It doesn’t look like much is happening on a large plot of land in downtown Newark, but Mayor Jonathan Taylor tells us big changes are coming to his village.
“Everything from a new hotel and conference center to a health and wellness center, to upgrades to the port of Newark and our park, potential projects in our old Saint Elizabeth Hospital that’s been vacant for 30 years,” Taylor said.
Newark Village Officials considering projects for downtown revitalization (video)
Village won $10 million from New York State for improvements
Last December, the Village of Newark won a $10 million downtown revitalization initiative from New York State for the Finger Lakes Region. But even before that, Taylor says, the Village started working to improve the area back in 2017.
“Over that time we’ve had thousands of opportunities for the community to have input on what the Village really wanted to see in our community, as far as quality of life aspects, housing, any types of amenities and that’s all gone into development of our application,” Taylor said.
More: Newark Downtown Revitalization Initiative announces virtual public meeting on July 25
Local business owners are eagerly waiting to see progress
Mitch Ruffalo owns Ruffalo Enterprises in Newark. His headquarters are right where the changes will take place.
“I’m thrilled to death,” Ruffalo said. “It’s about time we started moving forward. These guys have been working their tails off to get this done and I’m proud of that.”
Village officials are in the process of narrowing down which projects should take priority. From the smaller things like a new kayak launch, to re-purposing an existing hospital, business owners have high hopes about what this means for the local economy.
“There’s a lot of different things that we’re hoping to have and I believe we will,” Ruffalo said. “I’m just excited about it and I want to be a part of it.”
Meanwhile, Taylor says the next step will be to finalize which projects will make the cut.
“Hopefully by the end of 2023 we’ll start to see shovels in the ground and projects going forward in 2024,” Taylor said.
To read more about proposed upcoming changes to the village, click here.
Rebecca is a veteran multimedia journalist serving as one of our core reporters in the Finger Lakes region. She is responsible for telling stories that matter to every day Upstate New Yorkers. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].