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Village of Canton eyes $12 million in grants to improve downtown

Posted 1/29/23

BY PAUL MITCHELL North Country This Week CANTON – The Village Of Canton has applied for two separate Restore NY Communities Initiative grants, $10 million and $2 million applications, to be used if …

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Village of Canton eyes $12 million in grants to improve downtown

Posted

BY PAUL MITCHELL

North Country This Week

CANTON – The Village Of Canton has applied for two separate Restore NY Communities Initiative grants, $10 million and $2 million applications, to be used if awarded, to pay for the cost and cleanup of the dilapidated Midtown Plaza property off Miner Street, if and when that property changes ownership.

The deadline to apply was Jan. 27.

On Wednesday evening, the village board held a public hearing to listen to comments from the public on the grant and the Midtown Plaza project.

Public comment was mixed with concerns expressed about project design, the use of state funding and the siting of the $20 million-plus complex.

 This project will take an underutilized and derelict shopping center in the heart of downtown Canton and transform it into three floors of much-needed commercial and residential space, including 44 residential units and the anchor of the project, the SUNY Canton Entrepreneurship Center. 

There are six parcels of land on the property. Five parcels are owned by Garry Cohen, New York City, and the other by Vern Green, Canton.

St. Lawrence County Legislator Daniel Fay, who represents Canton and is a long-time SUNY Canton faculty member, said he wants to see this project built on the college campus in order to attract visitors to the campus.

“I think they should bring this opportunity center on campus and I firmly believe that,” said Fay. “Basically the only time you go on the SUNY Canton campus is for sporting events or graduation.”

SUNY Canton’s Executive director for University Relations Lenore VanderZee responded, pointing out an entrepreneurship center is also planned on campus.

“The two centers will work in tandem with one another to make the maximum opportunities for our students and for community members. This opportunity is really good for the local and regional economy,” VanderZee stated. “We are working hard to make the campus visible.”

SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran noted the college is raising money to offer a child care center on campus; a move that would increase community traffic on campus.

Rev. Michael Catanzaro of Canton’s First Presbyterian Church sees the project as a positive move for the village but expressed concerns about the state-funded complex becoming private property.

“I don’t think there is a more important issue facing the community long term. I commend what is happening and I hope to see it. I appreciate the swing for the fences,” he said. “There’s a lot of public money being put into this endeavor.”

“Another concern is what’s Plan B. If the swing for the fence doesn't work, what’s the call to bunt to get on base to get some movement,” he added.

In an earlier statement. Mayor Michael Dalton outlined the proposed project.

“For many years the village has been working to redevelop the Midtown Plaza that is in a state of serious disrepair. In recent years, and with the vision of SUNY Canton’s president [Zvi Szafran], the village has applied for DRI funding that includes the property,” he stated.

“The plan has been to turn this dilapidated plaza, at the center of our downtown, into a mixed-use development offering diverse housing options and an Entrepreneurship Center that will anchor the project. This will ignite innovation, spur the creation of new businesses, and ensure enduring economic and community growth,” Dalton continued.

The Jubilee supermarket closed its door in the Midtown Plaza in 2000 and Rite Aid departed shortly after, building a new store, now Walgreens, on East Main Street.