Board reapproves conveyance of Promenade property to City of Utica at below‑market figure

The board voted to reapprove conveyance of the Promenade property to the City of Utica for a nominal sale price, with a recent appraisal putting fair market value at about $222,000 and the board setting the value at $220,000.

Board members said the corporation will submit a new notice to the authority budget office and wait the statutorily required 90 days before completing the transfer later this summer.

The action follows the corporation’s earlier attempt to value the site using a cost approach tied to grant-funded work. A board speaker explained the corporation initially used grant expenditures for remediation, bulkhead work, trails, parking and landscaping as the basis for value. “The authority budget office rejected our attempt to satisfy the statute by using the cost approach because they said the law requires an appraisal,” the speaker said. The corporation then obtained a formal appraisal that returned approximately $222,000, and the board set the fair market value at $220,000 for the below‑market conveyance.

Board members also noted that a license agreement covering the property will expire upon conveyance and that the corporation lacks funds and authority to maintain the promenade as a public park. As one speaker put it, the corporation “isn't empowered to run a promenade. The corporation doesn't have money to maintain the property, or, you know, ensure it's more appropriately be used as a city, a park resource.”

A motion to reapprove the sale was made, seconded by Jack, and recorded as approved on the meeting record.

Next steps specified by board members include submitting the updated notice to the authority budget office, observing the 90‑day waiting period, and consummating the conveyance with the City of Utica later in the summer.