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CoLa: "HUB" Zone
The targeted CoLa Neighborhood of Downtown Utica had 40+ businesses before the hospital concept was annonced, however the newspaper claimed "a few" or "several" buisnesses. When our region sought $500M from Albany, the #MV500 bid "mistakenly" called the targeted 34-acre parcel "crushing blight" and "functionally obsolete".
Language from the MVHS SEQR Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) follows...
Property Acquisition
MVHS DEIS, Section 1 (see page 7)
"The project includes the acquisition of the 25± acres of property in an area of Utica that is designated as a Federal “Historically Underutilized Business” (HUB) Zone8, a distressed area and a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) designated “
8 HUBZone means a historically underutilized business zone, which is an area located within one or more: (1) Qualified census tracts; (2) Qualified non-metropolitan counties; (3) Lands within the external boundaries of an Indian reservation; (4) Qualified base closure areas; (5) Re-designated areas; or (6) Qualified disaster areas.
8.1 DOWNTOWN SITE
As previously stated in Section 1, the project is located in an area of the city designated as a Federal “Historically Underutilized Business” (HUB) Zone. MVHS has coordinated with local and regional economic development organizations, including the City, County, Mohawk Valley EDGE, and the Community Foundation to promote the potential secondary economic development opportunities afforded by the downtown siting of the IHC.
What if the following government investment of taxpayer funding was placed into modest upgrades to the CoLa Neighborhood...
Oneida County spends on Downtown Utica hospital concept: So few want it, so little known... https://t.co/WUebCXqOPL pic.twitter.com/Tv7yWAgoUy
— CoLaFa (@CoLaFa1) February 19, 2017
Refereences
[A] Federal HUBZone on Wikipedia.
[B] New York State DEC page on their Environmental Justice Area program.
[C] Another newer program to consider, New York State's "Opportunity Zones", based on Federally targeted areas for investment. View Downtown Utica's Cola Opportunity Zone Map.
Notes
The downtown hospital site "study area" was 34-acres. Early media reports only revealed 12.5 acres, while "reporting" on a 34 acre site. Years passed before a media outlet finally showed residents the entire 34 acres. Later, the "required" site was reduced to a 25 acre site, but offers by hospital to Parcel owners were confidential. See Changing Maps page.
You can help, please join us on Facebook #NoHospitalDowntown. Also consider adding your voice to Hundreds of People Saying, "No Hospital Downtown". Get to know BUD, that's the future of the Columbia Lafayette Neighborhood!
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