By JIMMY LAWTON

OGDENSBURG -- Ogdensburg’s formal designation of a 330-acre brownfield opportunity area designation will enable the city to apply for additional funding to implement development strategic.

The designated area stretches from the westernmost edge of the City, east to Paterson Street and from the St. Lawrence River shoreline south to Lafayette Street, creating a concentrated area of strategic opportunity within the larger context of the city.

The BOA includes four strategic districts of brownfields, vacant or underutilized properties all along the city’s waterfront, spanning the St. Lawrence and Oswegatchie.

Ogdensburg’s BOA is broken into four districts, the Diamond District, Fort District, Marina District and Augsbury District.

While the city was granted the designation last week, City Planner Andrea Smith announced the city had completed Phase 2 of its Brownfield Opportunity Area Program in March. That’s when the city sought the designation from the state.

Smith said the designation is not an announcement of funding, but does enable the city to apply for subsequent BOA funding.

Among the benefits of the Downtown Waterfront Core BOA is that it enables proposed development projects to receive a 2 percent tax credit bonus. This is in addition to a 2 percent tax credit available to projects that have been accepted into the Brownfield Clean-Program. That’s according to a memo issued by Smith Thursday.

According to Smith, the completion of the nomination study was a major step for the city, which applied for BOA funding in 2009. The brownfield projects that it encompasses date back into the 1990s.

In a past interview Smith said the city received a $355,000 grant in 2010 with a 10 percent local match to create a plan that could be used to develop the city’s brown properties.

Smith said this designation opens the door to a wider range of incentives and funding opportunities for the properties within the BOA.

The study area for the waterfront BOA is approximately 330 acres located entirely within the municipal boundary of the City of Ogdensburg at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and Oswegatchie Rivers in the downtown core.

In March Smith said the plan will be used as a tool to find and attract developers that can breathe new life into the city’s former manufacturing district. It lays down guidelines for the ideal types of development that would best meet the city’s needs and spur development.

Completing Phase 2 sends a message to the state that Ogdensburg follows through on its commitments, according to Smith.

Background

“Brownfield” is a term used to describe formerly industrial sites that may have been contaminated with hazardous waste. The BOA program provides financial and technical assistance to revitalize brownfield properties and areas around them that have been affected by the presence of the sites

For projects fit within the plan, BOA designated properties afford developers tax breaks and other incentives. Every time the city completes a cleanup, zoning change or plan for the properties, it’s one less step a developer will need to take. Smith said clearing those sort of hurdles makes the properties more attractive.