County Seeking 1 Million To Assist With Schoharie, Cobleskill Projects

SCHOHARIE COUNTY — Schoharie County is applying for $1 million from Empire State Development's County Infrastructure Program to assist with proposed developments in the Village of Schoharie and Town of Cobleskill, county Planning and Community Development Director Shane Nickle wrote in an email.

The Village of Schoharie project is a 46-unit housing development proposed by Mainbridge for a site at 218 Main Street. It would include 70,000 square feet of commercial and residential space, with the residential units proposed to be two to three-story units with parking and green space, according to the information provided by Nickle. The county is applying for $350,000 on this project that would be used for infrastructure (sewer/water, power) and sidewalks, he added.

The Town of Cobleskill project is being put forward by Chacho & Sons Holdings for a site on Shad Point Road between that road and Route 7. It is slated to be a 60 to 80-unit housing development with a mix of residential including apartments, townhouses and single family. Schoharie County is applying for $650,000 on this endeavor that if the funds are obtained  would be used to extend sewer/water service within the site, extension of power, roads and telecommunications, Nickle stated.

"Only the county is eligible to submit one application this year," Nickle wrote in the email. "We wanted to move quickly and be transparent so at the end of December, we notified all county municipalities of the grant opportunity. The deadline for municipal submissions to our office was January 13. Based on the submissions, we assembled a proposal and discussed it with Bill Federice (Chair of the county Board of Supervisors)."

Nickle stated he is in the process of assembling a letter of intent that he wants to submit by the end of this week. Once the LOI is submitted and reviewed, he said he anticipates being instructed by ESD to proceed. Nickle added that he and county Community Development Coordinator John Crescimanno then plan to meet with the developers next week to get more details for the full grant application, which is due by April 1. The grant requires the developers to commit to a 50 percent match, Nickle added.

He continued that a decision is expected from ESD within roughly a month after the full grant application is submitted.