Village of Saranac Lake North Country Regional Economic Development Council Downtown Revitalization Initiative Strategic Investment Plan march 2019 village of sarananc Lake downtown revitalization initiative Local Planning Committee Members Hon. Clyde Rabideau, Co-Chair Amy Cantania Carl Hagmann* Mayor Executive Director Owner/Broker Village of Saranac Lake Historic Saranac Lake Say Real Estate James McKenna, Co-Chair Sarah Clarkin Adam Harris Co-Chair Executive Director Owner North Country REDC Harrietstown Housing Authority Grizle T’s Stacy Allott Jeremy Evans Chris Night President CEO Communications Director Geomatics Land Surveying Franklin County IDA North Country Community College Tom Boothe Kate Fish Russ Kinyon Chair Executive Director Director of Economic Development Saranac Lake Development Board Adirondack North Country Association Franklin County Economic Development Office Carolyn Bordonaro Tim Fortune Shannon Oborne Director of Sales Chair Chief Marketing Officer Hotel Saranac Downtown Advisory Board Paul Smith’s College Kelly Brunette Sylvia Getman Matt Scollin Marketing Manager CEO Director of Communications ROOST Adirondack Health Adirondack Health Jason Smith Vice Chair Parks and Trails Advisory Board Special thanks to the Village of Saranac Lake staff and State Partners Village State Jamie Konkoski*, Community Development Director Barbara Kendall, Coastal Resources Specialist, Department of State Paul VanCott*, Village Board of Trustees Stephen Hunt, Regional Director, North Country Office, Empire State Development John Sweeney*, Village Manager Crystal Loffler, Vice President, State Programs, NYS Homes and Community Renewal Paul Blaine*, Development Code Administrator Seth Belt, Regional Representative, North Country, Governor’s Office *Non-voting LPC Member This document was developed by the Village of Saranac Lake Local Planning Committee as part of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and was supported by the NYS Department of State and NYS Homes and Community Renewal. The document was prepared by the following Consultant Team: Table of Contents Foreword Executive Summary ......................................................................................... i Section I - Downtown Profile and Assessment ................................................. I-1 Overview ..............................................................................................................................................I-1 DRI Boundary .................................................................................................................................... I-4 Local Planning ..................................................................................................................................I-6 Critical Issues and Challenges .....................................................................................................I-18 Advantages and Opportunities ....................................................................................................I-19 Physical Characteristics ............................................................................................................... I-20 Demographics and Socio-Economic Characteristics ............................................................ I-37 Housing ............................................................................................................................................. I-38 Market Analysis ..............................................................................................................................I-40 Section II - Community Vision, Goal and Strategies ........................................ II-1 Vision ...................................................................................................................................................II-1 Goals and Strategies ....................................................................................................................... II-2 Section III - Downtown Management and Implementation Strategy ................III-1 Downtown Management and Implementation Strategy ..................................................... III-1 Section IV - Public Involvement ................................................................... IV-1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... IV-1 Local Planning Committee ..........................................................................................................I V-2 Public Open Houses ...................................................................................................................... IV-6 Information Pop-up Stations .................................................................................................... IV-10 Stakeholder Meetings ..................................................................................................................IV-11 Online Community Values Survey ............................................................................................IV-11 Youth Outreach ............................................................................................................................. IV-12 Digital Outreach ............................................................................................................................IV-13 Section V - Projects Proposed for DRI Funding ............................................... V-1 Overview ............................................................................................................................................. V-1 Projects Proposed for DRI Funding Summary Map .................................................................V-3 Project Summary Table ................................................................................................................. V-4 Project Profiles ................................................................................................................................. V-8 Additional Projects for Other Funding Sources ....................................................................V-157 Village of Saranac lake List of Figures Figure i-1. DRI Boundary .............................................................................................................v Figure I-1. Regional Context ................................................................................................... I-2 Figure I-2. Downtown Walkability ....................................................................................... I-3 Figure I-3. DRI Boundary ........................................................................................................ I-5 Figure I-4. Existing Land Use ...............................................................................................I-21 Figure I-5. Zoning ................................................................................................................... I-23 Figure I-6. Utilities ................................................................................................................. I-25 Figure I-7. Public Ownership ................................................................................................ I-27 Figure I-8. Parks and Recreation.........................................................................................I-29 Figure I-9. Historic Resources ..............................................................................................I-31 Figure I-10. Arts and Culture ................................................................................................ I-32 Figure I-11. Transportation: Functional Class .................................................................I-34 Figure I-12. Environmental Features .................................................................................I-36 Figure I-13. Public Versus Private Sector Employment for Saranac Lake ................. I-37 Figure I-14. Median Home Sale Price ................................................................................. I-38 Figure I-15. Saranac Lake 45-minute Drivetime Zone ...................................................I-44 Figure V-1. Projects Summary Map ..................................................................................... V-3 List of Tables Table i. Projects Proposed for DRI Funding .......................................................................... ix Table I-1. Land Use .................................................................................................................. I-20 Table I-2. Zoning ..................................................................................................................... I-22 Table I-3. Property Ownership ............................................................................................I-26 Table I-4. Annual Daily Traffic Counts .............................................................................. I-33 Table I-5. Population .............................................................................................................. I-37 Table I-6. Poverty Status ....................................................................................................... I-37 Table I-7. Population Growth ............................................................................................... I-37 Table I-8. Household Spending 30% or More on Housing Costs ................................. I-39 Table I-9. Key Indicators .......................................................................................................I-44