Vince DeJoy - Downtown Revitalization Initiative

Posted by Chris Anderson on Feb 10, 2017
 
 
Vince DeJoy, DJDC, was introduced by our own John Lloyd.  Vince is a 1978 graduate of JHS and is currently, the director of development for city of Jamestown; he is executive member of many corporations in the city of Jamestown; and, a charter member of AM Jamestown Club.
 
Vince talked about an update on the Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI).  $10 million was awarded to Jamestown for Governor Cuomo’s economic development committee late last year.  The City and other organizations are diligently working on a plan that will be submitted to the state before the end of this month.  The state will then decide which projects can go forward with the $10 million grant money.  
 
15 projects that are being considered:
 
Key Bank building – purchased by Arnold Duke; loves Jamestown; looking to redevelop the building to bring high tech jobs to Jamestown; mixed-use redevelopment; $3 million project; market rate and corp apartments; upscale restaurant; wine bar, etc.  
 
Hilton Double Tree Hotel - $19 million project cost; 144 rooms; meeting rooms and ball rooms; huge improvement to what we have currently downtown.
 
Jamestown Brewing Company - $5 million project; father and son out of south buffalo; brewery, banquet space, large patios, etc.  
 
Furniture Mart Building - $20 million project by Ellicott development in Buffalo; hotel, apartments or condos; developer looking to build a 300-car parking structure to the east of the building; very exciting.
 
Rail Depot – excursion trains to Jamestown; utilizing the current train station; people coming from other regional areas; great tourism tool and economic development tool!  Need more tracks and switches; would link the Buffalo, Niagara Falls corridor; have some good operators and partners and the city is working closely with them.  Anticipation of 5 to 10 of these trains coming here annually.  
 
Reg Lenna Master Plan – $1.5 million to complete master plan; foundation support already committed.  The DIR money will hopefully bring it over the goal line.
 
River Walk – lighting up the Riverwalk with LED lighting; couple pedestrian bridges; kayak launches, etc.
 
Downtown programming – we are building attractions, but we need financial support to activate the waterfront and attractions; will secure entertainment, etc.
 
Site preparations along River Walk area – buy parcels where there may be a better and higher use for the area.
 
Streetscape – physicals upgrades to key corridors; fixing sidewalks; making downtown Jamestown more walk-able and presentable with all our new attractions.
 
Street redesigns – merge 2nd and 4th street as two-way traffic; $4-5 million project; the DIR will help with planning and site drawings and will get us ready to implement something like this.
 
Lucille Ball Theater – new HVAC and other upgrades; refresh it to be another venue to utilize for events and collaboration with other entities downtown.
 
Jackson Center – collaborating with other entities; physical upgrades to HVAC system.  
 
Destination Farmers Market and Food Hub – create a permanent farmers market downtown; local sourced and grown food.
 
Northwest Arena / Comedy Center Partnership – serve to offer retail space between Northwest Arena and National Comedy Center; opportunity to capture more revenue and synergy between the two attractions.  
 
Other initiatives – poverty reduction initiative with UWAYSCC; looking to start another grant to address zombie and vacant properties.
 
Vince explained the process of approval.  The plans will be submitted to Governor Cuomo’s office.  The state will decide how to move forward with the projects that were submitted.  That will ultimately determine whether or not many of these projects move forward – many things will be happening in the next 2 years hopefully.  A lot of exciting action in downtown Jamestown!
 
 
Also, please check out this wonderful 5 minute video titled, "Hello Jamestown, NY." - https://youtu.be/5KiAWfu7cu8