{"id":60033,"date":"2015-01-19T13:00:26","date_gmt":"2015-01-19T18:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=60033"},"modified":"2015-01-17T14:22:14","modified_gmt":"2015-01-17T19:22:14","slug":"madison-county-tourism-projects-awarded","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=60033","title":{"rendered":"Madison County Tourism Projects Awarded"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Owera<\/a>(Jan. 2015) Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that $2,610,000 in economic and community development funding has been awarded to tourism-related entities in Madison County through Round IV of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative.<\/p>\n

This funding will be used to help build a hotel in Cazenovia, an arts museum and brewery in Hamilton, transform a commercial building in Nelson into an Agritourism-based destination and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is excellent news for Madison County,\u201d said Dr. Joan Johnson, President of Madison County Tourism, which is the county\u2019s official tourism promotion agency. \u201dI want to congratulate the award winners and thank them for their hard work, we are fortunate to have such spirited entrepreneurs in our community. I also want to thank Governor Cuomo, Senator Valesky, Assemblyman Magee and Chairman Becker for their efforts to bring this funding home. They truly recognize that tourism development is economic development\u201d<\/p>\n

Johnson noted that visitors spent nearly $81 million in Madison County in 2012, referencing data provided by\u00a0Tourism Economics. According to Johnson, this spending generated $5.6 million in local taxes, which saved the average Madison County household $372 and sustained nearly 2,000 jobs in the county.<\/p>\n

A centerpiece of the Governor’s strategy to jump start the economy and create jobs, the Regional Councils were established in 2011 to transform the State’s approach to economic development from a top-down model to one that is community-based and performance-driven. The initiative empowers community, business and academic leaders, as well as members of the public in each region of the state, to develop strategic plans specifically tailored to their region’s unique strengths and resources in order to create jobs, improve quality of life and grow the economy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese projects will not only draw more visitors to our county but they\u2019ll also create new jobs,\u201d said John M. Becker, Chairman of the Madison County Board of Supervisors. \u201cThese awards are just the latest examples of how Madison County is a great place to live, work and visit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMadison County\u2019s growing tourism economy will certainly be bolstered by this funding, and I was pleased to support it in the REDC process. From the burgeoning hops and craft brewery industry to additional hotels, this funding will enable the Madison County economy to grow,\u201d State Senator David J. Valesky said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis investment recognizes New York\u2019s diverse bounty and supports our farms and creates jobs by helping the area to become a more popular tourist destination. The blending of agriculture and tourism is crucial to successful economic development for Madison County and surrounding areas, and I\u2019m grateful to Governor Cuomo and the REDC for this initiative,\u201d Assemblyman Bill Magee said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFour years ago we decided to take a different approach on economic development \u2013 emphasizing cooperation and investing in local assets instead of continuing the State\u2019s old and ineffective top-down mentality,\u201d Governor Cuomo said. \u201cThat\u2019s what the Regional Councils are all about, and today is proof that they are continuing to drive an economic renaissance in every region of the State. Each council presented bold ideas for how to create jobs and new opportunities in their communities, and I am proud to work with all of them to continue moving New York forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Madison County tourism-based entities awarded funding through the REDC are:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

$1,280,000 – Cazenovia Hospitality, LLC<\/p>\n

New Hotel Development<\/p>\n

Construct an 80 room national chain hotel and conference space, which could accommodate up to 300 people, indoor pool, fitness center, breakfast area and business center in Cazenovia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

$750,000 – Colgate University<\/p>\n

Center for Art and Culture<\/p>\n

The proposed project is the relocation of two Colgate University museums to a newly constructed 25,880 square foot Center for Art and Culture in downtown Hamilton, strengthening the synergy between the University and the local community. Currently, the Picker Art Gallery and the Longyear Museum of Anthropology are located on campus and function as separate and distinct entities. Both occupy outdated facilities with little public exposure, and neither is easily accessible. This project will bring the museums into the heart of the Hamilton community<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

$350,000 – Good Nature Brewing, Inc.<\/p>\n

New Farm Brewery Facility<\/p>\n

Good Nature Brewing, Inc. will construct a new 4000ft brewery including indoor\/outdoor retail and event space for tours, classes, public\/private events, as well as to renovate an existing 3500ft structure for use as warehouse and office space. Outdoor space will enable the facility to offer entertainment, open air markets, a demonstration “Beer Garden” and more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

$200,000 – Owera Vineyards (EBAC, LLC)<\/p>\n

Phase 2 Facility Expansion<\/p>\n

Expansion of the Owera Farm Winery, including enclosure and expansion of a tented winery promotion area to enable 12-month operation, enhancing regional tourism.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

$30,000 – Twenty East, LLC<\/p>\n

Building Redevelopment for Agritourism based Destination<\/p>\n

Twenty East will feature the extensive renovation of a commercial building and transform it into a unique Agritourism-based destination.<\/p>\n

In addition to the above $2,610,000 in funding, $500,000 was awarded to Oneida County Tourism on behalf of the Central New York Vacation Region, which includes Madison County, to market\u00a0Brew Central\u2014a collaborative campaign to promote Central New York as America\u2019s Premier Craft Brew Destination. The campaign will target domestic markets across NY, PA, NJ, CT, VT, MA and the international markets of Canada, the UK and Germany.<\/p>\n

For more information, call Madison County Tourism at 684-7320.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Jan. 2015) Governor Andrew M. Cuomo recently announced that $2,610,000 in economic and community development funding has been awarded to tourism-related entities in Madison County through Round IV of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative. This funding will be used to help build a hotel in Cazenovia, an arts museum and brewery in Hamilton, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":54945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/54945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}