, the NCC also pointed to recent reports that city of Jamestown sales tax revenue in 2019 is the highest in Jamestown history, with the third quarter reaching an all-time high.

“This is all working extremely well and driving a real and lasting impact on our local economy,” Project Chairman Tom Benson is quoted as saying in the media release. “We’re already seeing it pay out in sales tax revenue and hotel occupancy, and we are extremely optimistic about Year 2 and beyond.”

JAMESTOWN, COUNTY SALES TAX REVENUES FOLLOW STATEWIDE PATTERN

The above charge illustrates the quarterly Local Sales Tax Revenue patterns for all of New York State during the past ten years (Source: NY Comptrollers Office)

While there is little doubt the NCC has contributed to the upswing in the local economy, it’s worth noting that when it comes to local sales tax revenues the local trend in growth follows an almost identical pattern seen across the entire region and state.

According the State Comptroller’s recent report on 3rd Quarter Local Sales Tax revenues for 2019, there’s a couple of primary factors driving the recent sales tax boom state-wide, and those factors have also likely contributed locally.

Local Sales Tax Numbers vs Statewide Numbers

Local sales tax revenue for Jamestown is approaching an all-time high for 2019. Through the first three quarters of the year, sales tax revenue for the city is $5,052,000. That’s 3.8% higher than the same time period from a year ago. In addition, the revenue for just the 3rd quarter of this year (July through September) is over $1,972,000 million – up 6.3% from a year ago. If the latest data is any indication it’s likely that local sales tax revenue for Jamestown will reach or exceed $6.7 million by year’s end.

But it’s worth noting that Jamestown’s sales tax revenue isn’t an indicator of the exact amount of sales tax that is collected within the city. Instead, it is derived from a formula that is applied to the total local sales tax collected from throughout Chautauqua County and then redistributed to each municipality, based on population. As a result, Jamestown receives about 9.5% of the total local sales tax collected trough out the county. So the sales tax trends seen in Jamestown are exactly the same as the sales tax trends that have taken place across all of Chautauqua County (see below chart).

As the above data shows, local sales tax revenue hasn’t only seen positive growth in Chautauqua County for 2019. It’s also seen near-identical growth across all of New York State. According to the recent report from the state comptroller’s office, state-wide sales tax collections from January through September totaled $13.5 billion, an increase of 4.3 percent over last year. That’s 0.5% better than what is being seen in Chautauqua County. As for the 3rd quarter specifically, sales tax collections in New York state totaled $4.8 billion, an increase of 6.3 percent from last year – which is the same increase witnessed in Chautauqua County.

Sales Tax revenue trends locally also follow the regional trend, with the entire Western New York Region (Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany Counties) seeing growth. Sales tax revenue across Western New York for the third quarter of this year was up 6.2% compared to the previous year and for the year-to-date it is up 3.4%.

REASONS FOR SALES TAX GROWTH

According to the State Comptroller, there are several factors that have contributed to the state-wide increase. “Additional internet sales tax revenue may be a contributing factor, along with the continued rise in consumer spending and wages,” Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is quoted as saying.

The report noted that in June of 2019, a new requirement that internet marketplace providers collect and remit New York state and local sales taxes on behalf of their out-of-state vendors took effect. Also the state has been slowly rolling out a gradual increase in minimum wage, which economists have said would help to increase the amount of retail sales across the state, spurring sales tax growth.

So while the NCC has likely contributed to the recent uptick in sales tax revenue, the evidence shows that it is certainly not the only contributor.

NCC ATTENDANCE VS PROJECTIONS

When it first opened in 2018, officials with the NCC said it was expected to attract more than 114,000 visitors each year and give a $23 million boost to the local economy annually, while also sparking further economic development and helping to improve the economic environment in the region. Those projections came out of a study conducted by the AECOM consulting firm.

Even though the current attendance numbers provided Saturday are not yet at that level, it appears things are moving in the right direction.

“Significant attendance growth for the National Comedy Center is anticipated for Year 2 and Year 3 based on data trends. World-renowned leisure economics project consultant AECOM has indicated that it typically takes a minimum of three years for destination / drive market attractions such as the National Comedy Center in Jamestown to achieve stabilized projected attendance,” the media release stated.

