MASSENA — Village officials hope to hear soon about the status of a grant application for the restoration of the historic Schine Theater in downtown Massena.
“We should be hearing soon regarding the Restore grant. I’m hoping any time now for the Massena Arts and Theater Association,” Village Administrator Monique N. Chatland told trustees.
The funding is being made available through the eighth round of the Restore New York Municipal Grant program, which covers projects to “demolish/deconstruct and/or rehabilitate/reconstruct vacant, abandoned, surplus and/or condemned residential, commercial and/or mixed-use buildings.”
Villages with populations less than 40,000 can apply for up to $2 million in grant funding. Trustees had approved applying for up to $2 million in grant funding.
The Massena Arts and Theater Association also launched their capital campaign to assist with the cost of restoration. Sponsorship levels include Visionary Advocate ($1,000 to $2,499), Cornerstone Sponsor ($2,500 to $9,999), Heritage Partner ($10,000 to $24,999), Legacy Patron ($25,000 to $50,000), and Founding Benefactor (more than $50,000).
They are also seeking a $640,000 New York Power Authority Northern New York Power Proceeds grant.
Chatland told trustees that they had also submitted two applications for state Water Infrastructure Improvement Grants through the New York State Environmental Facilities Corporation last week.
“One is for the Raquette River bridge crossing and the other one is the 24-inch water line from the intake,” she said.
The Raquette River bridge crossing is related to the installation of a water line under the South Main Street bridge that spans the Raquette River near Springs Park. Trustees had agreed in April to forward with the project.
Department of Public Works Superintendent Mary G. Miller has been working with the state Department of Transportation for approval to place the line under the bridge after a water main located near the park began losing 60,000 to 100,000 gallons of water in July 2022. Until the leak was fixed, the DPW was running a temporary line to feed water to residents on the south side of the bridge.
Repairs were completed by Hunt Underwater Specialists, who had to locate and remove the section of water main that was impacted. The process to locate and remove the section of line took three days with the help of the village’s crew on shore. The cost of the repair was just over $11,000.
Following the completion of flushing and testing procedures, the work was approved by the state Department of Health and the line was put back in service.
The Department of Transportation is one of the approving agencies for the project because the bridge is located on state Highway 420. Miller said the project is “basically shovel-ready” and can move forward once they have the necessary approvals.
The second grant application is to install a new secondary 24-inch raw water supply line from the Massena Intake to the village’s water treatment plant. Miller told trustees recently that the main line that’s currently installed is a 24-inch line that’s been there since “1960-something” and needed to be addressed. There is also a 12-inch emergency line.
Mayor Gregory M. Paquin said the new line would address any concerns about providing water to new customers in the village or town.
Chatland also reported on work being done on the former J.J. Newberry building on the corner of Andrews and Main streets. She said they’ve received clearance to begin working on the “project activities, which is basically to address the structural and environmental issues like asbestos abatement and roof replacement, those types of things.”
They also intend to do some interior work and cleanup around the building using grant funding received through the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative.
William and Susan Fiacco from GoCo Massena LLC are the sponsors for the project. The building will be modernized and repaired to add apartments, retail and office space, as well as a rooftop deck, and replacement of the existing facade.
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