Before and after look at Old Snell Hall in Potsdam

POTSDAM, N.Y. — National Grid continues its role as a partner in growing the Northern New York economy by awarding a pair of grants to The Vecino Group to revitalize properties in the neighboring villages of Canton and Potsdam.

“The energy sector plays an important role in economic development,” said Alberto Bianchetti, National Grid’s regional director of customer and external affairs. “In addition to ensuring our customers have access to the energy they need to operate, our economic development programs assist companies that upgrade their energy infrastructure, and rehabilitate brownfields and dormant properties in prominent locations, all of which can add or preserve jobs and stimulate economic growth.”

The Vecino Group, a national affordable and supportive housing developer with offices in Troy, aims to develop purpose-driven projects that enhance communities by maximizing social impact through historic preservation, municipal renewal and sustainability.

Before and after look at Old Snell Hall

Potsdam’s Old Snell Hall

If walls could talk, Old Snell Hall in Potsdam could teach you a lesson and sing you a song. The building opened in 1919 as home to the Potsdam State Normal School, a teacher’s college and predecessor to the State University of New York at Potsdam. It hosted the Crane School of Music for a number of years before SUNY Potsdam relocated the program to its campus.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, Old Snell Hall was the subject of a major effort to redevelop and utilize this local landmark while preserving its character and significance in the community.

The Vecino Group partnered with Clarkson University and the Village of Potsdam to repurpose the building. Four years later, The Quarry has opened as a mixed-use building with arts studios, college program offices, a theatre, and 59 apartments with income-based rents.

The project earned a $100,000 grant to support exterior improvements and a rehabilitation of the building’s first floor. Funding was provided through National Grid’s Main Street Revitalization Program, which provides grants to eligible property owners, municipalities and nonprofit development corporations to transform vacant structures into vibrant, state-of-the-art buildings.

“Preserving Old Snell Hall was a community effort that brought together public and private groups with the aim of restoring a piece of local history,” Bianchetti said. “Reusing spaces like Old Snell Hall helps us pass a piece of history to future generations while meeting the community’s needs.”

Clarkson’s Shipley Center for Innovation will lease a section of the building for its entrepreneurship and invention program.

Repairs and upgrades to Old Snell Hall included a new roof and restoration of the exterior historic masonry, modern heating, ventilation and cooling systems, and flooring. Many original windows were preserved and refinished so they could be reused while meeting historic restoration guidelines.

The Vecino Group, the Village of Potsdam and Clarkson University – which owns the building –were recognized by the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation & Historic Preservation in 2022 for their work on Old Snell Hall. It was one of 10 projects cited by the state agency for a New York State Preservation Award, recognizing excellence in preservation and rejuvenation of historic and cultural resources.

Midtown Plaza in Canton

Canton’s Midtown Plaza

Midtown Plaza was once a bustling commercial magnet in the village of Canton with shops and grocery stores. The plaza has sat vacant since the 1990s, slowly crumbling as the colleges and businesses around it grew.

The village purchased the property in 2023 and selected The Vecino Group in July 2024 to redevelop the site. The 77,500-square-foot structure will offer commercial and retail space, affordable housing, and a business incubator run by SUNY Canton.

“The Midtown Plaza project is an opportunity to renew and revive a property at in the center of Canton, and inject new life into the local economy with the establishment of an entrepreneurship center,” Bianchetti said.

Located on Miner Street Road along the banks of the Grass River, Midtown Plaza was identified as a priority project of in the village’s successful NY Forward application, a state program to invigorate the state’s smaller communities.

The Vecino Group earned a $300,000 incentive from National Grid to support site abatement, building demolition and site preparation. The grant was made through the company’s Brownfield Redevelopment program, which provides grants to fund utility-related infrastructure improvements and other costs that are necessary to progress the redevelopment of a vacant building or brownfield site.

SUNY Canton’s Entrepreneurship Center will anchor the building and occupy much of the first floor. The 13,500-square-foot center will provide launchpad for new business in the region with business development support, as well as hands-on learning opportunities for the college’s students. It will also offer co-working space and private offices.

National Grid Economic Development Programs

National Grid has been recognized by leading economic development industry publication Site Selection Magazine as a Top Utility in Economic Development, selected from a pool of approximately 3,300 electric utilities from across the country. Of the 20 companies named by Site Selection, National Grid is the only utility to make the list with operations in the Northeast.

Since 2003, we have provided more than $150 million in economic development grant funding to projects in upstate NY, helping to create or retain nearly 75,000 jobs and leverage more than $12 billion in other private and public investment. More information about National Grid’s suite of programs is available at www.shovelready.com.

About National Grid

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future — transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.