And the NCC notes that attendance growth continues at a rapid pace for its second year of operation, with August, September and October of 2019 experiencing a 19.75% increase in attendance over those same three months in 2018 – although the specific attendance total for that three-month period was not provided.

“We are very pleased with our attendance to date, which is fully on track to deliver the economic impact projected. Better yet, 85% of our visitors report being ‘likely to return’,” Executive Director Journey Gunderson is quoted as saying.

Other highlights of the NCC’s attendance media release:

• 88.7% of NCC visitors during the past 15 months came from outside Chautauqua County (58,580)
• 11.3% of NCC visitors came from Chautauqua County (7,460)
• 85% of them report they likely to return (56,135)
• 77.6% of visitors eating in local restaurants (51,250)
• 59% of non resident visitors stayed for two or more days in the area (34,560)
• 37.9% of visitors stayed in a hotel, Air BnB or other lodging (25,030)
• 35.24% visited other attractions beyond NCC and Lucy Desi Museum (23,270)
• 226 tour groups have arrived with an average of 33.3 people per group (7,525)
• Visitors came from all 50 states and 18 countries

JAMESTOWN – Jamestown Mayor-elect Eddie Sundquist has put together a Transition Team and established a series of public input sessions as he prepares to launch his initial mayoral term on Jan. 1.

During a special announcement Friday morning at the National Comedy Center in downtown Jamestown, Sundquist was joined by several supporters and members of his transition team. According to Sundquist, his transition team is a voluntary committee designed to create a community conversation on his priorities, evaluate current city operations, and provide suggestions and recommendations for immediate and long term goals to help ensure a smooth transition from one administration to the next. He also said the team is non-partisan and includes representatives from a variety of community organizations and businesses will be broken down into four subcommittees.

Sundquist said the team will be focused on his top priorities for 2020:

• Creating a City for the Future;
• Strengthening Housing Initiatives and Supporting or Neighborhoods; and
• Tackling Financial Burdens.

“We are embracing openness as we focus on creating the Jamestown of the future,” Sundquist said. “To do that we will build on our strengths, work collaboratively with community partners, businesses, neighborhoods and employee groups. Community input is not only welcome, it is strongly encouraged. We hope to have a good turnout for these public meetings, and I am very pleased with the Transition Team that has been assembled.”

Economic and Business Development Subcommittee

• Rich Dixon, Chief Financial Officer with the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency
• Greg Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of the Gebbie Foundation
• Tory Irgang, Executive Director of the Chautauqua Region Community Foundation
• Ricky Turner, President of Blackstone Advanced Technologies.

Housing and Public Safety Subcommittee

• Len Faulk, Professor Emeritus at SUNY Fredonia
• Rev. Luke Fodor, Rector at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
• Dr. Lillian Ney, former City Council Chair, and former Medical Director and VP of Medical Affairs and Cardiology at WCA Hospital
• Taylor Scott, real estate agent with ERA Team VP Realty.

Financial Stability Subcommittee

• Tom Benson, Managing Director of Vineyard Group, LLC
• Maria Kindberg, Dean of Arts Humanities, & Health Sciences at Jamestown Community College
• Todd Tranum, President and CEO of the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce and Executive Director of the Manufacturers Association of the Southern Tier
• Kristy Zabrodsky, shareholder of Buffamante Whipple Buttafaro, P.C.

City Operations and Human Resources Subcommittee

• Andy Johnson, Senior HR Advisor at TitanX Engine Cooling
• Peggy Kaltenmeyer, owner of Forté the Restaurant
• George Panebianco, President of Lewis & Lewis
• Patrick Smeraldo, Teacher/Education Consultant at Jamestown Public Schools/Chautauqua Connections Inc.

Serving as Communications and Public Relations Liaison for the Transition Team is Sheila Webster, Director of Marketing, Communications, and Governmental Affairs for the Chautauqua County Chamber of Commerce.

