Gov. Kathy Hochul Thursday announced that nearly $32 million has been awarded through the New York State Council on the Arts’ Capital Projects Fund to support 102 projects throughout the state.

“The over 100 projects we’re supporting through this funding will showcase arts and cultural organizations across the state and spur economic development for decades to come,” Hochul said in a statement. “From historic sites to new multi-use arts centers, these diverse projects will expand the accessibility and the sustainability of arts and culture organizations while growing local economies, driving tourism and creating jobs all across New York state.”

Six projects in the North Country region are on the list of recipients, including Tupper Arts in Tupper Lake, which will receive $50,000 for HVAC installation; and BluSeed Studios in Saranac Lake, which will get $25,000 for floor replacement. Other organizations in the North Country that will receive grants are the Depot Theatre in Westport, $25,000 for a theater projection system installation; the Frederic Remington Art Museum in Ogdensburg, $174,000 for urgent systems upgrades for the Historic Parish Mansion; and Craigardan in Elizabethtown, $637,000 for its main house building construction.

In Wilmington, the news of a $697,000 grant to go toward the construction of a Wilmington Historical Society building was met with joy.

Wilmington Historical Society President Karen Peters, right, in June 2023 shows Ava and Emma, Lake Placid Elementary School students in Allison Smith’s fourth-grade class, some artifacts from Wilmington. (Enterprise photo — Andy Flynn)

“I was so excited I couldn’t talk,” Wilmington Historical Society President Karen Peters said Thursday about hearing the news. Then she was overwhelmed with happiness and she screamed so loud her husband Bob thought she was having a heart attack. “I was shaking a half an hour later.”

A grant of almost $700,000 is a big chunk, but the historical society won’t be holding a groundbreaking ceremony anytime soon. With $300,000 already in the bank, and an estimated price tag of $1.7 million, Peters said she and her board will continue fundraising until they come up with the remaining $700,000. The historical society has been working on fundraising for the project for the past 10 years.

“We will take any and all contributions,” Peters said.

The WHS building site is across the road from the North Pole Lodge and right next to the A&W Family Restaurant. It will be called the Ruth & Thomas Keegan Memorial History Center, named after two major benefactors.

The building will include a public room for lectures with a capacity for about 75 people, a research library/office, restrooms, an archival room and a kitchenette.

“It’s not just saving history,” Peters said. “We want to make sure we are part of the community.”

Wilmington is the home of the Whiteface Mountain Ski Center and Whiteface Mountain Veterans’ Memorial Highway, both operated by the state Olympic Regional Development Authority; Santa’s Workshop theme park; High Falls Gorge; world-class fly fishing on the West Branch of the AuSable River; and a network of mountain bike and hiking trails. First settled in 1800, the town of Wilmington was formed in 1821, first named Dansville and then changed to Wilmington a year later.

For more information about the Wilmington Historical Society and its building project, visit wilmingtonhistoricalsociety.org.

NYSCA’s Capital Projects for Arts and Culture grants are designed to enable arts and cultural venues to become more physically accessible and sustainable for residents and visitors. The awards announced Thursday included two grant categories: Small and Midsized Capital Improvement Grants, ranging from $50,000 to $2 million; and Large Capital Improvement Grants, ranging from $2 to $10 million and focusing on large-scale capital projects that prioritize community development and placemaking.

This investment in nonprofit arts and cultural organizations across New York supports crucial building renovations, accessibility improvements and new spaces for creative and cultural work. Organizations outside of New York City received 55% of the awards, while 69% of the awards went to organizations with budgets under $3 million.

Since the NYSCA Capital Fund Project began in 2018, it has awarded 473 grants totaling $214 million across the state.