Exclusive: Review Utica-Oneida County Memorandum of Agreement RE Downtown Hospital

WIBX 950 has obtained a copy of the Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Utica, Oneida County and the Mohawk Valley Health System regarding the proposed new downtown hospital project in Utica. 

Financing laid out in the document covers funding for the $523,517,875 project, to include construction of the new merged hospital, along with a new downtown parking garage and refurbishment of the existing Kennedy Parking Garage.

It notes that New York State will provide $300-million toward that total, and includes the 60-40 financing arrangement between the city and county to cover approximately $27-million of the overall $40.5-million dollar parking garage. The document lists as a source of funding, more $10.1-million in New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) to cover the remaining costs of the garage, along with 'other funds' (see below).

The other funds spelled out in the MOA list a $1.5-million Empire State Development Grant, a $1-million grant from the State Assistance Municipal Program (SAM) and $500,000 from an Upstate Revitalization Initiative Grant (URI).

For the projected $3-million needed for 'repair and restoration' of Kennedy Parking Garage, the document points to an 'expected URI' grant.

The parking layout for downtown includes 1,550 spaces in the proposed new parking garage, another 2,000 surface parking spaces, plus the existing spots in the Kennedy Garage.