Oswego EDC reports $78,000 in façade and infrastructure grants as downtown safety concerns persist

The Oswego Economic Development Commission reported the recent approval of two grant awards for downtown building improvements and described continuing enforcement and life‑safety concerns at a separate downtown property.

Commission staff told members that the commission’s 2025 improvement fund, budgeted at $80,000, has been largely expended after two recent approvals. One grant, for work at 76–78 Main Street (the Hudson Design House location), provided the building owner, Greg Dady, just shy of the full $40,000 requested for roof and brickwork repairs and replacement of an outdated awning. A second award gave a little over $38,000 toward separating and upgrading water and sewer service at 19 East Jackson — work that will replace a shared sewer service that became noncompliant after an earlier subdivision of the lot.

Staff said both awards are structured as grants with conditions: work must be completed within a year and certain permanent improvements are subject to a clawback provision set out in the incentive agreement. The grant program is match‑based and reimbursements will occur after completed work is submitted and approved.

Commissioners discussed whether downtown awnings and similar façade work could be coordinated as a larger, joint application to capture economies of scale. "In theory, yes," staff said, noting that combined projects could reduce unit costs but require multiple property owners to commit and match funds.

Separately, staff described an urgent code‑enforcement matter at the building that houses the CBD store near Paws on Main. A brick parapet on the building had deteriorated and required barricades and bracing. Staff said the property owner has received repeated fines — most recently $500 — and has begun some remediation work after enforcement, but that the village will fine again if required repairs are not completed when promised. Staff emphasized the repairs are the landlord’s responsibility and that tenants may have separate legal recourse outside the village’s enforcement actions.

Why it matters: the grant approvals and the enforcement case illustrate how the commission’s small grant fund is being used to keep downtown buildings safe and address visible signs of disrepair. With roughly $5,000 remaining in the 2025 account after reimbursements, staff said the village board is likely to consider additional funding at its March 4 committee meeting to support incoming high‑priority applications.

The commission meeting included discussion of other downtown properties with aging awnings and façades; staff said they have been encouraging property owners to apply for funds and are monitoring compliance for buildings with code and life‑safety concerns.