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Potsdam town, school boards both hire law firm to handle PILOT agreement negotiations for Old Snell Hall rehab

Posted 7/18/19

By CRAIG FREILICH North Country This Week POTSDAM – The town board agreed to sign on to a joint agreement with the Potsdam Central School Board and village government to hire law firm Barclay Damon …

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Potsdam town, school boards both hire law firm to handle PILOT agreement negotiations for Old Snell Hall rehab

Posted

By CRAIG FREILICH
North Country This Week

POTSDAM – The town board agreed to sign on to a joint agreement with the Potsdam Central School Board and village government to hire law firm Barclay Damon LLP for negotiations for a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement for the Vecino Group’s planned redevelopment of Clarkson University’s Old Snell Hall downtown.

It passed 4-1 with Councilor Judy Rich voting no at the Town Council’s July 9 meeting.

The three government entities will ultimately all agree to any PILOT arrangement with Vecino for it to take effect.

Barclay Damon will assist with the application to the St. Lawrence County Industrial Development Agency, and Missouri-based Vecino will pay for the legal help.

In May a $5.6 million grant of loans and tax credits toward the total $15 million plan was awarded for the project by the state from a pool of money earmarked for building or preserving affordable apartments and revitalizing communities.

The plan is for 59 apartments affordable to households with incomes below 60 percent of the area median income, along with the other features, such as a hub for the arts housing SLC Arts and a community theater, as well as the Shipley Center for Innovation, a Clarkson University business incubator.

The plan by the Missouri-based Vecino Group also includes installation of new mechanical and electrical equipment in Old Snell Hall.