New York State has awarded more than $38 million to 49 projects in the second round of its County Infrastructure Grant Program, and Western New York and the Finger Lakes together took a substantial share. Empire State Development announced the awards on August 20, 2026. The common thread across nearly every award is the same: public pipes, roads and utility work that unlocks housing units that cannot otherwise be built.

What the program is

The County Infrastructure Grant Program was first launched in November 2024 and is administered by Empire State Development. It funds county-led infrastructure that supports housing growth, placemaking and tourism. With this second round, the program has awarded more than $74 million to nearly 100 projects, per ESD. The state announced the $50 million second round in December 2025 with applications due April 1, 2026, and an additional $50 million is budgeted for a third round.

"We are giving local governments the tools they need to thrive and expand opportunities for New Yorkers," Governor Hochul said in the ESD announcement. Additional program announcements are indexed on the Governor's infrastructure page.

Western New York awards

Western New York counties received more than $4 million across six projects, Buffalo Toronto Public Media reported:

• Erie County, City of Buffalo — $1 million for the Norstar Building at 560 Main Street, covering vaults, water mains, sewer laterals and electrical work. The project supports 120 housing units and 45,000 square feet of commercial space.
• Niagara County, North Tonawanda — $1 million to prepare a three-plus-acre Tonawanda Island brownfield for the Bridge Street Landing development.
• Chautauqua County, Hamlet of Chautauqua — $1 million for sanitary sewer from Point Chautauqua to Midway State Park, supporting 174 units at the Sunset View Development plus 66 vacant parcels.
• Cattaraugus County, South Valley — $500,000 for electrical work at Onoville Marina Park.
• Genesee County, Batavia — $500,000 for shoreline work at the DeWitt Recreation Area.
• Allegany County, Village of Belmont — $215,000 for 2,500 linear feet of County Road 51, which unlocks a 220-unit housing project.

Finger Lakes awards

Finger Lakes awards, reported by the Rochester Business Journal, run heavily to sewer, water and site infrastructure tied to specific unit counts:

• City of Rochester — $1 million for infrastructure at the Hotel Cadillac, including demolition, sidewalk, storm and sanitary sewer, water main and electrical work.
• Dansville — $1 million supporting 60 units: 12 in the King's Daughters Home and 48 at Balloon Lofts.
• Farmington — $1 million for Mertensia Road sewer and a pump station, enabling up to 40 single-family homes.
• Lyons — $1 million for sewer and water main work.
• Starkey, Yates County — $1 million supporting 64 workforce and family housing units.
• Fayette — $500,000 for Water District 8.
• Batavia — $500,000 for the DeWitt Recreation Area shoreline project noted above.

The Rochester award attaches to a concrete deal. Cain Properties is converting the Hotel Cadillac at 45-51 Chestnut Street, a six-story, 111-year-old building, into 42 apartments at a roughly $21 million project cost, RBJ reported. The building was purchased in May 2026 for $1.49 million by FABL Housing Development Fund Corp. from 4551 Chestnut LLC. Thirteen units are designated for homeless young adults aged 18 to 25 and 14 are reserved for artists, with YWCA support services and referrals from Flower City Arts Center. A $6.2 million low-income housing tax credit allocation and state Homes and Community Renewal assistance were previously announced.

Why it matters for construction professionals

These are small awards individually and consequential collectively. Read the list as a forward-looking pipeline rather than a grant announcement.

First, the awards are mostly horizontal work — sanitary sewer, water main, pump stations, road reconstruction, shoreline stabilization, brownfield preparation, electrical service. That is bread-and-butter scope for site contractors, utility contractors and heavy-civil subs, and it is typically bid publicly by municipalities on relatively short timelines.

Second, each horizontal award is a leading indicator for vertical work. Belmont's $215,000 road award is tied to 220 housing units. Chautauqua's $1 million sewer extension is tied to 174 units. Starkey's $1 million supports 64 units. Rochester's $1 million clears the way for 42 units at the Hotel Cadillac. If you build multifamily or do trade work on adaptive reuse, this list tells you where funded projects will need bids in the next 12 to 30 months.

Third, the timing is notable. National residential construction spending fell 1.3 percent in July and is down 7.3 percent from a year earlier, with single-family down 6.5 percent year over year, according to AGC's analysis of Census data. Publicly subsidized units with committed infrastructure funding are a different demand pool from market-rate single-family, and in a soft cycle they are the more reliable one.

Implications for owners, developers and contractors

For developers, the structural lesson is that infrastructure gaps are now fundable separately from the building. Several of these awards paid for exactly the off-site or below-grade costs that kill small and mid-size housing deals in upstate markets. If a project is stalled on a sewer extension or a road segment, the county pathway is worth pursuing before writing the deal off. A third round with an additional $50 million is planned for the FY2027 budget, per ESD.

For general contractors and subs, the practical move is to track the specific municipalities named above. Awards flow through counties and local governments, which means the resulting design and construction contracts appear in municipal bid notices, not on a state portal. Firms that map the award list to the responsible highway, water and sewer departments will see the bids before firms that wait.

For estimators, brownfield and historic-rehab awards carry above-average risk. Tonawanda Island brownfield preparation and a 111-year-old Rochester hotel conversion both involve unknown subsurface and existing-condition conditions. Price contingency accordingly, and read the environmental reports before committing to a lump sum.

What to watch next

• Round three timing and application window. An additional $50 million is planned; the second round opened in December 2025 with an April 1 deadline, per ESD.
• Bid notices from Belmont, South Valley, Hamlet of Chautauqua, North Tonawanda, Batavia, Buffalo, Rochester, Dansville, Farmington, Lyons, Fayette and Starkey.
• Whether the promised unit counts materialize. The 220 units in Belmont and 174 units at Sunset View are the justification for the awards, not signed contracts.
• Hotel Cadillac construction start, now that infrastructure funding, LIHTC allocation and ownership are all in place.

Bottom line

More than $38 million spread across 49 projects will not move statewide construction volume. But for contractors working in Erie, Niagara, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus, Allegany, Genesee, Monroe, Livingston, Ontario, Wayne, Seneca and Yates counties, this list is a specific, funded, near-term pipeline of utility, road and site work, with a documented multifamily and adaptive-reuse pipeline behind it. In a year when private residential demand is contracting, publicly funded horizontal work that unlocks committed housing units is among the more dependable revenue available.

Sources

• Empire State Development, "Governor Hochul Announces More Than $38 Million Awarded to 49 Projects Through Second Round of County Infrastructure Grant Program" — https://esd.ny.gov/esd-media-center/press-releases/governor-hochul-announces-more-38-million-awarded-49-projects
• Empire State Development, "Additional $50 Million For Second Round of County Infrastructure Grant Program" — https://esd.ny.gov/governor-hochul-announces-additional-50-million-second-round-county-infrastructure-grant
• Buffalo Toronto Public Media, "WNY counties awarded more than $4,000,000 in latest grant round" — https://www.btpm.org/local/2026-08-20/wny-counties-awarded-more-than-4-000-000-in-latest-grant-round
• Rochester Business Journal, "City of Rochester lands $1 million state grant for Hotel Cadillac" — https://rbj.net/2026/08/20/city-of-rochester-1-million-state-grant-hotel-cadillac/
• Office of Governor Kathy Hochul, infrastructure announcements — https://www.governor.ny.gov/keywords/infrastructure
• Associated General Contractors of America, July 2026 construction spending analysis — https://www.agc.org/news/2026/09/01/construction-spending-declines-july-june-and-year-earlier-contractors-cope-soft-demand-most-types