On Thursday, July 25, 2019, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the Saranac Lake DRI (Downtown Revitalization Project) Awards. In total, there were 19 projects and proposals submitted for the $9.7 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award. Of those 19 proposals, state officials chose 10 projects that were submitted by the Local Planning Committee in March. A recent Adirondack Daily Enterprise article shares more details. These projects include a wide variety of initiatives to revitalize the area such as: the relocation of the Pendragon Theatre, the creation of the Play ADK children’s museum, the expansion of Bitters & Bones to include a brewery and beer garden, the establishment of a downtown shared office center, plus public-sector improvements to several local parks and streets. Read the full article here.

Among the 10 projects that were selected was our proposal for the whitewater park in Saranac Lake. A total of $410,616 will be put toward the development of a beautiful whitewater park. This project will include a modification to a small portion of the Saranac River, making it a desirable location for whitewater kayaking. The whitewater feature will be located beneath the Mayor Frank Ratigan Memorial Bridge and will include infrastructure that is built to last. The DRI funding was a crucial step in getting the project off the ground and will be a wonderful way to attach new visitors to the Saranac Lake area. This project is going to bring great energy to downtown Saranac Lake and revive the riverwalk.  Congratulations especially to Tom Boothe, and AdkAction members Tyler Merriam, and Scott McKim, for making it happen. Check out Adirondack Daily Enterprise’s article to get the full details on the infrastructure and recent details of the project. Stay tuned for more updates as the project gets rolling.