This section should be filled out with reference to the list of desired attributes for participation in the DRI as set forth in the DRI program description.

1) Boundaries of the Downtown Neighborhood. Detail the boundaries of the targeted neighborhood, keeping in mind that there is no minimum or maximum size, but that the neighborhood should be concentrated and well-defined. Neighborhoods beyond a traditional downtown or central business district are eligible, if they can meet other criteria making them ripe for investment. Attach a map that clearly delineates the downtown neighborhood.

Downtown Utica encompasses approximately 300 acres in Utica’s urban center, including the distinct mixeduse downtown neighborhoods described above. At the nucleus is Genesee Street, Utica’s “main street” which is a regional hub of government, banking and culture. To the west is the future site of a new Mohawk Valley Health Systems downtown medical campus, which is bounded by Bagg’s Square to the North, Genesee Street to the South and Bleecker Street to the East.

Please refer to the attached map (Exhibit A: Defined Downtown Area Map) to see a visual representation of the above-described downtown area.

The target area selection was based on the following:

 Mixed-use Commercial Areas that have exhibited recent growth in entrepreneurial enterprise and increased attraction of significant private investment

 Strategic Development Areas identified by the NYS Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) and Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) – to which the City has committed to implementing

 HUD Target Areas including Census Block Groups and mixed-use neighborhoods that have been identified and engaged by the HUD Community Needs Assessment, CDBG target area, and proposed HUD Promise Zone

 Extreme Disinvestment in core areas to be targeted for development – such as the MVHS downtown medical campus and public parking facilities

 Community Assets including anchor institutions and small businesses

 Non-profit Community and Career Development Services, especially those focused on low-tomoderate income individuals, New Americans, and returning Veterans

 Historic Building Stock and Infrastructure with the capacity to facilitate new growth and contemporary development

 Mixed-income Housing Options to ensure equity for Utica residents

2) Catchment area. Outline why the downtown, or its catchment area, is of a size sufficient to support a vibrant, year-round downtown, with consideration of whether there is a sizeable existing or increasing population within easy reach for whom this would be the primary downtown destination.

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Downtown Utica has been, and still is, the most important venue for civic life for residents of the City, the rest of Oneida County, and beyond. Public events such as parades, assemblies, and gatherings happen in Downtown Utica and special events, such as Utica Restaurant Week, the New York State Craft Brewers Festival, and multiple other food and cultural tours take place there. Moreover, it is the commercial hub where residents shop, dine, do business, and address health care needs.

Much of Utica’s strength stems from its cultural diversity. Utica has one of the highest percentages of refugees of any city in America. Over 27% of residents in Utica speak a language other than English at home. The Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees (MVRCR) has resettled over 16,000 refugees from more than 31 nations since its establishment in 1979, and 46 languages are spoken by students in the Utica City School District.

Reversing a long trend of decline, the City has been growing in population, experiencing racial and ethnic composition changes. Over the past 10 years, the Asian population has grown from 2% to 8%; the African American population has seen a slight increase to 15%; and the Latino population has increased from 6% to 10%. Furthermore, the under-35 population in Utica has increased by 9.1% since 2000 and accounts for more than 50% of the total City population. The current population of the defined downtown is just over 3,100 (approximately 5% of the City’s residents).

Downtown Utica is the connector to the City’s Harbor Point waterfront and is home to the Utica Transit Center and Union Station. Rich in historic architecture, it is less than a mile from Utica College, MVCC and SUNY Poly campuses and the site of choice for commercial financial services.

Anchor institutions in Downtown Utica include Utica College’s new downtown campus, Mohawk Valley Community College’s thINCubator Innovation Hot Spot and the future site of the MVHS medical campus. Together, these institutions form a STEM support structure for technology entrepreneurs, biomedical professionals, and advanced industry supply chain workers. Many local and state planning documents have highlighted the importance of increasing STEM focus - elevating educational, commercial, and workforce opportunities which advance these fields. With Mohawk Valley’s incredible STEM-related progress and job growth, this will be a critical area of concentration for both the City and its downtown.

Downtown Utica has experienced a growing concentration of entrepreneurs. Prolific growth in craft food establishments, technology firms, and investors in historic properties are inspiring ongoing economic evolution in this concentrated urban neighborhood. Students graduating from SUNY Poly, Utica College, Mohawk Valley Community College, and St. Elizabeth’s School of Nursing are choosing to stay and invest themselves in Downtown Utica, providing an influx of new, younger, and educated workers. With the increasingly younger population of the City, and the reversal of ‘brain drain’, Utica’s new community is setting novel standards for upstate urban living and affecting profound change in the demand for services and facilities.

There is an abundance of quality of life amenities that attract visitors from all over the region while consistently engaging residents, including, the Utica Memorial Auditorium with professional (AHL) and Utica College hockey, the Boilermaker, Saranac Thursdays, the Stanley Performing Arts Center, Munson-WilliamsProctor Arts Institute and a multitude of restaurants and shops.

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The sizeable population of downtown Utica’s catchment area easily supports a vibrant, year-roundvdestination while also serving as the epicenter for the population of Oneida County which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau was estimated to be 232,871 in 2014.

