By ANDY GARDNER MASSENA -- The village is working with a private developer to rehabilitate the old mill on Water Street, which officials hope to turn into a mixed residential-commercial property. At …
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By ANDY GARDNER
MASSENA -- The village is working with a private developer to rehabilitate the old mill on Water Street, which officials hope to turn into a mixed residential-commercial property.
At the Tuesday village board meeting, trustees voted 3-0 to authorize the mayor to work with village grant-writers to pursue a Restore NY grant for the project.
“It’s similar to what’s happening with the old Slavin’s property, a public-private partnership,” said Deputy Mayor Matt Lebire, running the meeting in Mayor Tim Currier’s absence. Currier was excused to coach basketball. Trustee Tim Ahlfeld, a New York Power Authority employee, was also excused for work.
Lebire did not want to name the developer that is seeking to rehabilitate the building, and Mayor Tim Currier did not want to divulge the person’s identity, but said that would come out soon.
“I’m honestly not sure if they can be named at this moment,” Lebire said. “Check with the mayor’s office and he may be able to tell you, I just don’t want to possibly overstep.”
In an email following the meeting, Currier said the name is being withheld for now because the application is not complete.
“It must be filed by Dec. 15th. Once filed, I will disclose the information (as permitted). There are on-going negotiations related to the project. I am not trying to hold information back, I am simply protecting the integrity of the project so that we can submit a strong application that has a chance at being funded,” the mayor wrote.
At the meeting, a trustee said he thinks the renovation will be a good thing for the downtown area.
“I think this is a good project. It fits into the waterfront revitalization. It’s the second building down on that stretch. It’s going to dress up the downtown a little bit more,” Trustee Francis Carvel said.
“It’s exciting to see all the sparks going on downtown,” Lebire said.
During public comment, residents spoke up asking to know if anything is going on with the lumberyard that is near the mill.
“That other property has been there fallow for quite some time … do we have time limits on properties in the village? Has anybody been talking to the owners?” Massena resident Margaret Demo asked during public comment.
“The entire downtown core has been a priority of the mayor and this board, so every property is being looked at,” Lebire replied. “As these pieces start to fall in line, there will certainly be focus on adjoining these properties.”