Ticonderoga's DRI projects progress

TICONDEROGA | The Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) grant projects are underway. And though it may appear that there has been stagnation or no forward movement, that isn't the case. "There is energy, there is drive, and there is commitment," shared Ticonderoga Revitalization Alliance (TRA) board member Scott Hearburg. "The change that has happened in a relatively short amount of time is monumental." In fact, Ticonderoga's projects have been happening at an unusually rapid pace, and people have been taking notice of the visual difference from just a few shorts years ago. "These DRI projects very rarely in any community come with permit-ready plan sets," explained North Country Rural Development Coalition (NRDC) President & CEO Nicole Justice Green. "The way they guided us in the LPC was to submit projects with as accurate as possible budget and scope. When you get these awards, you then have to do all the environmental review, all the architecture and engineering, none of that is done during the initial award process. According to Green, it took 12-18 months for the state to issue project contracts (there are still some projects waiting). "Once you get that contract, there is a massive amount of administrative work that goes into executing that contract, and then a massive amount of work that has to go into the environmental review for each project before you can even begin to commit funding to them," she added. And getting awarded funds does not equate to immediately getting paid. New York State has its own process and pace at which it moves, and DRI communities have to move at that set speed, for better or for worse. NEWBERRY COMMONS Perhaps no other building best exemplifies the vision of what Ticonderoga can be quite like 108 Montcalm Street, formerly known as J.J. Newberry's and now transformed into Newberry Commons, complete with its LED sign perfectly matched to the original J.J. Newberry's logo. DRI awarded $1,265,000 out of $10 million to stabilize the building, which was within months of collapse. "That building is circa 26,000 square feet, and to have a hole on Montcalm Street in that space and that size there would have been unacceptable," said Hearburg. "The cost to remove that building would have been a million plus -more than that with the asbestos- to take it out environmentally safe and make it a green space. According to TRA board member Chuck Gijanto, it was roundly believed to be that if the building's issues were not resolved and restored, the Streetscape in particular for DRI would have been suboptimized. "It needs to be the heart of downtown again, and it will be," he assured. The DRI award covered roof replacement, asbestos removal, and mold abatement. The DRI funds have been completely expended and that portion of the project has been completed for 12 month "To start that project when it was actively collapsing is monumental. We are very proud of that work and given the work is completed and the DRI award has been expended," Gren explained. "Most communities take years to even put a shovel in the ground. We got that contract in August and had shovels in the ground in November." Now safe and secure, the vision for the Newberry Commons building was to have commercial space up front and five apartments in the back (one to three bedrooms and not low income housing). According to Hearburg, the challenge now is going to be to procure funding for that process, and several different means are being investigated currently. "My understanding is that residential funds are easier to procure than commercial funding for the front, so we will focus on the funding for the apartments in the back. We need that building to be an active center point," Hearburg noted. "I would love to have commercial space there as soon as possible, but the reality of funding is important and we have to take what we can get and guide the ship in a way to take care of the different challenges we have. It is by far TRA's number one project, we are bound and determined to make that a viable building downtown." ADIRONDACK PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Across the street and up just a few paces, the Knights of Columbus building at 103 Montcalm Street, $2,115,000 of DRI funding was awarded to convert the building into the Adirondack Performing Arts Center. Planning is well underway, with the general contractor, architect,and engineer onboard and the design fully complete. The bid process is also kicking off, with the hope that later this fall, shovels will be going into the ground. "We have now done all due diligence and have the design complete and engineering plans complete, which are very technical for the APAC, given the vestibule, the kitchen space, the recording studio, the performance spaces, and structural stabilization," shared Green. "We started that planning process in earnest with our engineering firm 12 months ago to get bid-ready for the project, which we are now." The scope of the project includes upgrading the basement and first floor, renovating the second floor to include lesson rooms and group rehearsal space, and the conversion of the unused third floor into a performance space. An elevator will also be installed. "The partnerships between NRDC and the Knights has been extraordinary, it makes it so much better when groups are working together to make things happen, and that is great to see," said Gijanto. According to Gijanto, the parking lot in the back of the building has been newly paved, which was a major step and one that drew positivity from community members. "The Ticonderoga