Additionally, surrounding county residents regularly seek services in downtown Utica including doctors, dentists, lawyers, financial advisors, and other professionals. Downtown Utica is easily reachable from a regional perspective as it is just steps away from the NYS Thruway.

3) Past Investment, future investment potential. Describe how this downtown will be able to capitalize on prior or catalyze future private and public investment in the neighborhood and its surrounding areas.

The City of Utica receives Federal CDBG, ESG, and HOME entitlement funding of which an estimated 90% is invested in the Downtown target area to seed projects. In addition to multiple State funds (DOS, DEC, EFC, ESD, etc.), private funding from the Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties, National Grid, Cornell University and others have made a powerful impact in Downtown.

Thanks to the leadership of Governor Andrew Cuomo, the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council process has accelerated investment in downtown and the greater metropolitan area at a rate that the City has not experienced in at least a generation. During the past six REDC rounds, projects within Downtown Utica target area alone have earned awards totaling more than $15 million, leveraging more than $140 million in new public and private investment.

Recent Investments in the One World Downtown target area include:

• $500,000 in capital, job training, and Innovation Hot Spot grant funding of educational institutions to bring opportunities to urban core neighborhoods.

• $5.4 million in grant funding towards downtown business expansion, as well as mixed-use redevelopment of vacant and blighted commercial buildings.

• $3.1 million in funding to reconstruct aging and unsustainable downtown infrastructure.

• $2 million for improvements to historic and culturally significant facilities at Union Station and Utica Memorial Auditorium

• $1.7 million for the Central Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired to expand its Downtown headquarters in order to offer a vision rehabilitation service center, agency administration and additional manufacturing space for the legally blind.

• $500,000 for the City of Utica’s One World Garden.

• $400,000 for art exhibits at Munson Williams proctor Arts Institute.

The catalyzing force of the REDC funding has set in motion a multitude of private interest and investment in commercial, residential, and industrial projects, creating a wave of new family businesses, young

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entrepreneurs, and ready and willing financial institutions which have added fuel to Utica’s economic recovery, reimagining sustainable growth in Downtown and beyond.

Downtown Utica is the region’s largest, most diverse, and most densely populated metropolitan center in the Mohawk Valley region. Sparked by new investments in the region, the City’s downtown neighborhoods are reimagining themselves as urban entertainment, recreation, sports, and entrepreneurial destinations. Upscale residential lofts, mixed-use development in former factory buildings, a proposed medical campus, and a growing cultural vibrancy are contributing to Downtown Utica’s emergence as a true year-round downtown.

These efforts and many others have been implemented in concentrated Downtown Utica, demonstrating the momentum the City’s downtown revitalization efforts have generated. This momentum will allow the City to capitalize on these prior expenditures and catalyze future investments in the downtown area.

Please refer to Exhibit B: Recent and Future Investments Map.

4) Recent or impending job growth. Describe how recent or impending job growth within, or in close proximity to, the downtown will attract professionals to an active life in the downtown, support redevelopment, and make growth sustainable in the long-term.

By far, the most profound and impactful initiative underway in the Mohawk Valley region is the development of the Marcy Nanocenter site at SUNY Poly. This 428-acre site is being developed for semiconductor manufacturing and supportive nano-technology uses.

Mohawk Valley EDGE is collaborating with SUNY Polytechnic Institute on this transformational initiative that has led to the commitment by General Electric and Danfoss Silicon Power to locate a Silicon Carbide Packaging Center on the site. Eventually, the company expects to employ 300 people at the site.

New York State has committed more than $900 million toward the Marcy Nanocenter and Nano Utica projects to ensure a complete and lasting success. Full build-out of the Marcy site can attract $14 to $18 billion in investment and generate 4,000 to 5,000 direct and indirect jobs. Benefits to the local and regional economy will include new employment opportunities, median income increase, a larger tax base, and continued population growth and diversity.

In Downtown Utica, the planned MVHS downtown hospital will bring an influx of more than 4,000 employees to the new integrated health campus. Housing, commercial, retail, and entertainment venues are positioned to greatly benefit. The new hospital campus will also bring infrastructure upgrades and pedestrian and bike linkages throughout the downtown and the Harbor District. The above-described recent and impending job growth located within, and in close proximity to, Downtown Utica will attract professionals to an active life in the downtown, support revitalization efforts, and create sustainable, long-term growth. An expanded job market will lend further support to redevelopment by adding to the number of professionals visiting downtown retail and dining establishments found within walking distance of their workplace.

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The addition of quality market rate and income-based housing options will give employees the option of living downtown as well as enjoying numerous recreational and social opportunities in the defined downtown area. Downtown Utica is poised to be a vibrant city center where tomorrow’s workforce will want to live, work, play, and raise families, sustaining growth and investments well into the future.

5) Attractiveness of physical environment. Identify the properties or characteristics that the downtown possesses that contribute, or could contribute if enhanced, to the attractiveness and livability of the downtown for a diverse population of varying ages, income, gender identity, ability, mobility, and cultural background. Consider, for example, the presence of developable mixed-use spaces, varied housing types at different levels of affordability, walkability and bikeability, healthy and affordable food markets, and public parks and gathering spaces.

