Anyone living in or visiting Chautauqua County at the beginning of 2025 can’t miss hearing about all the wonderful economic development underway here. Cities, towns, and villages are seeing improved infrastructure; new, upgraded, or expanded businesses and industries; and lots of planning underway for future projects. This growth includes developing shovel-ready sites and marketing campaigns to draw in new businesses; revitalizing downtowns and waterfronts; and improving streets, trails, and water systems, among many other initiatives. Some of these projects have already been completed. Others are underway. Still more are being planned. None of this happens by chance.

Many years ago a group of concerned citizens realized that a lot of Chautauqua County municipalities needed help making needed community improvements happen, especially in the northern end of the county. Consequently, a grassroots volunteer group was organized. They called themselves the Local Economic Development (LED) Initiative and soon became a committee of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF).

The NCCF LED takes a three-legged approach to economic development. The group believes successful economic development efforts are driven by bringing together members of three sectors: government, education, and private businesses. They know a competent local government sector that sees economic development as a priority and provides community leadership is essential. They believe an engaged university and other educational institutions that provide academic resources, including meaningful research, community engagement, investment, and leadership are also indispensable. Finally, they realize it’s critical to have a dynamic, focused effort on the part of the private sector community that provides investment and job creation. When all three sectors work together communities can reap astounding benefits.

After first assessing the needs of the local area, along with the economic development dreams of its residents, the LED realized that to make meaningful change happen significant amounts of planning and funding would be needed. Thanks to them, and the fruits of their labor, substantial amounts of money have been secured and still more is being sought. The LED volunteers have had an amazingly positive impact on the entire county over a relatively short period.

They first sought and secured funds to hire a Community Economic Development Specialist to assist Chautauqua County communities, especially those without the bandwidth to tackle economic development projects on their own. It didn’t take long before he helped numerous local communities bring in millions of dollars to complete projects that improved waterfronts, main streets, and infrastructure. This initial success influenced the formation of the countywide initiative known as the Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth (CCPEG).

By bringing economic development resources throughout the county together, CCPEG has made astonishing impacts, benefiting everyone living, working, and playing here. In the 5 years of CCPEG’s existence, its impressive record includes amazingly high return on investment (ROI) rates, some as high as $40 for every $1 invested, leveraging a total of $53,029,014 for county projects in that incredibly short amount of time.

CCPEG focuses on business development, workforce readiness and development, housing development, placemaking, and infrastructure. They regularly meet with workgroups made up of business, education, and community leaders in those fields. Between their expertise, and that found among CCPEG employees, many area municipalities, from the cities to the smaller communities that can’t afford a director of development, have received essential assistance. Many would not be able to bring the sorts of improvements to their communities that we’ve seen in recent years because they wouldn’t have had the manpower it takes to plan and execute impactful projects or to secure the funds needed to make these things happen.

CCPEG has already laid out its goals and priorities for 2025. They will use hundreds of thousands of dollars they have secured to support CCPEG and partner initiatives. This includes supporting communities in their development of Downtown Revitalization Master Plans and in seeking state resources such as New York Forward and other Consolidated Funding Application opportunities. They will continue to support the Chautauqua County Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA)’s Shovel-Ready site development efforts. They’ll build on and continue to promote Live CHQ as the county’s talent attraction and retention campaign, and if awarded NYSDOS funding, as expected, they will begin a countywide Brownfield Opportunity Area process. They will also advance three other infrastructure projects with their partners and will continually assess the area’s needs and develop new plans to address them.

The Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation’s Local Economic Development committee deeply appreciates the hard work of CCPEG, applauds its success, and expects to continue to support its economic development efforts far into the future. The whole county will enjoy the fruits of both the LED and CCPEG’s labors for a very long time.

Patty Hammond is Economic Development Coordinator at the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation. The Local Economic Development (LED) Initiative is a standing committee of the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation (NCCF). Send comments or suggestions to Patty Hammond at phammond@nccfoundation.org