Franklin County IDA/LDC Administers a $500,000 New York Main Street Grant Program

Something I hear quite often is, ‘what the heck is an IDA, LDC, CDC, ABCDEFG.’ I can’t explain it in a quick article. But I can explain what we DO.

We are a unifying economic development organization that fosters a shop-local, community-first culture. We help entrepreneurs start businesses and help established businesses grow. We take a proactive approach to attract visitors with the hope they’ll become locals.

WHAT WE’RE DOING RIGHT NOW:
Administering a $500,000 New York Main Street grant program to renovate commercial buildings in Downtown Saranac Lake and Park Street in Tupper Lake — 13 projects in total!

Our ‘Economic Development Strategy Vision Statement’ envisions a strengthened entrepreneurial culture, which will led to new and innovative businesses that will revive the county’s communities and downtowns.

To help realize this vision we have made downtown revitalization a core goal and have undertaken a variety of initiatives that will help strengthen our main streets and downtowns, provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to thrive, and encourage residents and visitors to shop local.

New York Main Street provides funds to units of local government, and not-for-profit organizations that are committed to revitalizing historic downtowns, mixed-use neighborhood commercial districts, and village centers.

What else we have cooking right now:

• $20,000 New York Main Street Technical Assistance grant project in Downtown Malone to develop design guidelines and complete facade renderings.
• $100,000 Adirondack Park Community Smart Growth grant to renovate buildings on Park Street and Main Street in Tupper Lake.
• $400,000 in investment through loans and incentives to businesses and revitalization projects in downtowns across the county since 2017.
• $600,000 Energize Downtown Program funded through the Saranac Lake Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) to support building renovations and to provide commercial rent assistance in Downtown Saranac Lake.
• Creation and development of The Carry, an entrepreneurial business center and co-working space in partnership with the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce and Point Positive located in Downtown Saranac Lake.
• Tourism Promotion Agency to improve Franklin County’s quality of life by strengthening the economic impacts of the tourism industry by promoting the communities of Malone, Saranac Lake, and Tupper Lake along with other communities in Franklin County.
• Member of Main Street America, the nationally recognized program focused exclusively on main street and downtown revitalization.
• Member of New York State Tourism Industry Association (NYSTIA), the organization bringing together New York State tourism industry interests.
• Member of International Economic Development Council (IEDC), the largest national and global organization serving economic developers.

We would love to hear from you! Feel free to call or email, we are here to listen and help.

Be well,
The Economic Development Team
Jeremy, Marcy, Russ, Maria, Phil, and Kelly