Paul Szmal: Welcome back to FLX Morning, it's 8.39, and joining us this morning is Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor, who has been a guest on this program before, but it's the first chance that you and I have had to speak. Jonathan, how are you this morning?
Johnathan Taylor: Good morning Paul, how are you? Doing well sir, doing well. Congratulations on receiving the $10 million DRI program award. How long was the process to actually get this, and how many times did you apply before you were actually approved for it?
Paul Szmal: So, the first time we actually applied was in 2017. Wayne County Economic Development Director came to me and said, I really think Newark should apply for this, and oh by the way, it's due in two weeks. And I thought, well I'm up for a challenge. So, we established a committee, and needless to say, there was definitely a steep learning curve. We weren't ready to be a DRI worthy community. We had a lot of work to do. The grant itself is pretty extensive. I think our award, when we won in 2021, the application narrative was about 60 pages long. So, we had a lot of work to do, but after that, we really kind of focused, I told our team, we need to focus everything we do on what will make Newark a community worthy of a $10 million investment from New York State.
So, with that, we really started to develop our plans with more focus groups, surveys, a lot of things. Even during COVID, we had focus groups, soccer moms, business owners, manufacturers, residents who lived in the village, residents who lived in the town of Arcadia, those who came to Newark for work. And we really tried to develop a plan and a vision for the community. And in 2021, our application was successful, and it was announced in December of 2021. And as all of these DRI projects take a number of years to go through the complete process and actually get to construction, and that's where we are today. We're actually at the beginning of the construction of our first DRI projects, and it's a pretty exciting time in the village.
Paul Szmal: And we have the chance here to go through some of these DRI projects, starting with the creation of what's called the Newark Regional Health and Wellness Center.
Johnathan Taylor: Yeah, and everything that we did in our approach was not only what would be good for the village of Newark, but what would be good regionally. And the Regional Health and Wellness Center is designed to be about an 80,000 square foot facility. It'll have a 200 meter indoor track, turf space for turf sports like soccer, lacrosse, football, baseball, basketball, or excuse me, baseball and softball to practice, and then a gym as well. It would include, you know, we could get into now offering the option of before and after school programming for parents who are working all day and need a place for their kids to go early in the morning or to go after school. Also summer programming, and our Alex Eli Community Center would move into the new facility and really have the opportunity to expand programming for youth and adults, and a lot of space going forward to make those things happen.
Paul Szmal: This project, as a matter of fact, has also gotten an additional grant too.
Johnathan Taylor: Yeah, also received a Restore New York for $2 million. That will help take down the old IEC facility. This facility will go in the parking lot of the old IEC, and the takedown of that facility will help facilitate parking and other needs for the Health and Wellness Center.
Paul Szmal: Village of Newark Mayor Jonathan Taylor joining us here on FLX Morning. We're talking about some of the DRI projects that they have been planning for, some of which construction is already starting. The next one is the creation of something called Coventry Commons.
Johnathan Taylor: Yeah, and that's in the old Reed Manufacturing Building on Harrison Street, also formerly the home of Sarah Coventry. That building has been largely vacant. There have been some businesses in there, but it's a 160,000 square foot facility. Housing Visions is going in there and putting in 101 apartments, single bedroom and two bedroom apartments, and that's really going to create opportunities for the housing need that we have. One of the things we heard during our focus groups is that we need housing from young professionals up to those who would like to age in place, and we recognize that. A lot of times, the hospital, school, other businesses have young professionals come here, and the housing that they're looking for, we don't have that housing stock. And then as well as those who age in place, many times they leave Newark for other communities because we don't have a place that's low maintenance that they can live in. So this is going to be the beginning of starting to kind of fill that void, and hopefully that will be available in the fall of 2026.
It is a long construction project, and there's a lot of work going on there every day. It's actually exciting to see the amount of work that's going on. This will be about a $50 to $60 million investment, and they received DRI funding and tax credits and some other things to help make the project happen, and it's going to be right in the heart of our downtown. So another plus is having the housing that people want in the heart of the downtown where they can walk to get groceries, go to a restaurant, or have places to do things and be close by to them.
