Seven counties across the Finger Lakes and Southern Tier are receiving a combined $6.5 million for water, sewer and infrastructure projects designed to unlock new housing, improve aging systems and support future development, while Schuyler County did not receive an award in the latest round.
The funding announced Thursday by Gov. Kathy Hochul includes projects in Ontario, Seneca, Wayne, Yates, Cayuga, Steuben and Tompkins counties. Most are tied directly to housing development, while Seneca County’s award will support a major expansion of water infrastructure in the town of Fayette.
The grants are part of the second round of New York’s County Infrastructure Grant Program, which awarded more than $38 million to 49 projects statewide. The program provides up to $500,000 for economic development, placemaking and tourism projects, with enhanced awards of up to $1 million for infrastructure tied to housing developments of at least 10 units.
State officials said the projects funded in this round are expected to support more than 3,200 new homes across New York.
Wayne County infrastructure could support 20 new homes
Wayne County received $1 million for two infrastructure projects in the town of Lyons, both intended to prepare properties for residential development.
At 7537 Old Lyons Road, the project will extend a four-inch sanitary sewer force main by nearly 3,200 feet and construct a new pump station. The property, a remediated former trailer park, already has water service but lacks sewer infrastructure.
Once sewer service is available, the site is expected to support five new single-family homes.
A second project along Clyde Road will install 2,300 feet of water main, five hydrants and 20 water service connections, including 15 new connections. The new line will connect with existing infrastructure and improvements in Montezuma.
Work will also include 1,300 feet of gravity sanitary sewer, six manholes, 15 sewer connections and a new culvert.
Those improvements are intended to make a vacant four-acre parcel ready for development of as many as 15 single-family homes.
Farmington sewer upgrades could unlock up to 40 homes
Ontario County will receive $1 million for wastewater improvements in the town of Farmington.
The project will add 720 feet of new 12-inch gravity sewer line alongside an existing eight-inch line on Mertensia Road. Another 4,150 feet of six-inch sanitary sewer force main will connect Pump Station No. 1 with an existing interceptor sewer and redirect pressurized wastewater away from a line that is nearing the end of its useful life.
The project will also include new pumps and electrical upgrades at the pump station.
State officials said the work will provide enough additional wastewater capacity for at least 14 new homes, with the potential to support as many as 40 single-family houses.
Fayette water project is part of broader Seneca County system
Seneca County was awarded $500,000 for the first phase of a major water infrastructure project in the town of Fayette.
The town plans to construct 26,300 feet of eight-inch water main and another 32,000 feet of 12-inch main to provide potable water to residents and businesses in Water District 8.
The project is also part of a larger regional initiative being pursued by the Seneca County Water & Sewer Authority to connect the county’s four primary water producers.
State officials said the improvements are intended to increase available fire flow while improving the quality, reliability and capacity of Fayette’s water system.
Unlike several of the other local awards, the Fayette project isn’t tied to a specific housing development. It instead addresses broader system capacity and reliability that could support future residential and commercial growth.
Yates County award targets 64-unit housing development
Yates County received $1 million for infrastructure needed to develop Lakemont Landing in the town of Starkey.
The project will construct on-site water and sewer infrastructure at a 37-acre property where the absence of those utilities has been identified as the largest obstacle to redevelopment.
The improvements are expected to make it possible to reuse existing vacant structures and create 64 units of workforce and family housing.
Weedsport water upgrades tied to 39 housing units
Cayuga County also received $1 million, with the funding going toward modernization of the village of Weedsport’s drinking water system.
The project will replace aging and undersized water mains, valves and hydrants while also making improvements to water storage, treatment and distribution facilities.
State officials said existing infrastructure has constrained residential development, downtown reinvestment and business expansion while also limiting fire protection and system reliability.
The upgrades are expected to improve water pressure and fire flow, reduce service interruptions and increase capacity for future housing and mixed-use development.
Six privately owned properties in the village are expected to use the additional capacity to create 39 housing units through adaptive reuse.
Hornell project would create build-ready lots
Steuben County received $1 million for infrastructure work in the city of Hornell intended to turn underused parcels along West Street into build-ready residential lots.
The project includes new municipal water and sewer lines, stormwater infrastructure and a new access road.
Those improvements are expected to support a planned 10-unit single-family subdivision.
The state said the work is also intended to advance Hornell’s housing goals under New York’s Pro-Housing Communities initiative by removing infrastructure barriers that currently prevent the site from being developed.
Dryden funding will overhaul utilities at manufactured home community
Tompkins County received $1 million for a major infrastructure project at Hanshaw Village in the town of Dryden.
The 132-unit manufactured home community currently relies on aging private utility systems. The project will convert the property from an inadequate private well system to public water service while installing new water mains and sewer lines to replace failing private infrastructure.
State officials said the improvements will address long-term public health and environmental concerns while providing reliable service for the community’s existing 110 households.
The expanded system is also expected to create utility capacity for at least 10 new affordable manufactured homes, with the potential for 22 new homes on previously vacant lots.
Schuyler County absent from latest awards
Schuyler County was not among the 49 projects receiving funding in the second round.
That stands out geographically because the county sits between several communities receiving substantial awards, including projects in Seneca, Yates, Steuben and Tompkins counties.
The state announcement did not identify counties that applied but were unsuccessful, meaning the absence of a Schuyler County award does not establish whether the county submitted a project for consideration.
State program focuses on infrastructure behind housing
The County Infrastructure Grant Program was created in the state’s fiscal 2025 budget and is administered by Empire State Development.
More than $74 million has now been awarded to nearly 100 projects through the program’s first two rounds.
The state included another $50 million for the program in both the fiscal 2026 and fiscal 2027 budgets, and a third round is expected to open in the coming weeks.
Across the seven local awards, the projects illustrate a recurring barrier to housing development throughout the region: communities may have land or redevelopment opportunities available, but construction often can’t proceed until aging or inadequate water, sewer and transportation systems are addressed.
Wayne, Ontario, Yates, Cayuga, Steuben and Tompkins counties all received funding directly connected to housing construction or redevelopment. Seneca County’s Fayette project takes a broader approach, expanding water capacity and reliability as part of a regional effort to strengthen the county’s system.
Together, the seven projects could directly support or enable well over 200 new housing units if fully developed, while also replacing or expanding infrastructure that local governments say is limiting growth today.
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