Committee gets first glimpse of city DRI requests

By Christopher Blakeslee October 2, 2026 4 min read

Members of the Jamestown Local Planning Commission met Wednesday for their fourth meeting at the James Prendergast Library to discuss the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, a $10 million grant award from NYS. P-J photo by Christopher Blakeslee

Among the new project submissions for a share of Jamestown’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative program is $500,000 for a project titled “Preserve the Lucy-Desi Museum.

Chautauqua Area Development requested $500,000, or 50%, coming from the DRI as part of a $999,000 proposed project entitled Redevelop Lower Floor of the Field and Wright Building on North Main Street. The building is pictured. P-J photo by John Whittaker

Kearney Development has requested $2 million in DRI funding for what would be a $105 million project to rehabilitate the Furniture Mart building on West Second Street. Submitted file photo

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Jamestown's Downtown Revitalization Initiative Local Planning Committee has received 24 funding proposals –

Robert Gibson, a senior vice president with WSP, said that approximately 24 funding proposals were submitted, totaling $36,445,000. However, the total funding needed to complete all proposed projects exceeded $155,147,000.

"The funding project types included 17 redevelopment/ renovations of buildings; five public improvement projects; two branding and marketing projects; and 13 small funding interest forms," he said.

Gibson then provided a snapshot of some of the funding requests the LPC received.

The Jamestown Area YMCA requested $700,000, or 93% of funding, coming from the DRI, for a grand total of $763,000 for the project entitled to Improve accessibility at the YMCA; Chautauqua Area Development requested $500,000, or 50%, coming from the DRI as part of a $999,000 proposed project entitled Redevelop Lower Floor of the Field and Wright Building; the National Comedy Center submitted a proposal for $500,000, or 100% of the project entitled Preserve the Lucy Desi Museum; the City of Jamestown submitted a proposal for $300,000, or 100% of the project entitled "Core to Shore Branding and Marketing; a project entitled Creator Collective of Jamestown which is currently in the process of being a Limited Liability Corporation (LLC) requested $188,000 or 100% of the project; the Gebbie Foundation requested $100,000 for a project entitled Destination Jamestown for marketing and branding. The DRI request totals 20% of the project's $498,000 budget. Claywin Properties Inc. submitted a project entitled redeveloping the Westgate Building, with the project requesting for $72,000, or 73% of a $96,000 project.

El Greco Woodworking has requested $2.5 million to revitalize its building at 116 E. First St. The plan involves converting the space into 8 to 12 apartments, with the first floor designated for a wellness-oriented commercial area. The project will also connect the facility to the Jamestown BPU microgrid. The total estimated cost for the project is $6,703,000

The City of Jamestown has requested $1,250,000 to fund replacement of the aging roof at the Fenton History Center. This amount represents the anticipated cost of the necessary repairs.

Kearney Development has requested $2 million of a $105 million project to adaptively reuse the historic Furniture Mart building at 112 W. Second St. The project will include 144 residential apartment units and a ground-floor front space. This proposal represents a commitment of 2% of the DRI's $10 million total funding..

"I am excited to see the interest and to move forward through the process," said Mayor Kim Ecklund. "However, it was just a first look at the project list as well."

The meeting started with a brief overview of the LPC’s agenda.

Topics covered included the planning processes and engagement updates; finalizing revitalization strategies; downtown profile/key takeaways; projects submitted through the open call session; boundary changes, if necessary; next steps; and public comments, said Stephanie Camay, DRI Lead Planning Consultant, with WSP Consulting.

During the public engagement section of the briefing, it was reported that the public survey officially closed on Sept. 25, and the Local Planning Committee received about 239 responses, mostly from Jamestown residents. Among the types of projects the public wanted to see funded are single-family and upper-level apartments in historic buildings and affordable housing; revitalization prioritizing underutilized sites, vacant lots and growing businesses; and projects involving retail shopping and manufacturing projects. The biggest challenges include unemployment, poverty and vacant buildings, those responding to the survey said, while those responding identified DRI project opportunities that include the reuse of vacant buildings, attracting new viable businesses, and mixed-use development like offices, retail and residential located in the same building, Gibson said. .

"That part of the downtown snapshot included areas of emerging growth, specifically concerning the economy and workforce attraction," Paul said J. Tronolone from the Advisory and Planning Group at WSP.

Tronolone noted that emerging growth sectors included advanced manufacturing, healthcare, tourism, arts, culture and recreation, education and small businesses. To attract workers, the area should provide a blend of high-quality living in an urban environment.

Committee gets first glimpse of city DRI requests