Long shot is worth taking

Is this a long shot?
Sure.
But it’s a long shot worth taking.
The City of Dunkirk is partnering with an outfit called Buckeye Community Hope Foundation in hopes of landing a grant that would pay for three quarters of a $4.3 million project to create a senior housing project on North Main Street where there is now a blighted block of former storefronts.
As we said, it’s a long shot.
But the pieces seem to be coming into place.
There’s no question Dunkirk needs affordable housing for senior citizens. There’s no question the block of buildings where businesses like Watson’s Sporting Goods used to be is an eyesore.
And it seems some smart folks have put together a plan that would change all that.
The city has committed $110,000 toward the project, which would include 28 housing units, a courtyard, social hall, kitchen, laundry area and more.
The county has agreed to lend an additional $150,000 in EDIT (economic development income tax) money to help make the project happen.
As we understand it, the facades of the fading buildings on that stretch of North Main would be preserved and the housing development would focus on an area at Main and Center. Its design would be consistent with the existing façade, but the interior would be modern and efficient. The area west of the façade and south of the new housing would be green space that would easily link to Webster Depot Park on the other side of the railroad tracks.
Once completed, the project could transform downtown Dunkirk, leading to new commercial development. In other words, it could be very, very cool.
A long shot? You bet.
But when Ami Huffman at Jay County Community Development put together Redkey’s grant application to solve its sewer problems, most folks would have said it was longer than any long shot.
Yet it came through.
The shorter version: Don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. But don’t give up on them either. They might just hatch and surprise you.
And wouldn’t that be cool? — J.R.