OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg City Council selected a Request for Proposal (RFP) from Blue Water Development LLC, who has plans to build a marina, condos and a hotel at the former Diamond National site.
Two developers had submitted RFPs in October for possible development of the 24.21-acre Diamond National site located at 1 and 2 Madison Ave.
After a brief executive session Monday night, the City Council exited and City Manager Stephen P. Jellie read a resolution naming Blue Water Development as their preferred developer. Their proposal calls for three phases, the first of which would be a marina, followed by residential development of up to 120 condos and the final phase would be a hotel.
The resolution stated that the proposal selected would “advance the economic development of the community to the greatest extent and to authorize the city manager to enter into negotiations with the preferred developer to formulate a proposed, written purchase agreement.”
The vote was unanimously in support of the developer.
The city of Ogdensburg took over possession of the Diamond National property, which used to be a paper mill, in 1992 and almost $3 million has been spent on cleanup, with most of that cost paid for with money from the state’s Environmental Restoration Program.
In other business, the city council is all in on allowing the legal and regulated sale and adult-use of cannabis, or marijuana, within the city’s limits.
The resolution was unanimously approved opting-in to allow for the operation of licensed adult-use cannabis retail dispensaries and/or on-site consumption sites in Ogdensburg.
The resolution states that on March 31, 2021, New York state legalized adult-use cannabis by passing the Marijuana Regulation & Taxation Act (MRTA).
The legislation creates a new Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) governed by a Cannabis Control Board to oversee and implement the law and municipalities in the state have until Dec. 31, 2021 to opt out or by default they will opt in.
The resolution also states that the city council requests a recommendation from the Ogdensburg Planning Board on any necessary amendments to the city’s local laws and regulations concerning the venture to be presented at the council’s first meeting in January.
