Margaret Street Project

Everything from water lines, sewer lines, and electric lines. This is a full-depth reconstruction that will have a “facade to facade” impact on Margaret street from Cornelia to Broad Street. Lesser impacts will be the redesign and redevelopment of Court and Brinkerhoff streets. The improvements to those streets will have less of an impact on the day-to-day business of those on Margaret Street.

It’s anticipated that this will last through at least 1 ½ construction cycles, with current proposed dates of May 2023- August 2024.

Truthfully, we don’t know yet. We do know that this is going to be a major interruption: Streets will be torn up, services will be limited, businesses will be impacted. The closest example we can use right now is the work that Lake Placid is going through on their main street. The goal for engaging with community members and stakeholders is to ensure we’re all on the same page, that there are open lines of communication, and that we get through this together.

The question is, can we build back better? If our community goes through the process of infrastructure replacement, is there a better design for one of our most valued streets in our downtown to make it more friendly for today and future users? If our community goes through this exercise; does all of the community engagement, planning for current and future use, and determines the best path forward for placemaking, and comes up with the exact same design as it is now, it will be rebuilt exactly as it is now. The City doesn’t feel that will be the case, but the whole point of going through this exercise is because once the city’s century old infrastructure is replaced, we want to rebuild in a way that makes the most sense.

The City has hired a project management firm, C&S Companies, to lead a public engagement initiative to gather input and feedback from property owners, businesses, community organizations and residents on Margaret Street. The first step in this initiative was to hold a meeting for these stakeholders to inform them of the project and address any immediate concerns. A meeting on Tuesday November 9th was held at The Plattsburgh Public Library with City staff and C&S Consulting to inform stakeholders of the project and answer any questions. Approximately twenty-five business owners, property owners and residents of Margaret Street attended the meeting. The City’s goal is to engage stakeholders who will be directly impacted before we initiate a project of this magnitude. Considering how community engagement for large projects have gone in the past, the City is hoping to take some learning from those and implement what we have learned moving forward. The City is looking to first engage with those who will be directly impacted (Margaret St. building owners, business owners, and residents) to ensure transparency and that those impacted have an opportunity to let their voices be heard in this process of construction and rebuilding. People who are not business owners, residents or property owners on Margaret Street will also have an opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns through an online survey (details below). A general public information and feedback session will be held at a later date but dates have not yet been confirmed.