SYRACUSE -- It appears the Syracuse Inner Harbor project is about to get a boost from the federal government.
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand came to Syracuse Friday to announce her intent to introduce legislation that would benefit communities with "brownfields" next to waterfront property.
According to a news release, the "Waterfront Brownfields Revitalization Act" would "award grants to local governments and nonprofits that redevelop abandoned, idled or underused industrial properties on waterfronts."
Gillibrand says the grants would "spur economic development and protect the environment by cleaning up and developing dormant industrial facilities and converting them into community centers."
Gillibrand made the announcement at the site of the Inner Harbor near the southern shore of Onondaga Lake about a quarter mile away from the Destiny USA shopping mall.
COR Development company has begun work on a $350 million project to transform the Inner Harbor into what some call a new neighborhood. It would become a complex housing and commercial development, a hotel and satellite campus for Onondaga Community College.
The Waterfront Brownfields Revitalization Act would make $220 million available annually to communties with contaminated waterfronts which could be redeveloped.