Public meetings have been scheduled for December to get input and recommendations from the community. They will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. as follows:

• Economic and Business Development Subcommittee, Thursday, December 5, at Jefferson Middle School
• Housing and Public Safety Subcommittee, Tuesday , December 10, at Washington Middle School
• Financial Stability Subcommittee, Wednesday, December 11, at Persell Middle School
• City Operations and Human Resources Subcommittee, Tuesday, December 17, at Jamestown High School.

“The purpose of these sessions is to listen and to open a dialogue. Primarily, we are seeking input, recommendations, and comments relative to each subject area. This will provide the subcommittees with crucial information as they begin their evaluation process in early January,” Sundquist said. “The experience and diversity of backgrounds in this group is a great starting point. We not only welcome, but invite, all input from all residents of Jamestown.”

A memorandum of understanding was unanimously agreed upon by both boards, in which the Reg Lenna would permanently join of the NCC upon the completion of due diligence, the finalization of a definitive agreement, and the final approval of each board.

The Reg Lenna board of directors recently approached the NCC board to explore an enhanced partnership in which the two organizations would restructure to help support both organizations’ missions and long-term goals. Following the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding by both boards earlier this week, a task force comprised of board members and staff from both organizations will now be created to finalize the new organizational structure and to develop a long term business plan, while leveraging the synergies and efficiencies of a combined entity.

The move comes following the announced departure of Reg Lenna executive director Kathleen Eads, who announced she would be resigning at the end of September in order to take a position at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo. to be the new director of theater operations for the school’s performing arts center.

“We’re so proud of the team at the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, and what it has achieved in recent years. Thanks, in part, to local foundation support, we have completed a significant renovation that positions us for future growth. Now is the perfect time to explore a partnership with the National Comedy Center in expanding our reach and programming opportunities, and achieving sustainability,” stated Maria Kindberg, president of the Reg Lenna Board of Directors.

“As the longest standing arts and cultural organization in the community, the Reg Lenna will continue to strengthen vital connections. As we explore enhanced partnership opportunities with the National Comedy Center, we will focus on better meeting our mission of inspiring, educating and empowering an engaged community.  Joining forces with the Comedy Center will assist us in doing so,” stated Phin DeMink, Vice President of the Reg Lenna Board of Directors.

“The Reg Lenna Center for the Arts is a true jewel for Jamestown and Western New York,” stated Tom Benson, NCC project chairman. “By joining forces with the National Comedy Center, our two outstanding organizations can help fulfill our respective missions, while growing our brands and reaching new audiences more effectively – the National Comedy Center as a national-scale attraction and the Reg Lenna Center as the hub for arts and culture in our local community.”

The Reg Lenna Center for the Arts, located at 116 E. Third Street in downtown Jamestown, will continue host a broad range of events including live concerts, movies, ballet, orchestras, gallery shows, comedy performances and more.

NOTE: WRFA’s license is owned by the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts and station employees are part of the Reg Lenna staff. 

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (center) was at the National Comedy Center on July 30 to announce an increase in Historic Preservation funding for the 2019 federal budget. She was joined by NCC board chair Tom Benson and NCC Executive Director Journey Gunderson.

JAMESTOWN – U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was in Jamestown Monday morning to use the National Comedy Center as a backdrop for her announcement of more federal funding for the federal historic preservation grant program.

Gillibrand said federal funding for the Department of Interior’s Historic Preservation Fund for the 2019 fiscal year has been increased to $88.9 million and is significantly hiring that the Trump administration’s original projected budget of $32.7 million.

“When the Trump Administration released its budget for this year, their request for historic preservation funding was millions of dollars lower than it had been before. It would have been a huge mistake to cut that funding from our historic sights as economic development projects across our state,” Gillibrand explained. “So I lead a bipartisan letter with my colleagues to keep that funding in place and we were so successful that we actually ended up with $56 million more than the president had requested,” Gillibrand Said.

The senator also explained that while only a couple million dollars of the funding will make its way to projects across New York State, it remains crucial because it can be used to help leverage development funding from other public and private sources.

Jamestown Development Director Vince DeJoy was also on hand for the announcement and afterward he explained to WRFA why the funding is so important for city’s like Jamestown.

