State grant may fund housing, lakeside walkway, patriot burial site
By Tim Rowland
Lake George officials hope the community’s use of a $10 million state Downtown Revitalization Initiative grant will be transformational and serve as a model for other Adirondack communities.
From housing shortages, to effective use of commercial space, to a proliferation of short-term rentals to development of a year-round economy, Lake George is often an Adirondack canary that warns of trends that will soon affect the park as a whole.
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Dan Barusch, director of planning and zoning for the town of Lake George, said the DRI grant will help tackle some of these issues, as well as the general streetscape and beautification work that is typically part of such grants.
While Lake George boasts a thriving tourist economy that many other Adirondack communities would be envious of, Barusch said that very economy creates issues of its own, and the DRI will hopefully help solve some of these problems, and perhaps suggest ways forward for other communities.
“We put together a strong package of projects,” he said. “You can make the argument that this is not based on need (versus other communities) but is based on possibilities. We see this as an opportunity for transformation.”
For communities across New York hoping to add some pop to their downtown business districts, the DRI is the coveted crown jewel of state grants, fueling new ideas and poking the long-smoldering embers of promising private projects that have languished for a need of capital.
“This investment in Lake George will be transformative, making what is already a beautiful community even better,” Gov. Kathy Hochul said in announcing the grant.
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A number of projects are planned, from workforce housing to the reinterment of the remains of Revolutionary War soldiers that were discovered during excavation work in 2019.
Housing
Heavily dependent on seasonal workers, housing for those workers began to dry up when property owners discovered there was more money to be made renting their space on Airbnb than over a short summer season.
Two housing projects are proposed in the DRI application, including a 100-unit development at the site of the dilapidated Harbor Hotel for seasonal workers, which would include a parking lot and a streamside park along West Brook. This project would be specifically for seasonal workers.
Because of the lack of seasonal worker housing, Lake George still hasn’t returned to its pre-Covid functionality. “People are back, sales are back, but some businesses still have to be closed on Wednesdays because they can’t find enough employees,” Barusch said.
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Year-round attractions
Another goal, common to many Adirondack communities, is to attract commerce in seasons where tourists are typically scarce.
Barusch said Lake George’s workforce in winter is only 15% to 20% of what it is in summer. It’s hoped the DRI can help winterize the business district’s economy, by providing natural gas connections along Canada Street and a pool of funds for businesses to update facades and improve properties to make it easier to stay open the year around.
Other projects
Other ideas include a streetscape buildout connecting beautification projects that have already been completed by the town and village on the south end of Lake George; turning a vacant lot into a farmers market/ice skating pavilion; creating a “lake walk” by extending McDonald’s Pier over a section of beach that’s too risky for swimmers because of a sudden drop-off; helping the owner of Adirondack Brewery develop an distillery/culinary campus and event center; improve broadband; and encourage public art projects.
Public input has already been gathered, and since not all projects can be funded, Barusch said much of the coming year will be spent planning with state officials and paring the list to a final slate of projects.
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Honoring Revolutionary War soldiers
One that seems to have universal support, he said, is reinterment of the “First Patriots” whose remains were unearthed during construction in 2019.
The DRI application states, “It is believed what was found was the site of a cemetery associated with the military and smallpox hospital at Fort George from the period of the Revolutionary War, which has been one of modern history’s most important archaeological findings to date in Lake George.”
The project envisions an attractive setting with interpretive signage and commemorative memorials at the Lake George Battlefield State Park and that it “is set to be a nationally renowned heritage tourism site for years to come.”
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I sincerely hope these projects will be accomplished. Lake George is such a beautiful town, and the Lake is The BEST ! ❤️
They should take some of that 10 million in invest in a new drainage system for Bolton.
I would love to be on any committee that explores short term rentals in Lake George . We have a high-end short term rental that we have been renting for over 17 years. We brought thousands of families to Lake George and we have hundreds of repeaters as a result of the house that we offer. There are definitely two sides to this equation.
Tim- I enjoy reading your articles about the beautiful area you call home. I’m a sea kayaker in land locked Colorado, and plying those beautiful lakes in the Adirondacks is on my bucket list!
Hope Senator Stec and Assembly member Simpson explained how they voted on this funding legislation.
A number of statements in this article are simply false. And Barush sounds like he is out to lunch. With the loss of thousands of room nights in Lakeside lodging having been lost due to redevelopment to single family homes, many people who want lake front options have chosen to seek other destinations. The “no employees due to no housing” is an outright lie. Non tourist towns face the same worker crisis as many Americans are not working. Many businesses bring in J1 students to employ and there is readily available housing for students throughout Lake George. Businesses in the region are closed on weekdays because with high gas and food prices there are fewer and fewer weekday travelers and it doesn’t make sense to be open when there are few to no customers. Business has been going DOWN since 2020. Of coarse they are going to come up with some huge project so they can line their pockets and those of their friends at prevailing wage, while all the non state employed live with the reality of what is actually going on.
What is going to be done about the water quality I have been going to the lake for 32 years and have seen the water only getting worse not as clear.
A volunteer oversight oversight committee should be established to monitor every penny..there are already crooks trying to figure out how to get their fingers into the cookie jar. The sudden drop off along the breach should be back filled,
Additional historical information about the US Navy and it’s heros and their roles during the battle of 1776 in the form of a walk through style museum..perhaps some stamped concrete done by Hoffman’s stamped Concrete.
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Another cemetery found while digging for deco. Why are these bodies being moved?? Development should have stopped and an alternate site found for it.
I love how these people get millions for these stupid projects. What about the rest of us, who work our butts off? We can’t even pay all our bills because our rent is to high. We need to have a roof over heads, and food in our belly’s. Why can we have help to help ourselves.
Are the much needed housing units going to be publicly, or privately owned?
Why was construction in 2019 allowed to continue after a burial site was discovered. Those bodies should have never been moved
The Lake George Historical Association and Museum in the old courthouse is not handicapped accessible. Some of the DRI funds should be utilized to fund a permanent ramp that will “fit in” with the historic building.
Clean water should be addressed. Sewage treatment needs to be updated.
The first thing you need to do with that money is kill all the pit vipers in the area.