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GLOVERSVILLE — Gloversville Mayor Vincent DeSantis has high hopes for an eyesore at the city’s southern entrance.
Under new state legislation signed earlier this month, the city can acquire vacant commercial and industrial properties deemed tax-deliquent for at least a year — a power DeSantis plans to wield in order to clean up a brownfield at the corner of state Highway 30A and Harrison Street for future commercial use.
In particular, the Democratic mayor hopes the site will eventually attract a hotel development to accommodate lodging for little leaguers near a prospective baseball tournament venue.
“Because Parkhurst Field has ignited a lot of interest in commercial development along Harrison Street, one of the things that we’re going to need closeby is hospitality accommodations,” said DeSantis.
In the works for about a decade, the $3.6 million Parkhurst Field project gained steam from COVID-19 federal relief (ARPA) dollars provided by Fulton County within the last two years.
Parkhurst Field is expected to be fully up and running by the summer, attracting 16 teams of 13 players and upwards of 500 attendees per week during the season.
Current lodging options surrounding the field include the Microtel Inn & Suites, the Super 8 and the Holiday Inn, all of which are in the adjacent city of Johnstown.
The Gloversville mayor underscored that a hotel “would be nice, but the city has no authority to make that determination.”
Keen on eliminating targeted brownfields in the ovular city, DeSantis has been eyeing the site for redevelopment throughout his three-year tenure. He plans to use a portion of a $300,000 EPA grant awarded in 2019 for remediation.
“That’s a nasty facility because it’s right at the entrance of the city and it doesn’t project anything good about the city,” said Jack Wilson, a member of Fulton County’s brownfield task force.
With the legislative shift, the city plans to take the former Comrie Inc. site within two months. Officials would then have to complete an environmental review and develop a remediation plan approved by both the EPA and the state Department of Environmental Conservation.
“This is going to take a couple of years,” DeSantis said.
While Gloversville transferred much of its power to foreclosure properties to Fulton County two decades ago, exceptions can be made if both levels of government are in accord, according to county Administrator Jon Stead.
Tyler A. McNeil can be reached at 518-395-3047 or [email protected] Follow him on Facebook at Tyler A. McNeil, Daily Gazette or Twitter @TylerAMcNeill
Why not focus on that eyesore that was supposed to be a church behind the newer Burger King? There’s plenty of land there.