“We have a great deal of historic buildings in Jamestown that are iconic, but have remained vacant or fallow. They are basically not collecting very much in property taxes because of the condition that they are in, and now we have a new energy with developers wanting to rehabilitate these building through adaptive reuse and bring a new life to these buildings, which will help to increase our property tax base,” DeJoy said, also noting that Jamestown has an entire historic district within the downtown in order to have better chances of applying for and receiving federal historic preservation money.

Gillibrand used the National Comedy Center as a backdrop because it used over $2 million in historic preservation money as part of the restoration of the Erlie-Lackawanna Train Station, which is now part of the NCC.

In addition to the Train Station restoration, DeJoy said several other projects in Jamestown have also benefited from the program, including both the former M&T Bank and Key Bank Buildings on Main Street, as well as the former Lillian V. Ney Renaissance Center, which is now being converted into Jamestown Brewing Co.

The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY will open on Aug. 1, 2018.

JAMESTOWN – Officials with the National Comedy Center will appear before the Jamestown Zoning Board of Appeals Thursday to request a zoning variance and special use permit involving two large digital signs planned to be installed on the front façade of the facility.

Earlier this month the zoning board held its regularly scheduled meeting to address the issue, but the requests were tabled after officials with the NCC failed to show up for the hearing. NCC board president Tom Benson said at the time that it was a misunderstanding and they hoped to get the issue resolved soon.

Meanwhile, the Post-Journal reported on Tuesday that the city had given the NCC two stop work orders because they already started construction on the two movie screens, despite the variance and special use permit not being granted.

The orders came after the city received a complaint on Friday, drawing attention to the work. The city issued an initial order on Friday, but work continued on Monday and a second order was issued.

Benson told the Post-Journal that the installation of the screen for the signs is complicated and time consuming, adding that any delay in the process would seriously jeopardize the completion of the project by opening day.

The special meeting of the zoning board will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Jamestown City Council chambers.

The NCC is scheduled to open on Aug. 1 to coincide with the 2018 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival.

The Downtown Jamestown Gateway Train Station

JAMESTOWN, NY – The acquisition of the Gateway Train Station (formerly “Erie-Lackawanna Train Station“) and its surrounding property by the National Comedy Center in the Summer of 2017 was the culmination of a 25-year renovation and development effort that featured a combination of public and private investment, as well as coordinated efforts on several local fronts.

That’s according to Jamestown Mayor Sam Teresi, who provided WRFA with his timeline of events going back more than 25 years to help clarify any confusion over the project, as well as to highlight the numerous steps involving the city’s acquisition, development, and eventual disposition of historic property.

Teresi is familiar with the history of the development of the structure because prior to being elected mayor in 1999, he had served as the city’s Development Director throughout the 1990s, meaning he was there in 1992 when the dilapidated structure first came on the city’s radar.

1992 – JURA ACQUIRES TRAIN STATION PROPERTY

According to Teresi, in March 1992 the Jamestown Urban Renewal Agency (JURA) purchased the train station from the property’s previous owners, John Evan with about $120,000 in funding from the federal Community Development Block Grant program. The mayor said even at that time, the train station was in poor condition and would have required significant money for restoration and development.

A photo from Pinterest shows how the train station appeared prior to redevelopment

It’s worth noting that around the same time JURA was working to acquire the train station, a group of local stakeholders, including the Arts Council for Chautauqua County, were developing a concept to make Jamestown a national comedy attraction, building off the Lucille Ball connection and the recent success of the Festival of New Comedy at the time.

According to Teresi, the project being developed was a “National Comedy Center and Hall of Fame,” with the train station serving as a possible location. However, none of the local foundations at the time felt confident enough in the project to support it, and it eventually was shelved and the celebration of Lucy moved in another direction over the next several years.

Meanwhile, JURA maintained possession of the property for the next 14 years as officials worked to identify and secure enough funding to begin the restoration effort.  During that period the train station was placed on both the New York State Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.

2005 – MAJOR FEDERAL INVESTMENT LEADS TO REBIRTH OF LOCAL LANDMARK

According to the mayor, in 2005 JURA was able to secure a total of $6 million through the federal transportation bill that was secured with the help of Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, along with Rep. Brian Higgins.

