Delhi, NY
The Garden Spot of The Catskills
Delhi as the county seat for Delaware County is a social, commercial and cultural center that connects surrounding communities. The downtown area has become a regional business hub that offers services and opportunities for families, senior citizens, and students who reside at SUNY Delhi.
And yet, Delhi, while charming, is a community with tremendous potential for growth. Our downtown offers great opportunity for fresh investment and the revitalization of its buildings and community spaces, as well as for new affordable housing alternatives. Our vision is to create housing solutions, build momentum on our increasing robust and diversified tourism industry, and once again become “The Garden Spot of The Catskills” with vibrant green spaces where villagers, townspeople, visitors, and residents of the wider community can explore and enjoy. The DRI grant would be the catalyst to help us fulfill our vision.
So lovely is the magnificence of this area, an early postcard producer developed a series of postcards photographically depicting the Delhi area as “The Garden Spot of the Catskills.”
Vision Statement Poll
Please read the vision statements below and then vote for the one you feel best represents our project goals:
Vision Statement A
Delhi will cultivate its identity as the “Garden Spot of the Catskills” to create a vibrant, welcoming, and economically resilient downtown. Revitalization will strengthen local businesses, encourage new investment, expand opportunities for arts, culture, housing, and entrepreneurship, while enhancing the public spaces that connect the community. Through strategic DRI investment, Delhi will preserve its historic character while supporting thoughtful growth – creating a more active, accessible, and attractive downtown for residents, businesses, and visitors. The result will be a stronger regional destination and a downtown positioned for long-term economic vitality.
Vision Statement B
Delhi will rejuvenate its standing as the Garden Spot of the Catskills. A scenic, welcoming, and vibrant community where local and urbane influences come together to create a distinctive, vibrant, and authentic sense of place. Where people come together to live, work, and thrive. Delhi is a place with both a history and a future. DRI funding will enable catalyst investments in projects designed to strengthen local businesses, encourage new investment, expand opportunities for arts, culture, housing, and entrepreneurship. The Garden Spot of the Catskills will be an economically dynamic hub for the region – a place where ideas, businesses, culture, and people can take root and grow.
2026 Village of Delhi DRI Project Interest Form
The Village of Delhi intends to submit an application for funding through the NYS Downtown Revitalization Initiative. DRI funding is intended to “transform downtown neighborhoods into vibrant centers that offer a high quality of life and are magnets for redevelopment, business, job creation, and economic and housing diversity.
If you have a project you would like to have included in the Village of Delhi DRI application, please complete the following project interest form and return to the Village Hall or submit to Barb Sturdevant (trustee1@villageofdelhiny.gov) by October 12, 2026. The submittal of a project interest form does not guarantee inclusion of your project in the Village of Delhi’s DRI application.
Community Input
Have an idea for improving downtown Delhi? We’d love to hear it. Use this form to share suggestions for projects that could help strengthen our community. (Ideas do not need to involve property you own.)
About the Downtown Revitalization Initiative
New York State’s Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) is a cornerstone of the State’s economic development program. The DRI transforms downtown neighborhoods into vibrant centers that offer a high quality of life and are magnets for redevelopment, business, job creation, and economic and housing diversity. These compact, walkable downtowns are a key ingredient to helping New York State rebuild its economy from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to achieving the State’s bold climate goals by promoting the use of public transit and reducing dependence on private vehicles.
The DRI is led by the Department of State, in close partnership with Empire State Development, NYS Homes and Community Renewal and New York State Energy Research and Development Authority.
