Cayuga Culinary Institute Completed In Auburn

AUBURN, NY – The state yesterday announced the completion of a $1.5 million project to create the new Cayuga Culinary Institute in Auburn.

Funded in part through the city’s $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative award in 2018, the project included renovating part of the Plaza of the Arts in downtown Auburn into the Cayuga Culinary Institute, which will serve as a dedicated space for the college’s new culinary arts program this fall.

“A critical component of building New York back better than before is ensuring our communities have vibrant downtown areas that serve both the needs of residents and visitors from abroad,” Governor Cuomo said. “The Cayuga Culinary Institute will help prepare the next generation of culinary and hospitality workers for Central New York and beyond, while also drawing new visitors to the heart of downtown Auburn to enjoy all the city has to offer.”

“The new Cayuga Culinary Institute is a win-win for Auburn,” said Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, chair of the statewide Regional Economic Development Councils. “This project will not only bring further economic investment to Auburn, it will also train our workforce with the skills needed for good jobs in the hospitality industry. This is yet another great example of how our Downtown Revitalization Initiative is making success more accessible across New York State.”

The project received $800,000 from the New York State Department of State to renovate 2,250 square feet leased space in the Plaza of the Arts building at 161 Genesee St. in Auburn. Interior renovations included creating instructional and event space, as well as building out and fixing equipment for a commercial-grade kitchen and café.

This new culinary program will offer an associate of applied science degree. Affiliated with Cayuga Community College, the program has already received 30 applications for the fall semester and will begin offering non-credit culinary courses for community members in July.

State University of New York Chancellor Jim Malatras said, “SUNY is the backbone of the state’s workforce where more than one third of all jobs are filled with SUNY graduates. This partnership brought together by the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and the Cayuga Culinary Institute is a win-win-win for students, for restaurants and the culinary industry, and the economic vitality of the community. SUNY Cayuga Community College students will now have a brand new, state-of-the-art facility, where they will benefit from hands-on learning experiences to become chefs and culinary professionals that will no doubt lead them to countless job opportunities and careers in this growing field. My thanks to President Brian Durant and the many state and local leaders that made this institute possible.”

Auburn Mayor Michael D. Quill said, “The Downtown Revitalization Initiative has allowed the city of Auburn to see significant investment in our downtown and we are proud that the Cayuga Community College Culinary Center is the first project to reach completion. Having this new Culinary Center will be a huge boost to our downtown’s west side and most importantly the center brings a first-class training facility to be at the use of our community college students so that they may be trained to be the future leaders of the hospitality industry of the Finger Lakes. We thank the Governor for all of his support of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative.”

Cayuga Community College President Brian Durant said, “The Downtown Revitalization Initiative was an essential element in our vision of creating a Culinary Institute to prepare our students for successful careers in the flourishing hospitality industry. Graduates of our Culinary Arts program will be in excellent position to launch personally and professionally fulfilling careers that also support the continued growth of our region’s private industries. On behalf of Cayuga Community College, I thank the Governor for his support of the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and for his steadfast belief in our students and their potential.”

Named a Round 3 winner in July 2018, Auburn is the second largest city in the Central New York region. Recent public and private investment, local planning efforts, and capital infrastructure projects have catalyzed the city’s downtown redevelopment.

The Auburn Strategic Investment Plan is guiding revitalization projects to advance the community’s vision for its downtown and to leverage and expand upon the state’s $10 million investment. The investment area is focused along the city’s riverfront, transportation corridors and arts district, which provide the greatest potential for vacant property revitalization and corridor enhancement.

Auburn is seeking to keep the momentum of recent development going by mending a historic downtown damaged by urban renewal and revitalizing vacant brownfield and riverfront properties. To leverage Downtown Revitalization Initiative funding, city leadership created #This Place Matters, a campaign that achieved $40 million of public-private funds to invest in downtown.

About the Downtown Revitalization Initiative
In 2016, Governor Cuomo launched a major new initiative —the Downtown Revitalization Initiative. Through this initiative, the Governor moved to aggressively accelerate and expand the revitalization of downtowns and neighborhoods to serve as centers of activity and catalysts for investment in all ten regions of the state. The initiative represents an unprecedented and innovative plan-to-act strategy that couples strategic planning with immediate implementation.

In four years, the state has committed $400 million to invest in downtowns that are ripe for revitalization and have the potential to become magnets for redevelopment, business, job creation, greater economic and housing diversity, and opportunity. Participating communities are nominated by the state’s 10 Regional Economic Development Councils based on the downtown’s potential for transformation, and each community is awarded $10 million to develop a downtown strategic investment plan and to implement key catalytic projects that advance the community’s vision for revitalization.

The initiative is headed by New York Secretary of State Rossana Rosado. Communities receive support from private sector experts and a team of state agency staff led by the Department of State in close partnership with Empire State Development, and state Homes and Community Renewal.

About the State University of New York
The State University of New York is the largest comprehensive system of higher education in the United States, and more than 95 percent of all New Yorkers live within 30 miles of any one of SUNY’s 64 colleges and universities. Across the system, SUNY has four academic health centers, five hospitals, four medical schools, two dental schools, a law school, the state’s only college of optometry, and manages one US Department of Energy National Laboratory. In total, SUNY serves about 1.3 million students in credit-bearing courses and programs, continuing education, and community outreach programs. SUNY oversees nearly a quarter of academic research in New York. Research expenditures system-wide are nearly $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2021, including significant contributions from students and faculty. There are more than three million SUNY alumni worldwide, and one in three New Yorkers with a college degree is a SUNY alum. To learn more about how SUNY creates opportunity, visit suny.edu.

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