SARANAC LAKE – The village’s downtown wasn’t picked this week for a $10 million economic development prize.

Instead, Gov. Andrew Cuomo traveled to Plattsburgh Wednesday to announce that city as the North Country’s winner of his Downtown Revitalization Initiative. The funds will be used to build a new “city center,” including a multi-story, mixed-use building, green space and a parking garage.

“I think Saranac Lake submitted a good application, but we didn’t come in first place, so I congratulate Plattsburgh,” said village Mayor Clyde Rabideau, who was Plattsburgh’s mayor for 10 years in the 1990s. “The thing about Saranac Lake is, if we lose, and we’ve lost before, we always learn. So I believe the next time this comes around we’ll be in a better position to win it all.”

Saranac Lake was one of eight North Country communities that submitted applications to the Downtown Revitalization Initiative, according to Empire State Development. ESD wouldn’t identify the villages, towns or cities that applied, only the counties. Two applications were from Franklin County, including Saranac Lake’s, four from St. Lawrence County, and one each from Clinton and Jefferson counties. The nearby villages of Tupper Lake in Franklin County and Lake Placid in Essex County did not apply.

Saranac Lake sent in a 169-page application. It said the $10 million infusion “would accelerate downtown’s renaissance” and “transform downtown and the entire village, benefiting the community and all New Yorkers.”

While it didn’t win the money, Rabideau said he still believes there’s strong momentum in the village’s downtown right now with, among other things, new businesses opening, renovation of the Hotel Saranac and upgrades planned to more than a dozen downtown storefronts.

“If you compare our downtown to Plattsburgh’s downtown, I’ve had not just me but Plattsburghians come here and say, ‘You know, there’s a little more vibrancy going on in your downtown than our downtown.’ I attribute it to the grassroots effort that’s going on in our downtown, and some great grants and leadership in our village staff.”

Trustee Paul Van Cott said the village’s work on the initiative “has set a path for making Saranac Lake thrive as an Adirondack hamlet.

“Saranac Lake is unique in the Adirondack Park, and we are excited about making it ever better as a place people want to visit and choose to live, work and play,” he wrote in an email.

The North Country Regional Economic Develop-ment Council picked which community in the region would get the $10 million and submitted its choice to the state for certification.

Cuomo set aside $100 million for 10 downtown neighborhoods across New York as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Plattsburgh, Middletown and Geneva were the first winners announced in the contest. The Democratic governor has said the funding is intended to help local communities turn their downtowns into “vibrant” places to live, work and raise families.