A media release from Congressman Higgins at the time says the number was actually $2.6 million, although that could have been funding for just one year, while Teresi’s figures were the funding totals over multiple years.

The funding was the leverage needed to help raise other money from not just the state, but local funders as well, including the Gebbie Foundation.

2008 – CITY ACQUIRES TRAIN STATION, THEN PASSES ON NEWLY CREATED FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION

In May 2008, the ownership of the train station was transferred from JURA to the city of Jamestown at no cost, which allowed the city to raise more funding for development that it would have been unable to qualify for otherwise. That year the city also entered a property management agreement with the Downtown Jamestown Development Corporation (DJDC).

According to Teresi, the city felt that it could maximize renovation funding by utilizing the federal Historic Tax Credit (HTC) program, but only for-profit entities are eligible to participate in that program. They mayor said that in April 2010 the property was transferred to a spinoff for profit-entity called Downtown Jamestown Revitalization, LLC (DJR), which was created in 2004.  DJR was be controlled by a board of directors that included the Mayor of Jamestown, the DJDC board president, and the president of the Gebbie Foundation. Each voting member also had a designee to act in their place when necessary. The designees were the city development director, the Gebbie Foundation executive director, and another board member from DJDC.

Once incorporated, DJR served as a holding company for the train station and would be able to apply for and then sell off HTCs to investors to help with the redevelopment effort. In order to avoid paying taxes on a property, the DJR received a tax abatement from the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency (IDA) that would continue during the lifetime of DJR ownership.

2010 – DJR ESTABLISHES PLAN TO DEVELOP TRAIN STATION ONCE RENOVATION IS COMPLETE

Congressman Brian Higgins (second from left) and Sen. Charles Schumer (right of Higgins) were both in Jamestown in 2010 to welcome the start of renovation work for the long-dilapidated train station. Mayor assistant Matthew Hanley (far left) and then-city councilman Vince DeJoy (far right) are also pictured. (Image from Higgins.House.gov)

Once in possession of the train station property, DJR initiated its plan for how it would eventually use the property. That plan involved marketing the soon-to-be renovated train station to private development. But because it participated in the HTC program, DJR was required under law to maintain ownership of the property for at least five years from the time the HTCs were sold to investment groups.  The plan was to have DJR identify developers and, if one was found before the five-year requirement was up, it would lease the train station to the developer with an option to transfer ownership.

Teresi said at the time DJR developed its plan, it didn’t have the National Comedy Center in mind, considering it hadn’t even been conceptualized yet by the officials with the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center for Comedy. Instead, DJR hoped to have developers come forward and present plans until a viable plan was presented.

By August 2010, enough money had been raised to begin the train station renovation and ground was broken. In October 2012, the renovation was complete and the ribbon was cut on the new facility.

2010-2012 – LUCY DESI FINDS SUCCESS, ANNOUNCES ‘FOUR PILLARS OF COMEDY’

During the time period between 2010 and 2012, the Lucy-Desi Center had transitioned to a new board and new executive director (Journey Gunderson). The new leadership worked to re-energize the organization and put it on a new path. As a result, it developed a strategic plan featuring its Legacy of Laughter “four pillars,” which included the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, a comedic arts education program, comedy film festival, and the establishment of the first national comedy museum and hall of fame.

Both 2011 and 2012 were successful years for the Lucille Ball Comedy Festival and in the fall of 2012, Gunderson and Lucy-Desi Center board president Tom Benson shared their plan for developing a national comedy attraction with the Jamestown City Council and mentioned the train station as one of the possible locations.

In January 2013, the DJDC merged with the Jamestown Renaissance Corporation and former DJDC executive director Lee Harkness was hired by DJR as the train station general manager. His role was to find rentals, plan events, and find other uses for the space to help generate enough revenue to pay utility costs and other overhead, while DJR continued to seek out development opportunities.

2014 and 2015 – NCC SEES SIGNIFICANT FUNDING, GROUND BREAKING

NCC Executive Director Journey Gunderson (far left) and Melissa Rivers (third from left) helps shovel dirt at the groundbreaking for the National Comedy Center in 2015. (image from AP)

In December 2014, the NCC was awarded $1.5 million by the 2014 NYS Regional Economic Development Council. At the time, a description of NCC project said it is comprised of the adaptive reuse of both the train station in and a public utility / former trolley station building, along with construction of a new connecting building on the corner of Washington and 2nd Street to provide the necessary total square feet of exhibit space.

