Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the Bronx Civic Center and the City of Kingston each won $10 million in state funding.

NEW YORK CITY—Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that the Bronx Civic Center neighborhood in the South Bronx has won $10 million in funding for projects geared at revitalizing the area.

The funding award and state investments are part of the governor's second annual Downtown Revitalization Initiative given out to one downtown in each of the state's 10 regional economic development councils. The South Bronx neighborhood was this year's winner for the state's New York City region.

Later in the day, Gov. Cuomo announced that the City of Kingston landed the $10-million downtown revitalization award for the Mid-Hudson region.

“Downtown revitalization is critical to strengthening our communities, driving business growth, and attracting and retaining the next generation of leaders in New York,” Gov. Cuomo said. “These investments in the South Bronx will establish a solid foundation for continued growth throughout the region and provide stronger, more viable communities for generations to come.”

The Bronx Civic Center neighborhood includes the area bounded by 144th Street on the south, 165th Street on the north, the Harlem River on the west and St. Ann's Avenue/East-Third Avenue on the east. Jamaica, Queens was the winner of the $10-millon downtown award last year for the New York City region and the City of Middletown secured the award in 2016 for the Mid-Hudson region.

A Strategic Investment Plan to revitalize the Bronx Civic Center will now be developed with up to $300,000 in planning funds from the $10 million DRI grant. A local planning committee made up of municipal representatives, community leaders and other stakeholders will lead the plan development process, supported by a team of private sector experts and state planners, state officials note. The plan for the Bronx Civic Center will examine local assets and opportunities and identify economic development, transportation, housing, and community projects that align with the community's vision for downtown revitalization and for swift implementation. The plan is expected to be completed by early 2018.

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. says of the state funding award, “The Downtown Revitalization Initiative is designed to transform traditional downtown neighborhoods into even more vibrant communities. This program will help shape the future of the South Bronx, and make the communities surrounding this institution and others even greater places to live, work and raise families. With this funding, the South Bronx will have the opportunity to reach its full potential using community-based efforts to strengthen our neighborhoods.”

The Bronx Civic Center is home to nearly 250,000 people. Some of the more notable institutions located in the Bronx Civic Center neighborhood include Hostos Community College, the Office of the Bronx Borough President, the Bronx Museum of the Arts and the storied Yankee Stadium.

In its application for the downtown revitalization initiative funding, Bronx Community Boards 1 and 4 and Hostos Community College listed a number of potential projects that could be implemented with the funding. Those include: the development of underutilized sites in and around the Bronx Civic Center, development of co-working space, promoting diversity in retail and dining, a local workforce development plan, high speed broadband delivery, as well as economic development strategies for the South Bronx Tech Triangle and Penn Access corridors and the Triborough Line.

The application cited a host of major projects in development, including the 28-story mixed-use affordable housing development at 425 Grand Concourse and the 14-story, 170,000-square-foot Allied Health and Science Building.

“Two key opportunities for inclusive growth that have been identified by the community are 1) linking residents to the economic boom occurring in the surrounding communities, The Bronx and New York City through education and workforce training programs, and 2) strengthening the Bronx Civic Center with more office, retail and residential development that would benefit existing and future residents,” the Bronx Civic Center DRI application stated.

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