New York Department of State celebrates groundbreaking of $2.8 million Champlin Beach Pier project in Urbana

New York – A long-awaited project aimed at improving public access to Keuka Lake officially moved forward with the groundbreaking of the $2.8 million Champlin Beach Pier in the Town of Urbana.

New York Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley announced the start of the project, which is being supported through a combination of state funding programs and is designed to strengthen the waterfront connection between Urbana, the Village of Hammondsport and Keuka Lake.

The new pier is expected to provide residents and visitors with better access to the lake while creating additional docking space for boaters. Local officials also see the project as a way to encourage visitors arriving by water to spend more time in downtown Hammondsport, where they can visit restaurants, shops and other local attractions.

“Investments like the Champlin Beach Pier project are helping communities across New York make the most of their waterfronts while creating places that are welcoming and accessible to everyone,” said Secretary of State Walter T. Mosley. “This new pier will give residents and visitors greater access to Keuka Lake and bring more people downtown to support local businesses, strengthening Urbana’s waterfront as a place to gather, enjoy and experience all that this community has to offer.”

The project is being funded through two major state programs. It received $1.35 million through the NY Forward program and another $1.47 million from the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program, bringing the total investment to $2.8 million.

At the center of the work is the replacement of the existing pier. The old structure will be removed, making way for a new dock system that will be fully compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Plans also include a gazebo, space for tour boats and other amenities on the water.

The new facilities are intended to make the waterfront easier to use for a wider range of people while also giving boaters more opportunities to stop near the community.

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For Urbana and Hammondsport, the pier is more than a single waterfront construction project. It is part of a broader effort to reshape and improve the area around Keuka Lake, with public spaces, transportation connections, historic preservation and business development all included in the larger vision.

That effort dates back to the 2015 Keuka Lake Waterfront Redevelopment Master Plan. The replacement of the Champlin pier has been identified as an important goal since the plan was developed, according to local officials.

The project also follows another major waterfront improvement in the area. In May, New York State announced the completion of Glenn H. Curtiss Park in Hammondsport. That project received $1.26 million in funding through the Local Waterfront Revitalization Program and was also part of the community’s long-term waterfront redevelopment efforts.

The Champlin Beach Pier is one piece of a larger collection of projects receiving support through NY Forward in Urbana and Hammondsport.

Among them is a $1.606 million effort to reconstruct Liberty Street and Mill Street and make the streets more pedestrian-friendly while addressing existing drainage problems. The project is intended to improve the connection between downtown and the waterfront and encourage additional recreational and economic activity.

Another $885,000 project will focus on the historic Curtiss School. The plan calls for the building to be renovated into rental housing and a multi-purpose community space. The project is designed to add housing and community facilities while preserving an important historic structure.

The communities are also receiving $362,000 to develop a branding and marketing plan and create a historic heritage trail with wayfinding signs. The goal is to highlight the area’s distinctive character and make it easier for visitors to find local attractions.

A separate $172,000 award will help establish a bike-friendly neighborhood coffee shop and café at a former service station. The planned facility is expected to serve as a destination and rest stop for cyclists while adding another community gathering place.

Another project, receiving $118,000, will renovate 31 Shethar Street. The work will include additional means of egress to support a restaurant and bar on the lower level, along with a new kitchen and wine cellar. Officials say the investment will help sustain the local tourism economy by putting an underused historic building back to productive use.

Together, the projects show the broader direction of the NY Forward investment in the two communities. Rather than focusing on one large development, the funding is being spread across public infrastructure, historic buildings, tourism, transportation and small-business-related improvements.

The Village of Hammondsport and Town of Urbana were selected as the Southern Tier’s NY Forward winner during the second round of the program in 2024. Other communities selected as winners in the region include Montour Falls, Waverly, Groton, Bath, Dryden, Stamford and Margaretville.

Hammondsport Mayor Jean Jensen said the pier replacement has been discussed for years and described the project as an important step for the village.

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“The replacement of the Champlin Pier has been a dream for many years. The Village Board and Hammondsport residents are excited about the reconstruction of the Champlin Pier made possible from NY Forward and LWRP grants and the Town of Urbana. This project will expand public access to Keuka Lake with additional docking for boaters and access to the Champlin swim beach and picnic area. The new pier will benefit the Village economic base by providing visitors and boaters easy access to the downtown restaurants, stores and attractions.”