In March 2015, the NCC purchases the Jamestown Board of Public Utilities former trolley substation at the corner of Washington and W. 2nd Street for $130,000 from the city of Jamestown.

In July of that year, a groundbreaking for the NCC takes place during the 2015 Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. In December the NCC received $2.025 million from the 2015 NYS Regional Economic Development Council.

2016 – NCC SIGNS LEASE AGREEMENT TO TAKE OVER OPERATION OF TRAIN STATION

State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli (left) listens to National Comedy Center director Journey Gunderson explain the mission and vision of the center, which is being built in Jamestown. DiNapoli was in Jamestown in October 2015 to tour the location for the National Comedy Center and learn about various economic development projects in the city.

In February 2016, the NCC enters a lease agreement with DJR and moves into the Gateway Train Station.  The lease included zero dollars in rent and in exchange, the NCC would assume all operations of the property, including utilities and insurance, along with any needed structural repairs as well as scheduling events and activities. The mayor said the lease also included an option to transfer the property once the HTC five-year waiting period is over. Because of the federal funding tied to the project, the terms of the lease say the NCC must also keep the train station’s center concourse open to the public and available for public transportation usage.

Once the NCC takes over operation, it decides to not keep the position of Train Station General Manager when assuming operations and Harkness is terminated.

At the end of 2016, the NCC is awarded another $834,000 by Empire State Development. The additional funding follows awards of $2.025 million in 2015 and $1.5 million in 2014, bringing the total amount awarded by New York State to approximately $4.3 million. $600,000 of the awarded funds from Empire State Development are for continued development of the Center and adjacent Comedy Center Park, and $234,000 of the grant dollars are Market NY tourism capital funds.

2017 – NCC RAISES NEEDED FUNDING TO FINISH DEVELOPMENT, ASSUMES CONTROL OF TRAIN STATION

In February 2017 The IDA extends the PILOT agreement with DJR for one year to give the NCC an additional year to transfer the train station over to the non-profit.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY on Aug. 3, 2017.

By April 2017, the NCC received a $3 million grant from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation and a $5 million grant from New York State which was unveiled by Governor Andrew Cuomo in his State of the State Address as part of the Buffalo Billion II program.

By May of 2017 the NCC secured all funding for its capital budget with the closing of a Federal New Markets Tax Credit transaction that provided the Project with approximately $5 million of equity funding. The $8 million from a month earlier provided the leverage that was required as the New Markets Tax Credit closing was predicated on having all other necessary funding in place.

With enough funding secure and the 5-year HTC waiting period over, Teresi said the DJR board officially transferred ownership of the train station property over to the NCC at no cost in June 2017. The property value was listed as $500,000, but Teresi said because of the financial contributions the NCC had made between utility costs, insurance, and building upkeep – in addition to the NCC serving as an economic driver for other downtown development projects, the DJR board gave the property to NCC at no cost.

The transfer was then finalized in August and with the property transfer complete and the DJR plan from 2010 realized, the for-profit corporation is no longer needed and dissolves.

Despite the culmination of more than 25 years of effort to renovate and develop the train station, the seven years of work by DJR and its board spent toward finding a viable project for it, and the amount of fundraising required by the NCC to realize its vision and own the train station property, there was no public announcement by mayor Teresi, nor any media release announcing the property transfer or dissolution.

2018 – GRAND OPENING OF NCC TO TAKE PLACE IN AUGUST

The National Comedy Center in Jamestown, NY will open on Aug. 1, 2018.

In April 2018, the NCC announced its grand opening will take place on Aug. 1, 2018.

The Center, which comes with a combined cost of $35 million between the money invested in the Train Station, as well as the NCC build out,  is expected to attract more than 100,000 annual visitors and have a $23 million annual stabilized economic impact on the region.

WRFA plans to tell more about the history of the National Comedy Center’s development in the summer of 2018 when we talk with NCC board chair Tom Benson.