Urban Strategies is retained by New York State’s Department of State to implement their annual Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) program, where municipalities are granted $10 million to invest in revitalization initiatives – public improvement projects, new development, and rehabilitation of historic structures. Working with a multi-disciplinary team guided by a Local Planning Committee, we work with municipalities to take stock of existing conditions and identify opportunities and constraints that revitalization projects should build upon and address.
We also work with revitalization project sponsors – residents, building owners, developers, and non-profit organizations – to develop and refine their projects to maximize their transformative potential for downtown and ensure that they are ready for investment by the State.
We work closely with a Local Planning Committee made up of residents and stakeholders to develop a vision and goals to guide revitalization efforts, evaluate the projects that advance through an Open Call for Projects, and ultimately to select a final slate of projects to recommend for funding by the State.
