JCC, Neighbors of Watertown move forward with education center

Craig Fox, Watertown Daily Times, N.Y.
·3 min read

Dec. 2—WATERTOWN — A year after scrapping the project, Jefferson Community College will now avail itself to $2.5 million in Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding to create a downtown entrepreneur education center.

JCC officials are partnering with Neighbors of Watertown to open the center in the former Club Rio night club and in an adjacent building containing a series of storefronts at 124 to 132 Franklin St.

JCC President Ty A. Stone and Neighbors Executive Director Reginald J. Schweitzer Jr. made the announcement during a press conference at JCC on Wednesday night.

Both officials said they were excited that JCC will continue downtown's revitalization. It also means that JCC will become a part of downtown.

"It filled a gap for JCC and it fills a gap for the community," President Stone said.

The goal of the project is to create an educational hub for aspiring entrepreneurs and small businesses, President Stone said. Watertown's Small Business Development Center will move from the JCC campus to the new facility.

The partners will use the entire $2.5 million in DRI money that JCC was awarded four years ago to redevelop the buildings for the downtown educational center.

Coincidentally, Neighbors closed on the deal Wednesday to purchase Club Rio and the adjoining building from local real estate developer Jake Johnson.

The JCC Board of Trustees endorsed the project prior to Wednesday's press conference.

College officials and Neighbors were in discussions for about six months to revive the DRI project. JCC was shown a few other buildings before choosing Club Rio, Mr. Schweitzer said.

Last week, news came out that Neighbors planned to purchase the former Club Rio and an adjacent Franklin Street building. The education center will utilize three or four storefronts in the adjoining building, he said.

College officials are still working on the details of exactly what the education center program will entail, President Stone said, although it will not proceed with TechSpace programming that was in the original plan.

President Stone expects that the new facility will bring hundreds of small business owners to downtown who were previously served by the small business development center on campus.

The new center also will help revitalize a section of Franklin Street that has been neglected. The storefronts were previously going to undergo major facade renovations under the DRI program, but they were never completed. Now they will be.

Almost a year ago to the date of Wednesday's announcement, JCC officials decided they would not pursue the project because they did not know the full impact of the pandemic and the college was experiencing a decline in state funding.

However, over the past year, JCC was able to reopen with in-person learning and campus services, making it possible to forge ahead with strategic initiatives, college officials said.

President Stone thanked the state for having confidence in JCC to move forward with the project and college staffers who found a way to make it happen.

The state Department of State, which oversees the DRI program, said it looks forward to continue working with its partners on bringing the project to fruition.

"This collaboration generated a project that will benefit JCC, its students and the local business community," the Department of State said in a statement.

Renovations will start next year, with a planned opening in early 2023.