Community Shares Ideas At “Rensselaer Rising” First Public Workshop
Members of the community came out for the first Public Workshop Meeting for “Rensselaer Rising” held on March 7th at the Rensselaer City School Campus. “Rensselaer Rising” is a year-long planning process to attract investment and funding opportunities to the City through a comprehensive vision for Rensselaer’s future.
The evening began with a welcome from Mayor Mike Stammel followed by a presentation led by Norabelle Greenberger and Mirren Galway of LaBella Associates. Attendees learned that “Rensselaer Rising” is being funded through an $85,000 Brownfield Opportunity Area (BOA) grant from the New York State Department of State. While historically focused on brownfields, the program has evolved and now takes a more general look at opportunities for investment and revitalization of underutilized, abandoned, or vacant sites.
The Public Workshop was a follow up to a property inventory, market study and community survey that received 239 responses. The results of these planning efforts were also summarized for everyone present. Following the presentation, attendees got to share their ideas on various maps and planning boards with topics and questions to generate ideas. Generally, people talked about improving the downtown area along Broadway, capitalizing on our access to the waterfront and hosting events to attract people to the community.
For more information about “Rensselaer Rising,” visit the Rensselaer Planning Department’s website: https://www.rensselaerplanning.com. Community members are encouraged to check the site for future event dates, plan updates, and general information throughout the year. Interested parties can also contact Thomas Hulihan, City of Rensselaer Planning Director, at 518-462-4839 x 1527 or [email protected] or Norabelle Greenberger, AICP, Senior Planner at LaBella Associates at (518) 824-1922 or [email protected].