Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Boaplan Grants topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Consultant outlines BOA-driven grant opportunities, urges pro-housing certification for Ballston Spa
Summary
Norabelle Greenberger of LaVella Associates told trustees that the village's Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) plan, submitted in early April, opens eligibility for grants and programs including pro-housing certification, New York Forward and CFA grants; trustees asked for a focused proposal on three priorities.
Norabelle Greenberger, a planner with LaVella Associates, told the Village of Ballston Spa Board of Trustees that the revitalized Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) plan was submitted to the state in early April and that designation would open funding opportunities the village could pursue.
"That plan was funded through the Department of State's Brownfield Opportunity Area grant and was submitted to the state in early April for designation, which opens up a lot of opportunities," Greenberger said.
Greenberger recommended the village consider seeking pro-housing certification from New York State Homes and Community Renewal, a step she said is often required to be eligible for major programs such as the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) and New York Forward. She said the certification process requires compiling the past five years of planning-board actions and building permits that changed housing supply and producing a summary of village zoning districts.
She highlighted practical grant options the village could pursue this year: New York Main Street technical-assistance grants (which she said can provide up to about $20,000 and cover roughly 90—6% of project costs), BOA predevelopment grants limited to designated BOA communities (she said those grants can be up to $400,000 and cover about 90% of eligible costs), and Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) planning funds that can support accessibility upgrades and design work (Greenberger said planning grants can cover up to $50,000 of planning-phase costs).
"It's really important for communities to start thinking now rather than waiting till August because what goes into these applications is pretty extensive," Greenberger said, noting Empire State Development's webinar on application preparation and varying state review times for pro-housing certification.
Trustees asked about timing and costs. Greenberger said review times vary widely (from about a week to a few months) and that submitting a letter of intent or beginning the certification process can preserve eligibility for forthcoming DRI and New York Forward rounds. Trustees signaled a preference to prioritize three items: pro-housing certification, New York Forward/DRI preparation, and a CDBG planning proposal addressing village-hall ADA accessibility. Mayor asked Greenberger to provide a revised proposal with cost estimates for those three priorities ahead of the board's next meeting.
Why it matters: designation and targeted grant applications could provide engineering, planning and capital funds that make redevelopment and accessibility upgrades shovel-ready and improve the village's ability to compete for larger state funding programs.
