Services
Economic Development Program Management
When local governments and development agencies look to deploy grant funds into their communities in efficient and effective ways, The Harrison Studio provides specialized program design and management services. The Harrison Studio works with clients to develop custom program guidelines, application templates, project review procedures, program marketing collateral, and all applicable compliance forms, systems, and procedures. Success stories include:
Erie County Storefront Revitalization Program
When Erie County, NY determined that they wanted to use approximately $15 million in on-line sales tax revenues to support bricks and mortar retail, they selected The Harrison Studio to help develop the program to select properties with ongoing retail operations to receive renovation grants, consistent with each County’s design guidelines and vision for commercial operations. It was important to the County stakeholders that the grants support clustered investment in commercial corridors, while also ensuring businesses and buildings in the rural areas of the County receive support. The Harrison Studio developed the intake system for what amounted to approximately 1,000 applications; reviewed all applicants for eligibility; rated and ranked the applicants; handled all interface with applicants; coordinated with architects on the 379 properties selected for funding; and consistently updated County staff and elected officials on the progress of the program.
The Harrison Studio has continued in a program management role for Erie County, assisting in the implementation of each of the 379 projects. This has included contract management, contractor oversight, cost documentation, and financial management and distribution of grant funds.
COVID Relief Grant Funding
The Harrison Studio has assisted the City of North Tonawanda, City of Lockport, Niagara County, Livingston County, Madison County, Genesee County, and the Town of Hamburg, with the implementation and administration of CDBG CARES business assistance programs that focus on smaller employers that were negatively impacted by COVID. Our firm developed the forms and systems for the program, coordinated the program outreach, reviewed and monitored all program activities for eligibility, and handled all grant reporting and compliance procedures.
Small Business Assistance Program
The Harrison Studio is currently overseeing microenterprise grant programs in Cattaraugus County, Chautauqua County, Orleans County, Niagara County, Madison County, Wyoming County, Allegany County, and the City of Lockport. In each of these cases, The Harrison Studio developed the programming in partnership with the community and prepared the program guidelines, operating plan, technical assistance curriculum, and associated forms and systems. In the past, The Harrison Studio has customized microenterprise programming to advance community goals. Specifically, The Harrison Studio developed a program to fill the long vacant Harrison Radiator complex in Lockport, to support the recruitment of identified “Essential Goods and Services” in Wyoming County, to attract wineries and breweries in Livingston County, to grow the tourism infrastructure in Niagara County, and to provide rental subsidies in Livingston and Wyoming Counties to leverage building owner investments in the Village corridors.
Grant Application and Compliance
Grants can be a critical funding source for a wide variety of community and economic development projects. And remaining in regulatory compliance throughout the process is integral to success for any project. The Harrison Studio has extensive experience managing projects and programs funded through HUD Community Development Block Grant funding, NY Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding, Empire State Development grants, the New York Main Street Program, American Rescue Plan Act grants, and many more.
Municipal Planning
Economic growth and sustainability is critical to consider as a community builds its long term vision. The Harrison Studio brings this perspective to traditional land-use and community planning activities to help communities build a sustainable, achievable plan with implementable strategies. The Harrison Studio also prides itself on long-standing client relationships and following the planning process, The Harrison Studio aims to help client communities implement their vision.
The Harrison Studio understands the dynamics of upstate New York economies, both for urban centers and small rural communities. We also understand each community has unique goals and priorities. Each community’s economic development plan is informed by these regional dynamics and local priorities and is built to with the goal of leveraging each community’s strength. The Harrison Studio, accessing available funding, and capitalizing on identified opportunities to bring each community’s vision closer to reality.
The Harrison Studio has experience working on both small, neighborhood scale plans as well as participating in large, collaborative planning programs such as the Brownfield Opportunity Area, Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, and municipal Comprehensive Planning. Two recent community planning projects led by The Harrison Studio include the Chadakoin Activation Strategy in the City of Jamestown, and the South Street Neighborhood Assessment in the City of Lockport.
Economic Development/Project Development
The Harrison Studio principals and staff all have extensive experience in the planning and implementation of community and economic development projects and programs. The Harrison Studio offers unique planning and development services due to the fact that our team includes a mix of backgrounds in both the public and private sectors, including decades of experience in the legal and commercial lending sectors. We have been on both “sides of the table” when it comes to evaluating and implementing significant commercial and mixed-use development and are expert at bringing institutional, public, and quasi-public funding into projects to fill development gaps.
The Harrison Studio has been fortunate to work on a number of stand-alone economic development projects which have had significant positive impacts on the communities in which they’re located. Each project brings unique challenges and opportunities, and The Harrison Studio is proud to have worked with our clients and partners to make each project a community success story.
Loan Portfolio Management and Underwriting
The Harrison Studio provides portfolio management services to municipal and non-profit clients with economic development loan funds. The services provided can be as robust as full program development and management including strategic goals and program design, drafting lending guidelines, loan application development and review, loan underwriting, presentation to loan review committees, drafting loan documents, and technical assistance on funding and compliance reporting; or as simple as technical assistance on an as-needed basis.
Staff of The Harrison Studio have decades of experience in both private institutional lending and non-traditional public financing, ensuring clients with loan programs funded through Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA), Small Business Administration (SBA), and other public sources meet their community’s economic development goals while remaining in regulatory compliance.
