It will be interesting to see how Jamestown’s second Downtown Revitalization Initiative application is received by state Economic Development Council officials.

No city that has received a DRI award has received a second one. Will Jamestown’s application be seen as gluttonous by asking for a second bite from the DRI apple before some cities have gotten a first bite? Will state officials view the application as a continuation of the 2016 DRI funding? Or, will state officials take a look at the results of the 2016 DRI project list and turn Jamestown away until better projects are found?

As we said, it will be interesting. Projects being considered for the second DRI funding application include the Furniture Mart building, the Ramsey Agriculture project on Winsor Street, the transformation of the former Jamestown Business College into a hub for the St. Susan Center and UCAN City Mission, stabilization of the Arcade Building, Fenton History Center renovations and expansion of the Chadakoin Riverwalk.

It’s an interesting list of projects, but do they revitalize downtown? We’re not so sure anything is transformative once you get beyond the Furniture Mart and Ramsey Agriculture. That doesn’t mean the other projects aren’t needed; to the contrary it’s important to stabilize the Arcade Building, to preserve the Fenton History Center and help foster the transition of JBC into a functioning site to help the St. Susan Center fulfill its mission.

But if the idea is to truly transform downtown, in our opinion Jamestown is once again missing the boat with the DRI. Think hard about the 2016 DRI projects. Does Jamestown’s downtown feel transformed by the use of DRI funding?

Not really.

The original $10 million plan included redevelopment of the Key Bank building at Second and Main streets, a project anyone who dries down Main Street knows is still unfinished. The DRI was to provide a $1 million boost to the project. Redevelopment of the Jamestown Renaissance Center into the home of the Jamestown Brewing Company did happen – though the original tenant came and went in the blink of an eye. Wicked Warren’s, to its credit, is making that original investment pay off now, but it took years for the investment to pay off.

Money for an excursion train that would connect Buffalo to Niagara Falls into downtown Jamestown and disembark at the National Comedy Center – projected to receive $670,000 – never happened. A program fund brought some interesting events into downtown, while other investments went to existing downtown attractions that include the Lucille Ball Little Theater, Robert H. Jackson Center and Reg Lenna Center for the Arts.

Money spent to reactivate the former Holiday Inn on Fourth Street has been money well spent as the Doubletree Hotel flourishes. Does the Chadakoin Riverfront feel much different after receiving $325,000 of DRI money?

We recap the 2010 DRI funding as a way of saying if we are going to get a second bite at the DRI apple, we need to have projects that are truly transformative for downtown rather than either buttressing existing organizations or placeholder projects that won’t happen.

If we truthfully answer the question whether or not Jamestown feels much different after receiving the $10 million in DRI funding, we’d say no except for the lights on the Washington Street Bridge and Board of Public Utilities.

If we’re going to ask for another $10 million, we should aim for a downtown facelift rather than a tube of lipstick.