It would be remiss for someone to visit downtown Utica and not form a positive memory of its many attractive attributes. With storied and truly wonderful architecture, downtown Utica is brimming with qualities that leave an impression. In a continued effort towards complete revitalization, improved quality of living, and transformation, the City of Utica continues to take cues from other successful and innovative downtowns throughout the country, adhering to proven and successful tactics: keeping housing affordable; making high-profile investments in poor neighborhoods; reducing red tape for neighborhood redevelopment; and improving walkability.

To further the City’s efforts and embracement of its artistic and cultural strengths, in 2016, via a NYS Council on the Arts grant, the City was awarded just under $50,000 towards its “One World Utica – Reimagining the Arts” planning vision. One World Utica - Re-Imagining the Arts, a creative placemaking and marketing strategy, will communicate, integrate, generate and illuminate downtown as destination for artists and their industries and residents and visitors looking for the vibrancy of a creative community.

Authentic Architecture Many of the key architectural gems within the region have been preserved and the region’s renewed economic activity provides opportunities to repurpose and reclaim other architecturally significant properties. Designed by the same architects as New York City’s Grand Central Station, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, and designated as one of the "Most Beautiful Train Stations Across America" in 2016, downtown Utica’s Union Station is a sight to behold. Other structures, such as the flatiron style Carlile Building, the First Presbyterian Church and its related McKinnon House which were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, the Grace Church which was added to the register in 1997, the Fort Schuyler Club, Stanley Theatre, and so many others significantly contribute to the attraction and distinction of downtown Utica. Many downtown buildings are multiple stories, making them ideal for mixed-use development, with commercial and retail on the first or second floors and housing options on the upper floors. The City has initiated a CDBG-funded Commercial Façade Program which is currently improving buildings along Bleecker and Genesee Streets with design guidelines in mind.

Access to Transportation and Walkability

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Over $1 million in renovations in an around Union Station and even more at the Centro Transit Center are improving rail and bus experiences. The $62 million Utica North-South Arterial Project is nearing completion and a significant amount of unsightly derelict buildings have been removed in Downtown Utica. Walkability has been improved and neighborhoods are connected via a pedestrian bridge. More access and mobility improvements in and around Utica are soon to be realized: the NYS DOT Oriskany Boulevard Greenway (Complete Streets) Project is a $9 million reconstruction of Route 5S calling for new bike and walking trails, Erie Canalway trail connections to Harbor Point, an East-West Bagg’s Square greenway, and a network of public parking spaces in Downtown Utica.

Inclusive Downtown Housing The Oneida County Industrial Development Agency (OCIDA) has created specialized incentives to catalyze smart growth projects that create new housing opportunities – particularly, medium-to-large-scale adaptive reuse projects that target key buildings in Downtown Utica neighborhoods. Housing projects being considered which would greatly add to downtown’s livability, affordability, and diversity include:

• More than 30 loft apartment units are proposed or underway for historic Bagg’s Square on Hotel Street, including ground–floor boutique retail.

• The former ConMed facility will include 30 loft-style apartments adjacent to the expanded thINCubator and MVCC’s Construction Trades Training Facilities.

Downtown Utica’s commitment to expanding each of the aspects above contributes to its overall attractiveness and livability for a diverse population of varying ages, income, gender identity, ability, mobility, and cultural background. As a home to small businesses galore, from law offices, accounting, and marketing firms to high tech companies, cafes, and coffee houses – downtown has a healthy variety of commerce to support its local workforce while offering a well-rounded mix of attractions to residents and visitors alike. Restaurants like The Tailor & the Cook and Ocean Blue are attracting individuals from across the region and over 50 restaurants open their doors in Downtown Utica – Thai, Chinese, Italian, German, Polish, Irish, Japanese, Greek, and American cuisine venues line the streets. Entertainment, including ice skating and hockey at Utica Aud, summer Saranac Thursday outdoor concerts, Main Street for the Holidays, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute shows and festivals, Oneida Square One World Flower Fest, Boilermaker Road Race, Broadway at the Stanley Theatre, puppet shows at the Children’s Museum, Levitt Concert Series in the Park, St Patrick’s Day Parade, downtown trail walking, biking, and running solidify Utica as a year-round destination. Above all, success stories and highlights of downtown revitalization, such as the heavily lauded Landmarc Utica (a former abandoned building transformed into 31 luxury loft apartments and an upscale rooftop restaurant), are setting a new standard for urban living in Utica and realizing formidable shifts in regional mindset.

6) Quality of Life policies. Articulate the policies in place that increase the livability and quality of life of the downtown. Examples include the use of local land banks, modern zoning codes, comprehensive plans, complete streets plans, transit-oriented development, non-discrimination laws, age-friendly policies, and a downtown management structure. If policies achieving this goal are not currently in place, describe the ability of the municipality to create and implement such policies.

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Utica has approached downtown development in recent years through expanded community engagement, a HUD Community Needs Assessment, comprehensive planning, and sustainability strategies in an effort to identify policy to enhance the City’s quality of life. Some of the City’s ongoing efforts include: