ALBANY COUNTY Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) initiative, often referred to as his “Hunger Games” due to its competitive nature, was implemented in 2010 as a way to encourage state municipalities and developers to collaborate regionally to solve their unique economic challenges.
This year, in addition to competition among each of the 10 regions for up to $750 million in state funding for specific projects, Cuomo announced that $1.5 billion would be given to three of the seven eligible upstate regions as part of an Upstate Revitalization Initiative (URI) in the amount of $100 million per year over five years for each region.
While the Capital District was not selected to be a recipient of URI funding in early December, the governor has said that he will allot each of the four upstate regions not selected an additional $50 million-which would bring the amount received for local projects to approximately $148 million for economic development in 2016.
