by Dave Warner
The Greater Mohawk Valley Land Bank officially opened their office in Little Falls with a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday morning after their regularly scheduled meeting. The GMVLB’s mission is to strengthen communities across the Mohawk Valley by helping to return neglected and abandoned buildings to productive use.
Karl Gustafson, Chairman of the group stated “The key thing we wanted to impress this morning, is our reason for being in Little Falls. Not only is it centric to the entire Mohawk Valley Land Bank impact area, but it has proven to be a hub of what we feel are our core activities.”
GMVLB has worked closely with groups in Little Falls to help them establish procedures to work with other communities in the area. “We’ve forged a really nice working relationship with Mayor Blask and I’ve personally become close friends with the Mayor and I look forward to the opportunity to work with him in the future,” stated Gustafson.
The group chose the property because of the relationship that they have with Adirondack Bank. Gustafson said “It’s not only from our doing business with the bank, but our relationship here with the bank being our landlord. They’ve bent over backwards to accommodate us within our budget and our time-frame and making the necessary improvements.”
“We’ve found a nice home here in Herkimer County and in particular Little Falls, and we look forward to a long-standing relationship,” stated Gustafson.
Future plans for the group include a possible permanent facility somewhere else in the City, possibly a multi-use facility.
“With the type of dedication and cooperation we’ve had with our friends here in Little Falls, we’ll make that happen,” said Gustafson.
To find out more about the Greater Mohawk Valley Land Bank you can visit https://www.gmvlb.org/