The pier is expected to serve several purposes once completed. In addition to providing docking space, it will connect visitors with the Champlin swim beach and picnic area and provide another route between the lake and the downtown area.

Town of Urbana Supervisor K. David Durepo also pointed to the long history behind the project. He said replacing the pier has remained one of the town’s main objectives since the waterfront plan was created more than a decade ago.

“After many years, the dream of replacing the pier has finally arrived. Since the inception of the Keuka Lake Waterfront Plan, crafted in 2015, the replacement of the pier has been one of the Town of Urbana’s primary goals. Thank you, New York State DOS, in making this dream come true. Thank you to Governor Hochul for having the vision to invest money in New York State’s greatest assets – it’s natural beauty and great recreational opportunities.”

For some local officials, the project represents years of planning finally becoming visible on the ground.

David Oliver, the Town of Urbana’s grants administrator, has lived in the community since 1975. He said watching the pier project progress from an idea to a construction project has been particularly meaningful.

“As a resident of this community since 1975, it has been incredibly rewarding to watch this project grow from an idea into a reality that future generations will enjoy. We appreciate the State for helping us make this goal a reality.”

James Johnson, executive director of the Steuben County Industrial Development Agency, said the pier project is the result of years of work focused on improving public access to the lake and supporting downtown Hammondsport.

“The Steuben County Industrial Development Agency is proud to be part of today’s ribbon-cutting celebration for the Urbana Pier project. This milestone represents the culmination of nearly a decade of dedicated work to expand public access to the Keuka Lake waterfront and support the continued growth and vitality of downtown Hammondsport. We are excited to see this vision become a reality and look forward to continuing our support of initiatives that strengthen our waterfront communities, enhance quality of life, and create new opportunities for residents, visitors, and local businesses alike.”

The investment is also part of New York’s wider effort to revitalize smaller communities through the NY Forward program.

Governor Kathy Hochul created NY Forward as part of the 2022 state budget. The program builds on the state’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative, known as DRI, while placing additional attention on smaller and rural downtowns.

The program is intended to give communities of different sizes and needs access to state-supported revitalization funding. Instead of using a single approach for every location, NY Forward projects are designed around the specific character and priorities of each community.

Participating communities work with professional planning consultants and teams of state agency experts led by the Department of State. Together, they develop a Strategic Investment Plan that identifies projects intended to complement one another and produce visible, practical improvements.

Projects can involve renovations to existing buildings, new construction, public spaces and improvements designed around local cultural and historic assets.

Through four rounds of funding, NY Forward is expected to award a total of $340 million to 77 communities across every region of New York.

The Local Waterfront Revitalization Program provides another important part of the state’s approach to community development. The program gives communities funding to develop waterfront plans based on local priorities, identify projects that can bring those plans to life and establish policies for future development and infrastructure.

The program also supports Watershed Management Plans, which focus on protecting and restoring water quality, improving watershed conditions and addressing resiliency concerns across entire watersheds.

For waterfront communities such as Urbana and Hammondsport, those goals are closely tied to economic development and tourism. Better public access can bring residents closer to the lake while also making the waterfront more attractive to visitors.

The Champlin Beach Pier project brings those ideas together in one location. The replacement structure is expected to improve accessibility, add docking opportunities and create a more welcoming public space on Keuka Lake.

Local officials also hope the project will have an economic effect beyond the waterfront itself. By making it easier for boaters and other visitors to reach the area, the new pier could help direct additional foot traffic toward downtown Hammondsport businesses.

The groundbreaking therefore marks the beginning of construction, but officials describe it as part of a much longer process. The plans for the waterfront have been developing for years, with the 2015 master plan providing a foundation for many of the improvements now taking shape.

With the pier now moving ahead alongside street improvements, historic preservation, new community facilities and tourism projects, Urbana and Hammondsport are continuing a broader effort to make Keuka Lake more accessible and strengthen the connection between the waterfront and downtown.

For residents who have watched the idea of replacing the old pier remain on the community’s agenda for years, the groundbreaking represents a significant change. The long-planned replacement is now moving from the planning stage toward a new waterfront structure intended to serve residents, visitors, boaters and businesses for years to come.