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Harbor redevelopment corporation approves $1.5 million DASNY grant and consultant contracts for Mohawk Valley site
Summary
The Utica Harbor Point Development Corporation approved a $1.5 million DASNY grant for infrastructure work on Parcel 1 of the Mohawk Valley project and ratified consultant agreements to design and oversee ground-improvement and utility work.
The Utica Harbor Point Development Corporation on Friday approved a resolution ratifying a $1,500,000 DASNY grant to pay for infrastructure improvements on Parcel 1 of the Mohawk Valley redevelopment and authorized consultant contracts for ground-improvement and utility work.
The action confirms the corporation applied for the state grant and authorizes staff to execute preliminary certifications and a future grant disbursement agreement for “the purposes for which they were applied,” a staff member said during the meeting. The grant proceeds are expected to reimburse all eligible costs for the Parcel 1 work.
The grant funding is tied to a two-parcel redevelopment plan described in materials distributed to the board. Parcel 1 — adjacent to the 33 Building — will receive site infrastructure work intended to ready that portion for new investment. Parcel 2 is the 33 Building itself; the materials note a grant-search period for Parcel 2 with a February 1 trigger: if no grant proceeds have been secured by that date, the prospective buyer may either walk away or proceed to purchase Parcel 2 without additional grant support.
Board members also approved two consultant agreements. One contract, described in the meeting as a professional design services agreement for ground improvement, was described as roughly $30,000 and will produce design and construction-phase submittals for a specialized ground-mixing solution to strengthen soft soils at the riverfront site. A second contract covers construction management and full-time inspection for utilities, demolition and ground-improvement construction phases and was described in the meeting as $189,880. Meeting remarks said those consultant services will be paid from the DASNY grant and that the grant, as currently documented, is “100% reimbursable.”
Counsel and staff described standard closing conditions and said buyers had agreed to pay for Harbor Corp consulting, legal, architectural and other professional costs incurred related to the proposed sale. The materials presented to the board included an offer letter and exhibits that list the purchase-price terms and standard conditions to closing.
Board members moved and approved the resolution and the consultant agreements during the meeting. No roll-call tally was recorded in the public discussion; the motions were approved by voice vote.
Why it matters: the DASNY-funded work will address known soil and infrastructure deficiencies that have blocked redevelopment on the waterfront parcels; the consultant agreements put design and oversight in place so bids and construction can proceed if the grant disbursement agreement is finalized.
What comes next: staff said it expects to advertise bid packages for the ground-improvement work by late summer or early fall, and that the utilities and demolition work would follow. The board discussed ongoing environmental cleanup needs at the 33 Building — including interior asbestos abatement and debris removal — that are separate from the Parcel 1 infrastructure work.