Paul Szmal: And related to that, there's also money that was allocated for redeveloping the former St. Elizabeth's Hospital building, too.
Johnathan Taylor: Yes, and this is another exciting project right on West Miller near the intersection of South Main. This is the old St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and following that it was a nursing home for some time until 1998, and it's been vacant since then. This is an opportunity to save and revitalize another property in the heart of our downtown, which is exciting, and that will add eight or nine apartments to that facility for the similar needs of bringing people right to our downtown.
Paul Szmal: And there's some money in here as well to revitalize the canal port.
Johnathan Taylor: Yeah, T. Spencer Night Park is our park right along the canal port here in the heart of the village of Newark, and as part of that there's going to be several upgrades to the park, but one of the biggest is there'll be an amphitheater. Many know that we have free music on the air on Friday nights hosted by the Chamber of Commerce. During the summer, the bands will be able to play in the amphitheater, but also our music department at our high school here in Newark is pretty excited about it because we're hopeful that there'll be music, you know, chorus and band concerts, potentially dramas and musicals, could be outdoors, and it just gives another great venue.
In addition to that, there will be what we're calling a walking promenade on each side of the stage that would be centrally located in the park, and that will be for a farmer's market, potentially, when we have the Wine and Artisan Festival or the Taste of Wayne County, we'll be able to use that space. And there's actually a couple phases to this project that'll come in later years. The later year project on the promenade would be a covering to have an extended season. In addition, we're going to add water and electric to the south bank of the canal. Right now we have water and electric hookups for our boaters on the north side. That will come later, but we're also adding a kayak and canoe launch to the east of East Ave Bridge. And then in the future down the road, hopefully there'll be seating on the south bank and a future project, but a lot going on in the park, some pretty significant upgrades there, including some other amenities like adding bike racks and seating and things that'll really give us another outdoor living space, expanding on it, and be a really cool place for people to hang out.
Paul Szmal: Now, as you said, these projects take time. Do they all start at the same time, or is it a kind of a staggered schedule to get these projects started in the construction phase?
Johnathan Taylor: Yeah, it'll definitely be a staggered start to the construction phase. Everything is in a different place. Coventry Cabins is already under construction. St. Elizabeth is waiting for one more approval, and they will be under construction, hopefully within the next couple of months. The park, T. Spencer Knight Park, is actually in the design phase this year, and we'll be completing the final design late this summer, early fall. And the timing will be that we will bid the project and accept bids over the winter. And then as soon as they're able to start construction, next spring of 26, they will start construction and have it completed by the fall of 26. And then by the spring of 27, it'll be open and usable and everything. And then the Health and Wellness Center, we're getting ready to kick off a capital campaign to help both in the construction of the facility and for the new programming for the facility. And that will hopefully go to construction by the end of this year.
Paul Szmal: And these DRI projects tend to breed as outside sources coming in for investment as well, and that's been the case for the Village of Newark.
Johnathan Taylor: Yeah, absolutely. The DRI is designed to be catalytic for the economy and transformative, and that's exactly what's happening in Newark. As I've told people, when you go through Newark, the total DRI investment is expected to be around $80 million. When you go through the Village of Newark, you will know that $80 million was spent in our community. And aside from that, other developers are seeing Newark as an option for places to go. A new Microtel has opened up now. Taco Bell has come to Newark. And we're always talking to developers about future projects. And that really helps all the existing businesses that have come online. And many times I hate to mention all the new businesses because I always forget somebody, but it really helps those restaurants like Grindown, Parker's, Oats & O's that just opened, Craft 120, Pontillo's, Main Street. All these places are helped when these successful DRI projects are completed. And that makes Newark a destination for whether it's youth athletics, destination for people to live, destination for those who want to work here, or destination for those who want to recreate in other ways. So this is all part of what is needed to catalyze that economic activity and transform the community.
Paul Szmal: Well, I know you are looking forward to it. I think the rest of us are looking forward to seeing these projects continue through their various stages of development. I thank you for your time, sir, and for the information.
Johnathan Taylor: Thank you for having me. That is 8.50 on FLX Morning.
