State announces $850K Restore NY grant for Main Street building in Medina

Project will add 4 apartments, 2 commercial units in historic downtown

Photos from Forward NY: Gov. Kathy Hochul announced an $850,000 Restore NY grant to rehabilitate the upper level of 409-413 Main St. in Medina to create apartments and also add two commercial units to the bottom of the building facing the Erie Canal.

MEDINA – Gov. Kathy Hochul today announced $50 million in Restore NY grants across the state, including $850,000 towards rehabilitating the upper levels of 409-413 Main St. in Medina to create apartments and also commercial space on the lower level facing the Erie Canal.

Those apartments will be above the Hemp House CBD Store and More at 409 Main St. and the Downtown Browsery at 413 Main St.

Thomas Development LLC, owned by Tom Snyder, is the developer for the project at the 1873 brick building, the former home of The Journal-Register in Medina.

Snyder plans to by transform approximately 4,600 square feet on the second-floor into four apartment units. He is planning three 1,000-square-foot one-bedroom units and one 1,200-square-foot two-bedroom unit.

The project improvements will include two egress stairs and a lift, exterior windows, building insulation and a fire suppression system.

Snyder plans to create two commercial units in the rear-facing, sub-grade space and a new commercial flex kitchen at street-level. He also has been approved for a $370,000 NY Forward grant towards the rehab of the building.

The State’s Restore New York Communities Initiative aims to help remove and reduce blight, reinvigorate communities and generate new residential and economic opportunities statewide.

The program, administered by Empire State Development, is designed to help local governments encourage new commercial investments through community revitalization, growing local housing, and putting properties back on the tax rolls to increase the local tax base, Hochul’s office stated in a news release.

“Revitalizing and rehabilitating vacant and blighted areas of our communities for housing or development is vital to make downtowns thrive,” Governor Hochul said. “Restore New York helps our municipalities plan for the future by catalyzing economic growth and supporting housing, businesses and cultural spaces. We are further unlocking the potential of these sites and communities across New York.”