The city unveiled its $76 million five-year Capital Improvement Program, an ambitious “wish list” for public infrastructure projects with nearly half the funding allocated for next year.
Several projects outlined in the 2026-2030 plan are already underway, including upgrades to the city’s Department of Public Works Salt Shed ($2.2 million), a $4.1 million reconstruction of the Theodore Fremd retaining wall to stabilize the roadway and protect the downtown from flooding, and a new $2.8 million HVAC system in City Hall.
The City Council is also prioritizing $3.7 million in long overdue renovations to the dated and disjointed police-court facilities on McCullough Place, improvements to the city-owned Gagliardo Park, structural updates to the Locust Avenue bridge, and long-awaited sidewalk upgrades along Forest Avenue ($2.8 million).
The Locust Avenue bridge has been tagged in poor condition by the state Department of Transportation and faces $10 million in structural, expansion, and flood-resiliency repairs, with the city seeking additional funding beyond the $5 million already secured.
Gagliardo Park has similarly fallen into disrepair after decades of neglect by the city, prompting Rye officials to seek $1 million in state funding for overdue safety, accessibility, and infrastructure renovations.
City staff identified $26 million to cover the bulk of the cost of the projects outlined for 2026 through funding from 2022 bond proceeds, capital expenditure reserves, and state aid.
Additionally, there is nearly $7 million in pending grants for the Locust Avenue bridge and Gagliardo Park, according to Interim City Manager Brian Shea.
Shea emphasized that the City Council should remain flexible when it comes to changing conditions, priorities, and opportunities, calling the Capital Improvement Program a dynamic document that will change over time.
“I’ve identified these big-ticket priority projects, $34 million, and there is a path to get it done, that’s the truth, but it’s going to be difficult and the same goes for the entire CIP … I’m not going to tell you it is,” Shea said. “That’s why I brought up priority setting and why I brought up being amenable to changing priorities based on opportunity.”
The extensive improvement plan is presented every summer by Rye staff with an eye toward improving the city’s public infrastructure. The projects are then identified by level of priority.
But it’s not uncommon for some projects on the CIP to remain untouched for years as funding for the projects often remains a question.
Through the final leg (2030) of the program, transportation and building upgrades make up the bulk of expenditures, with transportation estimated at $30.4 million and buildings at $19.8 million — roughly 66 percent of the total cost of the five-year plan.
Renovations to Building 5, a new administrative and garage building for the DPW, is estimated to cost $7 million, the biggest expense of all building projects.
“I think the reason that we see so many projects and that we are, to a certain extent, backed up, is that the city has had a historical CIP for a long period of time that far outstripped both its resources and the desire of any city council to spend and that’s something that we tried to change,” said Mayor Josh Cohn, an independent.
And the city has recently completed several capital projects, including the Brevoort water main replacement, a critical upgrade to aging sewer infrastructure on Brevoort Lane and sewer improvements on Central Avenue, both of which were part of a $14.2 million sewer upgrade project.
Additionally, the city has made upgrades to one of the downtown parking lots off of Purchase Street, totaling $475,000, and installed artificial turf and a new drainage system at Nursery Field, which cost $3.35 million.
