STEL Director of Real Estate Development Steven Ald answers questions at Jamestown City Council meeting about Gateway Lofts Project (March 31, 2025)
Jamestown City Council defeated 3 to 6 a resolution that would have reallocated $640,000 in HOME Program funds to remediate the Gateway Lofts Project site.
Between the public hearing and privilege of the floor, four people spoke in favor of the Gateway Lofts Project while four people spoke against the project.
Southern Tier Environments for Living is spending $77 million to remediate and redevelop the former Chautauqua Hardware property into 110 units of affordable housing. The funding from the city would have gone toward the remediation of the brownfield site.
The Minnow Brook Culvert Rehabilitation project involves the rehabilitation and replacement of a deteriorated culvert carrying Minnow Brook under Water Street and two parking lots. This work overlaps the proposed remediation of the Gateway Lofts project.
While Jamestown has received a $1.5 million Bridge NY grant for the culvert project, the total project cost is estimated at $1,850,100 with the balance above the grant funds being paid by the City of Jamestown.
Jamestown Director of Development Crystal Surdyk said the city didn’t request a 12-month extension to try to find other uses for the U.S. Housing and Urban Development funds due to the pauses in federal funding and the rescinding of grants taking place under President Donald Trump’s administration, “In our conversations with HUD and our local representatives, we’ve been encouraged to spend the funding down as quickly as we can, apply it to projects that are ready to go. This is a project that’s ready to go.”
Surdyk said HOME program funds are restrictive in how they can be used and the Department of Development and area housing agencies currently don’t have the capacity to do projects quickly, “Our Rehab Specialist that is managing these projects has 24 projects underway right now that she is managing. We have over 250 projects as a department that we are managing right now, today. So, to try to add several more or to try to create some kind of new program… I don’t know how we’ll do it. We’ll certainly try.”
Council members Bill Reynolds and Regina Brackman both said they were voting no on the funding reallocation because Gateway Lofts Project officials had investors in place and the council members didn’t feel the project needed additional financial help from the city. Council member at large Jeff Russell echoed that he didn’t think the funding should go toward the Gateway Lofts and, instead, be used for other housing projects.
Only Council members Brent Sheldon, Joe Paterniti, and Council President Tony Dolce voted yes.
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