Development Goals

Top 10 CCIDA/County Economic Development Goals CE Wendel Talking Points – 10/7/21

• Acquire Shovel-Ready Site(s) – Acquire a site or sites (a minimum of 80 acres) and determine what level of infrastructure and due diligence is required to make the site(s) suitable for industrial/business development. This is in response to the documented need for an increased and improved inventory of market/shovel ready sites.

• White Inn Redevelopment – Work with the owner (JG Funding), community stakeholders, and the State to get the facility sold to a responsible developer who will restore it to its once-prominent status.

• Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth (CCPEG) – Continue to collaborate with community partners and the five work groups to identify and que up projects for the 2022 CFA process, while implementing projects awarded through the 2021 round of funding. CCPEG is placing a special emphasis on reversing population decline and workforce retention & attraction projects/activities.

• Aggressive Proactive Business Retention & Expansion Initiative – Continue to work with current businesses throughout Chautauqua County to ensure they continue to prosper and grow by providing technical assistance and incentives through the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA), Empire State Development (ESD), and other sources.

• Furniture Mart Redevelopment – Continue to work with the Gebbie Foundation and other key stakeholders in Jamestown to que up the Furniture Mart building for future development. This has been an ongoing process that we will continue to put time and effort toward until it is accomplished.

• Talcott Street Sale and Redevelopment – Continueto work with Refresco, Empire State Brands, and other potential developers, and continue to market it to outside developers so that we can get it back into use while creating jobs and commerce in Dunkirk.

• Welch Building Redevelopment – Work with the selected developer (Raant and Saverino) to provide the appropriate incentives from the CCIDA, ESD, and other sources to redevelop the Welch building for a mixed-use project with commercial and housing components.

• ARPA Funding Award – Work diligently to get all of the Economic Development-related ARPA projects underway and implemented, which includes the following:

• Site acquisition for shovel-ready sites – $1.4 Million

• Water/sewer infrastructure for shovel-ready sites – $1.4 Million

• CCPEG for a multitude of Economic Development-related projects – $500,000

• Workforce Development Initiative with WIB, JCC, CCVB, CCIDA – $352,000

• Cornell Cooperative Extension Ag. Improvement Program – $232,540

• Marketing Assistance to Businesses and NFPs – $400,000

• Collaboration with Dunkirk and Jamestown

• Dunkirk Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) – Assuming Dunkirk is awarded a $10 – $20 Million DRI grant award through the 2021 CFA process, continue to work with the stakeholders to ensure that projects enhance Dunkirk’s waterfront and downtown core while aligning with the County’s Economic Development Strategy.

• Chadakoin River Strategic Business Plan – Assuming the City of Jamestown is awarded a CFA grant submitted in July 2021 through the CFA process, the CCIDA, CCPEG, Gebbie, BPU, RTPI, and other partners will work collaboratively with the City to implement the projects from the 2021 Plan, which includes economic, environmental, and marketing-related projects that is intended to activate Jamestown’s waterfront.

• Agricultural Development & Enhancement Strategy – Implement recommendations resulting from the County’s Agricultural Development & Enhancement Strategy (CCADES), which is an update to the County’s Farmland Protection Plan. The objective of the update was to provide an accurate reflection of the current agricultural conditions in Chautauqua County and devise strategies to increase the economic viability of the agricultural industry, encourage farmland protection, and increase public interest and awareness of local agriculture.