Festival Guild's 2026 Summer Concert Series was the biggest and best we have ever had and so it really bodes extraordinarily well for what is going on up in that third floor," Gijanot noted. "It's a beautiful performance space, there is no reason that type of entertainment can't go on all year long." An Artistic Director has already been hired who will be assisting with the equipment and technology scoping and strategic planning for APAC. "Bonaccio was selected as our Construction Manager and General Contractor, and they when out to bid for all the sub contracting needs," said Green. "That is when we figured out the true gap in the budget. Right now we are in a holding pattern to close that budgeting gap through value engineering- cutting elements of the project that can be cut as well as getting additional funding sources." SMALL PROJECTS FUND Some of the most visible DRI projects that have been started and completed belong to the Small Project Fund, which was a $600,000 DRI award to assist local businesses with small-scale building and site improvements. "Once they have a contract for their Small Project Fund, most communities take three to four years to complete," said Green. "The fact we had our contract with us within 12 months and completed three projects and have the rest of our funds committed is huge." Sunshine Laundry, Adirondack Trading Post, and Small Town Boutique received extensive exterior and interior renovations and celebrated a ribbon cutting to mark their completion back in March. "It is important to recognize all three of those sites are part of the public art initiative, with two having murals and one having the new Andrew Carson sculpture," said Katie Long, NRDC Deputy Director. "It is really nice to see this kind of complimentary investment with our other partnerships." Long said Small Town Boutique at 110 Montcalm Street, directly across from the NRDC office, has been a bright spot and a pleasure to witness with the activity and revolving door of customers. "It has been wonderful to be able to look out our office windows and see a building that was completely vacant being returned to active use," she remarked. "Jaimee does a wonderful job with window displays and promotion. You can see the activity changing in the downtown as a result of some of these projects." Two other Small Project Fund recipients are also nearing completion, the first being 113 Montcalm (the Punky Noodles building and also a Vacant Rental Program (VRP) project. "DRI funding has been invested into energy efficiency improvements and major faced uplift, but the upstairs space through VRP that was completely vacant is now two really nice apartments," Long revealed. "We see evidence of this dual investment bringing people into those spaces who now both live and work in this town." 107 Montcalm will soon be an available space for a business tenant and like 113, as well as 88 Montcalm, which is also a mixed-use property with partial and residential spaces in it. "107 included flooring replacements, nice interior upgrades, mini split installation, energy efficient upgrades, new storefront windows, and repair and replacement of the front masonry up front to make it look even more beautiful," Long said. There are three more in-progress projects: 16 Montcalm (the liquor store) will be getting a facade upgrade as well as some energy efficiency improvements, and 85 Montcalm (currently home to That's Rad! as well as three apartments) will be receiving upgrades. "The porcupine mural is really what inspired investment from the new property owner," Long said. "He came into town and loved that mural and loved that something that was unsightly had been turned into a vibrant and lively sight at the main intersection. We will continue to invest in not just the commercial space and additional facade work, but also doing some VRP work in the residential spaces." Burliegh's Luncheonette at 121 Montcalm Street, another mixed-use property with several different sources of investment, is also on track for some TLC. "Being able to improve an already wonderful space is really exciting," Long said. STREETSCAPE AND LA CHUTE TRAIL $3,694,000 of DRI funding was awarded to beautify the Montcalm Street streetscape through decorative sidewalk paving, ornamental streetlights, decorative planting and landscaping, enhanced crosswalks and other pedestrian-friendly improvements. $566,000 was awarded to activate Adirondack Drive and link downtown to the La Chute Riverfront with improved road and parking areas, landscaping and enhanced connectivity between downtown and the open space. The Department of State holds contracts for municipal projects, and according to Green has combined the Adirondack Drive project with Streetscape into one contract. "The work is related, so the work will happen together," she said. $754,000 was awarded to enhance and promote the natural features of the La Chute Riverfront with upgraded bike and pedestrian trails, waterfall overlooks, kayak and bike rental facilities, new lighting and upgrades at the farmers' market facility. "La Chute Trail improvements is a separate contract and will happen and be completed much more quickly than the Streetscape," Green added. "I know many people are concerned about street closures and disruptions with Streetscape. When the civil engineering is complete and we have a construction timeline, all of that will be communicated with the downtown business owners and the Town. We are just not there yet."

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Ticonderoga's DRI projects progress

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