The state is putting $4.3 million into 36 projects around the Adirondack Park through its Smart Growth Grant program, including two local housing development initiatives, plans for a trailhead and a train station on opposite ends of the Adirondack Rail Trail, as well as parks, trails and infrastructure improvements.

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Housing

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Adirondack Roots, formerly the Housing Assistance Program of Essex County, was awarded $300,000 for a housing pre-development program.

The Northern Forest Center was awarded $125,000 to support its similar pre-development work around the Adirondacks.

Adirondack Roots Executive Director Megan Murphy said they aware of numerous properties in Essex, Hamilton and Warren counties which municipalities are interested in developing. She said it takes lots of work to figure out if they actually are developable.

Northern Forest Center’s Adirondack Program Director Leslie Karasin said this takes planning, zoning, structural and environmental surveys.

The costs of studying if land can support housing is often a barrier for developers, both said. Karasin said if they can get the pre-development work out of the way, municipalities are more likely to attract a developer’s interest.

Karasin estimated that the money NFC got will fund a shallow dive on 10 projects and a deeper dive of five of them.

Murphy estimates that the money Adirondack Roots got will fund around four full pre-development processes. Murphy said the Adirondack Foundation also gave them a matching fund of $36,000.

“My administration’s focus on the housing crisis is central to this round of grant awards with funding being directed to local code revisions and project pre-development costs for affordable housing,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

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Other grants

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The village of Lake Placid was awarded $300,000 for work on the Adirondack Rail Trail trailhead at its end. The town of Tupper Lake was awarded $300,000 to prepare for another grant to renovate the train station on its end of the Adirondack Rail Trail, where the 34-mile trail connecting the Tri-Lakes towns turns into the train tracks which head to Old Forge.

“I tell you, once they’re done, that’s going to be a beautiful train station,” Tupper Lake town Supervisor Rick Dattola said.

The village of Saranac Lake was awarded $300,000 for soil contamination remediation ahead of construction for the new Pendragon Theatre location planned on Woodruff Street. This will be passed on to the theater.

Saranac Lake also was awarded $100,000 to do a feasibility study on the Lake Flower Avenue streetscape as it prepares to replace the century-old water lines running beneath the road. Village Manager Bachana Tsiklauri said this money is a great start, but a fraction of the cost of the project.

The town of Harrietstown was awarded $122,000 for an expansion to its municipal park on John Munn Road, including the addition of a playground; expansion of the bike park jump line; picnic tables and benches; signage; an educational kiosk; and a bridge to link existing park trails with the Adirondack Rail Trail.

“I believe our success on this grant application is directly related to the significant community support we were able to demonstrate to the DEC,” Harrietstown town Supervisor Jordanna Mallach said in a statement. “Letters of support were provided by Saranac Lake Youth Baseball and Softball Association, the Saranac Lake dog park, Saranac Lake Innovative Cycling Kids, and Saranac Lake Central School District. These letters made our application stronger.”

The town of North Elba was awarded $115,000 to build a new bike pump track near the lacrosse fields and pickleball/volleyball courts.

North Elba town Supervisor Derek Doty said the town wants this area to be more widely used.

The town of Keene was awarded $125,000 to connect the East Branch Community Trails — maintained by the town, Barkeater Trails Alliance and Keene Youth Commission — with the hamlet of Keene.

Franklin County was awarded $125,000 to do Adirondack Park road and stream crossing management planning.

The Essex County Industrial Development Agency was awarded $125,000 toward agriculture producer revitalization microenterprise grants.

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Smart Growth

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The state Department of Environmental Conservation’s Smart Growth program provides grants specifically for the Adirondack and Catskill parks.

“Smart growth can provide the right balance between development and preservation,” according to a statement from Hochul’s office.

Secretary of State Robert Rodriguez said it strikes “a healthy balance between growth and conservation.”

Adirondack Park Agency Executive Director Barbara Rice said funding “vibrant and diverse communities (is) absolutely essential to ensure the long-term viability of the Adirondack (Park.)”

These grants are funded through the state’s Environmental Protection Fund. This fund was maintained at $400 million in the state budget passed last weekend.