Franklin Street in Springville's Central Business District

Mechanic Street in Springville's Central Business District

Erie County CDBG Investment, Village Funding Combine to Revitalize Franklin & Mechanic Streets

ERIE COUNTY, NY— The Erie County Department of Environment and Planning has announced the beginning of a Smart Growth project in the Village of Springville, pairing  $325,000 in Community Development Block Grant (“CDBG”) funds invested by Erie County with $354,000 in funding supplied by the Village of Springville to revitalize the Village’s central business district. Work on the project is underway and will include streetscape improvements on Franklin and Mechanic Streets within the central business district with improved walkability, enhanced pedestrian safety, and improved corridor aesthetics.

“Smart Growth is a concept based on developing a sustainable and community-friendly way forward for our villages and town centers, thereby enhancing our quality of life and strengthening business districts in community centers across Erie County,” said Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz. “Community Development Block Grant funds are a wise investment and make projects like this possible by leveraging county funds with local shares to rebuild our community centers. With this and other smart growth projects, the Village of Springville is a good example of how we are creating more livable communities by concentrating investments in areas where infrastructure already exists.”

Erie County’s Smart Growth Fund, one of the County Executive’s “Initiatives for a Smart Economy”, makes funding available to local governments through a competitive process for projects that further smart growth principles. The project area in the Village of Springville encompasses Franklin Street (from North Buffalo to Main Street), and all of Mechanic Street (from Franklin Street to Main Street). Scheduled improvements include replacing unnecessary paved areas with landscaping; calming vehicular traffic; adding pedestrian walkways and seating; removing redundant utility poles and installing new pedestrian scale lighting; better defining traffic patterns and parking areas; and improving stormwater runoff. The project is anticipated to be completed by August.

Springville Mayor Bill Krebs explained that Village and small businesses need the financial partnerships with County and State agencies to implement smart growth community development.  “Erie County has been a helpful and effective partner in community development.  The State and County have funded streetscape, business improvements, and remediation of blight in our Village center,” said Krebs.

Previous CDBG funding in the Village of Springville was used to assist in the demolition of the blighted former Springville Hotel, and built on funding supplied by the Regional Economic Development Council (“REDC”) for improvements to the Springville Center for the Arts and for the acquisition and transformation of the parcel at 5 East Main Street in the Village into a marketplace/café with housing. Other projects using CDBG funds are happening in 2015 in the Villages of Gowanda and Lancaster and the Towns of Boston and West Seneca, along with numerous other municipalities.  

For more information:

On the Erie County Department of Environment & Planning, visit http://www2.erie.gov/environment/